The most highly attended ICANN conference to date may also be the
meeting we will look back on as the precise moment when the Internet
business ceased to be synonymous with the Wild West. As ICANN and the
satellite businesses and organizations which support the function of the
Internet gain notoriety and publicity and institutionalized "big
business" steps into the space as players in the New gTLD realm, the
existing community must also step up its game.
ICANN 40 hosted the most illustrious guest speaker ICANN has hosted in
some time, and enjoyed the most media attention the organization has
received to date. This is, as Keynote speaker and Ex-President Bill
Clinton described, quite a "High Class" problem to have.
Scheduled midway through the conference to precede the Gala event, the
Clinton speech was heavily attended. The line to get in grew to such a
daunting length that some opted straight away for the overflow rooms
where the speech was broadcast on large screens, brining cases of beer
along (perhaps something the erstwhile president, known for being "down
to earth" would have appreciated). Clinton's appearance, became a
celebration of how far the Internet and ICANN have come in the last
decade; and while we may focus on certain issues getting hamstrung it is
hard to deny that we have come quite far.
The speech was moving although he admitted to having recycled it causing
a light stir in the crowd over receiving a used speech for the alleged
amount of money he was paid to deliver it. As Clinton slipped in and out
of the southern charm and colloquialism he is so well known for; making
jokes at his own expense; it became clear that the not easily impressed
crowd were visibly star struck. Among other things, former President
Clinton spoke to the importance of growing and funding the Internet
during his administration. Discussing his pet causes and touching on a
few of our own, he encouraged that as a community we can't be afraid of
innovations.
Clinton explained that there were, "50 websites on the internet when I
took office, jumping to 130 and then 136 million by the time I left."
And credited then senator Al Gore and the passing of the Information
Infrastructure Act in large part for this success.
He cited the importance of the Internet in creating the "critical mass"
in Egypt. He followed this by stating "I believe it is very important
not to get so carried away that we don't think that things like real
world power and organizations matter," and called the "enormous amount"
of Internet commerce a "high class problem."
Clinton let the audience know in no uncertain terms that, "It is very
important to get the Internet right." He also emphasized the need for
"building the positive and reducing the negative forces of
interdependence requires." While he may not have been directly talking
about government interference on New gTLDs, it is not bad advice to
apply to the situation.
He spoke directly to the crowd, saying: "I still believe that human
possibility is in some measure a matter of the imagination, attitude and
courage of those in position to seize and develop it. We are actually
here because some of the people sitting in here 20 years ago imagined a
different world and they didn't know exactly how it would come out. They
just knew that a networked world would probably work better than a
bureaucratic one, that a free world would probably work better than one
that was predetermined. And they fully recognized that there would be
rough edges and questions about access and all the other questions we
are all dealing with, but they got the big things right. It's important
to stumble in the right direction." He then added, "You are laughing at
me, but I know what I am talking about."
He stressed that perfection may never be achieved but that one can
always do better. He warned against zero sum games and asked the
audience to consider whether they were "creating a world that you would
like to leave to your children or grandchildren?" As ICANN and the
domain industry "stumble" forward into the next phase of Internet
innovation and industry evolution, these are good words to consider.
Kelly Hardy is a freelance consultant and blogger. Her work can be found at www.namesmash.com.
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