Kathy Brown, the New Internet Society CEO

Kathryn Brown, just installed CEO of the Internet Society on January 1st

A lot of people don’t give much thought to the Internet Society or to the idea that there’s actually a governance structure to the Internet itself that sets the rules under which it functions. The organization’s basic mission is to promote the Internet’s growth around the world.

Reference: Meet Kathy Brown, the Internet Society's New CEO.

I am more drawn to the social phenomena and the technology marvel that are the internet, than I am to the policy side of where I spend much of my working, and my waking, day.  Still I was glad to run into this All Things D article about the Internet Society.

Its mission is so much more than promoting Internet growth.  The Society aims to ensure an evolution that works best for everyone in the world, and it faces the no less daunting task of balancing the interests, sometimes competing, even conflicting interests, of multiple stakeholders.  In fact, Brown sees three major constituencies: the governance body, the grass roots activists, and the under-the-hood technicians.  Together, she must work at aligning everyone enough to serve a global society.

The Internet Society is a global cause-driven organization governed by a diverse Board of Trustees that is dedicated to ensuring that the Internet stays open, transparent and defined by you.

We are the world's trusted independent source of leadership for Internet policy, technology standards, and future development. More than simply advancing technology, we work to ensure the Internet continues to grow and evolve as a platform for innovation, economic development, and social progress for people around the world. 

With offices around the world, we work to ensure that the Internet and the web that is built on it:

• Continues to develop as an open platform that empowers people to share ideas and connect in new and innovative ways
• ​Serves the economic, social, and educational needs of individuals throughout the world – today and in the future

I rarely think about how life and work were, before the internet.  It was in 1997 or 1998 that Karen and I were first online via the old way of dialing up.  America Online (AOL) was big, then, and it was exciting to be along for the ride.

The ensuing decade, the first of the new century, saw me travel around the world as a management consultant and evolve steadily in my digital literacy and habits.  From hauling way too much stuff on my first overseas trips, to a travel-light, highly-efficient e-transformation, I managed a three-week business trip with only carry-on luggage.  I learned to Skype, I learned to read mainly online, I learned to Google so a wealthy of knowledge was literally at my fingertips.

I deeply believe in those two points from the Internet Society, about an open platform for people and their considerable needs around the world.  But I imagine it cannot be an easy task, in the least, for Brown and her staff.  There is the Chinese government, and there are old-guard factions in other countries, which work against the very things the Internet Society works diligently at.  I daresay it is these governments and forces that must've given birth to the Internet Society and are its raison d'être.

The Internet has matured considerably. It’s a very different experience for users now than it was 15 years ago. There’s an opportunity to understand what that change is and to engage with the hot-button issues. There’s the security issue, the privacy issue, the trust issue, and really the threat of balkanization of the Internet should we not have a global consensus around it.

That word that Brown uses - balkanization - is a curious one that I needed to look up.  Really it means not just a divided internet, but such warring factions.  Beyond the three constituencies she listed, there are also the business people and the revolutionaries, and there are the well-meaning philanthropists and of course all of us everyday consumers, users and members of the internet.

Best wishes, indeed, to Kathy Brown.

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD