Australia: Lost and floating toward Antarctica
Dear Minister,
RE: Banning of Second Life as part of mandatory internet filtering
In March 2010 I am presenting a panel at the South by South West (SXSW) Interactive festival titled “Time Travelers: Why Australians are Virtual World Innovators.”
Myself and VastPark founder, Bruce Joy, will be talking about how we have been able to establish and maintain world class services in the virtual world space while being located in Australia.
The panel arrangements have been assisted by Austrade and AIMIA.
Very few in the tech savvy audience at SXSW will be unaware of your plans for mandatory filtering. They are wise enough to know that your efforts will be wasted and Bruce and I will be battling the negative prejudice that this short-sighted approach will have. Frankly, it makes Australia look like amateur hour in the digital media industry.
Vast Park and Treet.TV are exporters. We earn money in the USA and Europe (primarily) and spend it (primarily) in Australia.
The mandatory filtering will almost certainly make it impossible for our company to continue operating in Australia.
Not only do we lack the kind of entrepreneurial support and culture of investment that the USA enjoys, but now we can’t even rely on an internet connection to allow us to do business.
Why not stand behind all those times you’ve used “innovation” and really look closely at what you are going to be giving up from the mandatory internet filtering?
I recommend you read and re-read the open letter from Eric Pinkerton published in ZDNet. I commend his clear thinking and considered evaluation of the situation. Please also read the open letter from one of our production partners, Paisley Beebe, a visionary media creator based in Sydney.
Surely, these kind of views are hard to ignore. Please, don’t let us float off to Antarctica and make us a backwater instead of a world leader in the virtual world landscape.
Yours Sincerely,
Keren Flavell
Co-founder Treet.TV
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