Lately the acceleration of convergence, downsizing and media consolidation across the boards has come to the fore under the buzz word of "net neutrality."
The latest battle has actually as little to do with photography itself but ultimately the implications for audience access to content is significant. As the Internet becomes an increasingly important source for photographers and news outlets to share and sell content, giant media conglomerates such as Verizon Communications, Comcast and AT&T are making a power grab to control the flow of information on the web.
From a photographer's perspective, if allowed, anyone one of these giant corporations could slow down the flow of information on the Internet if they perceived the content to represent a competition with other products,such as cable and broadcast TV offerings. If I understand the issue correctly, the corporations are primarily concerned with their ability to manage assets on multiple platforms including mobile devices. Under the current administration, efforts to prevent Internet Service Providers from monopolizing the flow of content on the Internet are underway.
Although many people may argue that the current battle of communication titans is of little concern, they may not be thinking to clearly about the future of media. In the near future, more and more content will be accessible on mobile devices. The companies, such as AT&T and Verizon, that control the most information across platforms such as mobile devices, the Internet, and cable television stand to make the most profits.
