Bored by the Net neutrality debate? Check it as a rap battle
For Americans (and other Internet denizens) whose eyes glaze over when Net neutrality comes up, these Australian chaps have translated the debate into hip-hop for easier consumption.
- Finalist for the Nesta Tipping Point prize and a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
If you're the type of Internet user who finds it irritating when chatter over some snooze-fest called Net neutrality interrupts your cat videos and cyberstalking Chris Pratt, please set aside the next few minutes for the video at the end of this post.
Australian YouTube impresarios Giordano Nanni and Hugo Farrant, who operate "The Juice Media" channel, have translated the bureaucratic legalese and protocol-speak into a language that will be a little easier to digest for the generation that has actually grown up on the Internet -- rap.
The below rap battle features appearances by the father of the Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee as an appropriately Willy Wonka-esque character, Mark Zuckerberg channeling Eminem, and the head of the only slightly fictional "VeriCast" corporation, who also triples as FCC chair and a federal judge, occasionally affecting a baffling but apparently nefarious Eastern European accent.
Clearly, these vloggers are not rooting for the telecom giants or their lobbyists when it comes to Net neutrality. No matter what your take on the debate, this is an entertaining entry point for learning more about what it's all about, if for no reason other than all the vintage geek references, from the After Dark flying toasters to David Icke's reptilian Illuminati conspiracy theories.
Check it out: