Judging by the nominations of our current directors, you’d think ICANN was limited to scientist. It’s not! Names and numbers is only a vehicle. Let’s not forget what ICANN’s all about and it’s not just names and numbers. ICANN is about creating network communities.
The network’s vehicle is Information Technology; the nodes represent people, businesses, alliances, etc. That’s ICANN’s core constituency - the part that’s been ignored.
The 'white paper' outlines ICANN’s official mandate. This document makes it clear - that while ICANN is set up to oversee names and numbers, the bulk of its mandate is to develop robust competition and facilitate global participation. Directors are to reflect the “functional and geographic diversity of the Internet...’ specifically, ‘individuals and entities likely to be materially affected by changes in DNS.” If you look at ICANN’s nominees, you’d think ‘materially affected’ consisted of only one member - scientist.
ICANN needs to completely detach itself from the US government and begin reflecting on the needs of the network community. This means adhering to the principles and purposes under which it was set up.
(1) Stability – Concentrate on security and reliability issues. Oversee gTLDs, root servers, technical parameters, etc.
(2) Competition – Encourage innovation and maximize individual freedom.
(3) Governance – Use a bottom-up system to oversee the operation. Under this concept, the directors should be leading as much as they follow.
(4) Representation – Powers of the directors come from international body of members (technical and non-tech).
Technical chores are only 1 out of the 4 items, or 25% of what ICANN set out to accomplish. This is why I plan to place most emphasis on items 2 – 4. I consider these the high touch elements. We need to interject more of the high touch element into this high tech machine. This is an issue John Naisbitt cautioned us not to ignore and I intend not too! For this reason, I’ll be making an effort to meet with groups of members during my global travels.
This is an historical moment, so your vote is important. If you want just another scientist, vote for the boards nominee; but if you want someone who relates to your needs, then vote for me. The future is in your hands. I need your vote, the world needs your vote, and your children depend on your vote.
URP: http://www.homestead.com/tedphipps/icann.html
