WASHINGTON -- Most folks who run businesses know that if they ignore the internet, they do so at their own peril.
If you run a business — whether it’s a restaurant or a cable company — what people on the internet say about your product and customer service has an impact on your bottom line. And if you’re running a technology company, you won’t succeed unless you understand that the online world doesn’t always function like the tangible one.
Some businesses lament this fact when bad reviews start costing them business. But smart businesses recognize that even the bad reviews are an opportunity to understand their audience and improve their products and those that have gone the extra mile to understand the internet have, in many cases, found success.
But up until last week, Washington hadn’t learned these lessons.
Sure, politicians have long seen the internet as a useful tool for raising money and receiving e-mail from constituents. There have been many online campaigns and more than a few lobbyists and special interest groups have invested a good sum of money into efforts to mobilize folks online. Success has frequently been measured by the number of e-mail addresses collected, while the efforts to rally people fizzle when recognized as little more than online astroturfing — fake grass without the roots.
But last week, when more than 10 million Americans spoke up together to express concern about the Protect IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) — and brought a halt to what had been a legislative juggernaut — Capitol Hill and K Street got a taste of what the internet can really do and why it’s more than just another interest group.
While lobbyists have long been the middle-men between interests and Congress, last Wednesday showed that political connections and insider know-how mean little when up against an informed public willing to take action. Information is power in Washington, but last week demonstrated that the internet’s ability to use information far surpasses that of any interest group, lobbyist or cable news network. And while decisions have long been made behind closed doors in Washington, last week made it very clear that the concerns of the American people can not simply be ignored.
While some have derided the events of last week as a departure from the way we do things in Washington, I believe last week is an example of the way Washington can change for the better. If more Americans took the time to be informed and call Congress when something matters to them lobbyist and special interest power would be greatly diminished.
So the question is, did Congress learn anything? Will Washington lament last week like it was a bad review that cost it business or will it recognize what happened as an opportunity to learn and do better?
If members of Congress better understood the central role that the Internet plays in their constituents’ lives - the hub through which Americans work, communicate, share, learn, create and enjoy entertainment - they would understand why their constituents fought so hard to protect it.
If members of Congress better understood the digital world, they would know that downloading a digital good from a foreign site is no different than importing goods from a foreign country and if we accept that principle, we can do more than combat online infringement, we can work to promote our digital industries and tear down barriers to digital trade just as we do for any other American-made product.
When members of Congress better understand the Internet they will see it as a world of opportunity to create jobs and foster innovation, to improve education and economic mobility, and most importantly to cultivate the sort of government our founders intended in which we hear and learn from our constituents. Congress ignores this opportunity at their peril.
