The Geeks Enter Politics In A Big Way

I was just listening to the most recent episode of TWiT when I learned of the formation of a new non-partisan political organization dedicated to causes near and dear to a geek’s heart. IPac is focused on engaging directly in the political arena in ways that organizations like the EFF cannot.

The goals of the organization is to raise awareness among legislators about the importance of these issues as well as utilizing donations for campaign contributions and media relations to push legislators that support the restriction of innovation out of office. It’s nice to see the geeks organize in this way, as I think it can really help turn the tables in the DMCA struggle. One cool little approach they have taken is sending iPods to about a dozen senators sitting on key committees, along with an explanation of their use and how current legislation affects that use. The iPods were loaded up with Creative Commons media (photos, videos, music) as well as a ton of public domain documents such as the Complete Works of Shakespeare and Constitution. You can see the full contents listed here.

The organization is run by a variety of people in the field of technology including a few folks from Google, various programmers and a few folks from the EFF. Check out their site and if you support their causes take a moment to sign up to show your support (no donation required).