Finally one of the parties makes a statement regarding the internet. The NDP has come out and stated that they will unlock cell phones and put an end to the notion of UBB.
It was the first thing you see when you enter their Web site today.
Putting this issue at the forefront may just be enough for me to vote NDP this time. I've never thought of myself as NDP though as I've always thought their policies would hurt economic growth and favor special interest groups (ie. unions) over the concerns of all Canadians. But I think Internet and mobility billing is such a crucial part to Canada's future (and their stance is the right one) that I may vote for them anyway.
The Liberals have a good digital economy platform - including enabling Canadians to vote over the Internet - but it's not front and center in their platform. It's mind boggling that with 50 per cent of Canadians not voting that we haven't enabled electronic voting (ie. over the Internet) yet. If we did that number would go up to 80 per cent or more I think.
The Green Party, with great disappointment, doesn't mention the Internet at all on their site. A search for UBB or digital economy brings up nothing.
Which is sort of mind boggling given how the Internet is one of the primary vehicles that all the parties use to communicate with Canadians!
The Conservatives take the cake though. They don't even have a search function on their Web site. There's no way they 'forgot' to include a search function. Which means they left it out on purpose.
The only reason you would leave the search function out is if you don't want people searching for things they are interested in (or journalists doing research for that matter) but rather want to strictly control what people see when they visit your Web site.
I was truly undecided in this election (and still am) but the fact that I can't search the Conservatives Web site has lost them my vote now for sure. Not to mention on the issue of the digital economy it was under Harper's watch that Bell and Roger's almost crushed all competition paving the way for insane Internet usage-based billing across Canada.
While Harper stepped in at the 11th hour and fixed things, the fact that this was allowed to even occur ticks me off.
It may seem silly to not vote for a party because they don't have a 'search' function on their Web site, but to me that says a lot of about how they communicate and what their mentality is towards their stakeholders.
Wow, I just noticed the NDP doesn't have a search function either. Very disappointing.
Oh well, back to the drawing board I guess. Funny how communications can sway people one way or another. At the beginning of this post I was suddenly leaning heavily NDP and yet by the end of it I'm taking another look at the Liberals and Green (all because of their openness on their Web sites by including a search function).
Obviously platforms matter, but the small stuff matters also. How people communicate tells you how they think.
The conservatives attack ads tell you that they see the world as 'us' and 'them'.
The Liberals have actually done a pretty good job messaging with their townhalls - pushing the notion that they are 'of the people' (and would probably govern that way, even if it created deficits).
NDP focuses on the plights of the poor (and would likely govern as such).
And lastly, the Greens focus on eco-friendly policies (which means they would probably shake things up without any ties to business or labor to hold them in check).
Anyway, looks like I'll have to think about this some more.
It was the first thing you see when you enter their Web site today.
Putting this issue at the forefront may just be enough for me to vote NDP this time. I've never thought of myself as NDP though as I've always thought their policies would hurt economic growth and favor special interest groups (ie. unions) over the concerns of all Canadians. But I think Internet and mobility billing is such a crucial part to Canada's future (and their stance is the right one) that I may vote for them anyway.
The Liberals have a good digital economy platform - including enabling Canadians to vote over the Internet - but it's not front and center in their platform. It's mind boggling that with 50 per cent of Canadians not voting that we haven't enabled electronic voting (ie. over the Internet) yet. If we did that number would go up to 80 per cent or more I think.
The Green Party, with great disappointment, doesn't mention the Internet at all on their site. A search for UBB or digital economy brings up nothing.
Which is sort of mind boggling given how the Internet is one of the primary vehicles that all the parties use to communicate with Canadians!
The Conservatives take the cake though. They don't even have a search function on their Web site. There's no way they 'forgot' to include a search function. Which means they left it out on purpose.
The only reason you would leave the search function out is if you don't want people searching for things they are interested in (or journalists doing research for that matter) but rather want to strictly control what people see when they visit your Web site.
I was truly undecided in this election (and still am) but the fact that I can't search the Conservatives Web site has lost them my vote now for sure. Not to mention on the issue of the digital economy it was under Harper's watch that Bell and Roger's almost crushed all competition paving the way for insane Internet usage-based billing across Canada.
While Harper stepped in at the 11th hour and fixed things, the fact that this was allowed to even occur ticks me off.
It may seem silly to not vote for a party because they don't have a 'search' function on their Web site, but to me that says a lot of about how they communicate and what their mentality is towards their stakeholders.
Wow, I just noticed the NDP doesn't have a search function either. Very disappointing.
Oh well, back to the drawing board I guess. Funny how communications can sway people one way or another. At the beginning of this post I was suddenly leaning heavily NDP and yet by the end of it I'm taking another look at the Liberals and Green (all because of their openness on their Web sites by including a search function).
Obviously platforms matter, but the small stuff matters also. How people communicate tells you how they think.
The conservatives attack ads tell you that they see the world as 'us' and 'them'.
The Liberals have actually done a pretty good job messaging with their townhalls - pushing the notion that they are 'of the people' (and would probably govern that way, even if it created deficits).
NDP focuses on the plights of the poor (and would likely govern as such).
And lastly, the Greens focus on eco-friendly policies (which means they would probably shake things up without any ties to business or labor to hold them in check).
Anyway, looks like I'll have to think about this some more.
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