Recently, a few people have asked me who inspired me and encouraged me to move forward with my writing career. Since I'm up to my eyeballs in work, I wanted to spend my mornings saying thanks to some of the people who nurtured and encouraged me.
This morning, I'd like to thank: Lawrence Lessig.
It's hard for me to sum up into words my gratitude for Mr. Lessig, especially now when there's a host of people who think of themselves as the "thought leaders" of the Internet.
Through his battles over copyright laws, Lawrence Lessig literally created the infrastructure which has allowed the Internet to blossom.
He does a great job explaining what he saw and what he did in the video below.
The results of Lawrence Lessig, his insight and foresight, his mostly unpaid efforts, for me are that:
- I can post my ideas and share other people's ideas on this blog.
- I'm able to post the Denver Cereal daily and still own the content enough to create books from it. On that note, I'm able to post the Alex the Fey books. (For reference, in the past, these works would be considered "public domain" and I would lose the chance to monetize them.)
- I'm able to use photographs like the one to the left and post short videos to my blog, Twitter, and/or Facebook.
- Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and every website that shares information can exist without continually be locked up in trademark battles.
Thanking Lawrence Lessig for what he's done is hard because 1) I feel like you, the reader, don't know what him or his work, and 2) I feel like I'm thanking Woodrow Wilson for signing the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 which created the Interstate 10 Freeway. Wilson wasn't out there on a excavator literally creating the freeway, which spans our country and defined my life as a child, he lay the groundwork, found the funds, and supported the culture which, in turn, built Interstate 10.
I merely drive on the I-10 freeway. I merely write this blog and the other stories.
I could not what I do on this Internet if it wasn't for the vision and efforts of Lawrence Lessig.
Thank you Mr. Lessig for gifting me with the open space of the Internet and with the legal protection of Creative Commons. Without your efforts, I would not be able to do what I do, help support the people I'm able to support, and tell the stories I tell.
I owe you so much.
I can only repay with these words: Thank You.
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