On January 18, 2012, the reddit community & tens of millions of Americans defeated SOPA & PIPA, two bills that threatened the Internet, one of the healthiest parts of the American economy. Now we’re making sure our government understands just how important the Open Internet is to all Americans.This October reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Erik Martin (reddit GM), other reddit staff, and some entrepreneurs are taking a bus* (literally half red, half blue) through the Midwest to rally reddit and the larger Open Internet community and campaign for the Open Internet during the Presidential & Vice Presidential debates.
This isn’t just about Silicon Valley and big web companies. Start-ups, local governments, small businesses and web savvy individuals across the country are using the platform of the Open Internet to start new businesses, learn new skills, earn extra income, and make their budgets go further. If you have a story like this, please post it to /r/Internet2012. The Internet 2012 Bus Tour will collect, document and share these stories from the American heartland. We will have 10 journalists from major outlets on the bus, as well as our own documentary crew to capture and tell these stories.
We need your help to make this happen. reddit is covering the hard costs of the trip (gas, bus, driver etc), but we need your contributions to get a proper graphic wrap for the bus, host events across the country, and properly document and share the stories we find with the whole Internet. Please consider participating in our Fundraiser on IndieGoGo. We've got some great perks like a DRM-free documentary of the whole campaign trip, a chance to have your face inside the bus, a sentimental postcard or even an equally sentimental drunk-dial. You'll also be part of a fun and powerful project to protect the Open Internet. If you can't contribute, please help spread the word. We've already gotten awesome tips and connections from redditors at /r/Internet2012 and we'll be updating /r/Internet2012 with details and stories from the road.
Here are a few examples of the types of stories we're going to highlight:
Local Motors: The Internet 2012 Bus will be escorted by the Rally Fighter from Local Motors, a badass rally car designed online and built in the USA. Local Motors is an example of new Internet fueled business models in traditional sectors.
AgLocal: AgLocal is a start up based in Kansas City that makes it easy for anyone to buy or sell locally raised meats. An entrepreneur from AgLocal will be joining us on the bus, and we'll be visiting some farms and restaurants that benefit from their service on the tour.
IndieGoGo: Not only are we using IndieGoGo to raise funds for the tour, but we're also going to be visiting individuals, small businesses, and organizations along the tour that were able to thrive based on the crowdfunding platform.
Here is the partial Bus Tour Itinerary:
October 3 - Presidential Debate watching event - Denver, CO
October 4 - TBD - Boulder, CO
October 5 - Event at Raikes School, UNL & Event with Hudl.com - Lincoln, NE
October 6 - Event with Dwolla on The Future of Civic Engagement - Des Moines, IA
October 7 - Startup Weekend Demos - Iowa City, IA
October 8 - Event at Kauffman Foundation on The Future of Entrepreneurship Kansas City, MO
October 9 - Start Louis Tech Meetup at TREX - St. Louis, MO
October 10 - Event with Fark on The Future of Local Communities - Lexington, KY
October 11 - VP Debate watching event - Danville, KY
There are many details to come. If you are in one of these cities or an area in between and have a story about how the Open Internet has helped you or your community, please share it in the tour's main subreddit /r/Internet2012. We will also post event details and tour updates in /r/Internet2012 (as well as local subreddits). Hope to see many of you at tour events!
The Open Internet is about the freedom for Americans to help themselves, and it's an enormous engine for economic growth. Let’s make sure both political parties, media everywhere, and local governments recognize it this Fall!
TL;DR: reddit is launching a bus tour through the Midwest to campaign for the Open Internet. Be a part of it by contributing HERE, and subscribing to /r/internet2012.
*Fun Fact: The bus is the same vehicle that John McCain used as the Straight Talk Express in 2008.
