We Are the Weird: Nerds for Net Neutrality

The pro-Net neutrality ranks have made some headway in their ongoing fight to get their issue noticed by folks across the Web, as well as more mainstream media outlets. One of the latest attempts at getting the word out is WeAreTheWeb.org, a collective video-centric endeavor intended to spur a viral effect.

Essentially, there are brief video messages from “Web Celebrities,” The Tron Guy, Leslie Hall (the gem sweater chick who looks more like a John Waters flick character than anybody who’s actually been in his movies), and some other dude who dresses up like Peter Pan. Each provides his or her own reasons why we should give a damn about Net neutrality.

The site is very well executed and visually appealing in a George Lucas’s student film sorta way; it’s easy to pass along the site’s videos, contact the appropriate congressperson, and download banners.The folks behind the site, evidently, are betting on WeAreTheWeb and the arguable charm of this hapless cast of characters to entice everyday Web users to, well, give a rat’s ass.

As usual, the entertaining approach to serious issues tends to dumb them down. However, even Al Gore resorted to “entertainment” to promote his pet cause.

The thing is, I hesitate to believe that this particular effort will really lead to much more than a chuckle. Surely the neutral netizens already on board with the issue will appreciate this campaign. But, I wonder whether the super-geek quality of the site and its players could actually alienate the more mainstream people that they’d like to reach.

If anything, it’ll probably drive a lot more traffic to that Tron Guy’s site (not to mention annoying everyone who can’t get “We Are the World” out of their heads…).