I know, I know, I’ve taken an extended break from writing here, from what started as an intended short break in Spring, turned into a six-month absence.
I haven’t been idle; quite the opposite, but I haven’t had the opportunity to devote enough time to the subjects I wanted and still want to write about. It is a big effort every time, and a few things in my personal capacity kind of got in the way. I’m hoping to pick up the writing bug shortly, but sadly not today.
I have an altogether ulterior motive for this quick email…
As you know, if you’ve been reading here for the last few years or so, I have been more and more involved in aspects of Internet Governance, specifically with ARIN, the American Registry for Internet Numbers. I’ve been on the Fellowship program twice. I volunteered to help assess their newly released training platform before it was available to the public, as well as make contributions to the selection committee for future fellows. Last year, I was on the ballot for a place on the Advisory Council (AC), and although I didn’t get elected, I mentioned that I would put my name in the hat again this year, which is precisely what I have done.
That brings me to the purpose of this email, and I apologise upfront, as I am not comfortable requesting things of people and abusing the trust you put in me when subscribing to this email newsletter.
Upfront, I’m going to ask you for your help. The ARIN election process provides a space for the nominees to request statements of support. It helps a lot to have many people post such a statement of support, and I’d be grateful if you could take the time (only a few minutes) to provide a statement of support for candidacy in the ARIN AC.
ARIN have made it really simple (see screenshot), and you don’t need to write some Shakespearean prose. Just authentic, brief expressions of support are all that is necessary.
If you can spare a few minutes, please write a statement of support to help me get elected on the ARIN AC, here:
https://arin-elections.net/elections/advisory-council/cowen-matthew/
Thanks in advance, and I look forward to serving on the AC and also continuing to write here over the coming months.
PS. I have a lot of ideas and topics, but nothing fully formed as yet.
