Get that Senator an iPod

All politics is personal, as Senator Ted Stevens demonstrated last week at a hearing on the "Broadcast Flag" and "Audio Flag" proposals forwarded by the MPAA and RIAA. Senator Stevens noted that he had received an iPod from his daughter, and enjoyed using it to listen to ripped CDs. His personal experience with the concept of fair use resulted in tougher than usual questions for the MPAA and RIAA.

Now, iPaction, a nonpartisan group "dedicated to preserving individual freedom through balanced intellectual property policy," is sending iPods preloaded with Creative Commons content to senators who work on technological issues. You can contribute here.

What grabbed by attention is how clever and direct this tactic is - not to mention how applicable to other businesses. Instead of debating abstractions, show decision makers the real implications of proposed rules. You can bet that those iPods that land on lawmakers' desks will soon be full of their own music, and that in some small way their view of fair use will begin to change.