Jesse Friedman continues his conversation with Christian Dawson from the Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) about the upcoming Secure Hosting Alliance launch party at CloudFest 2025. Jesse and Christian discuss how the Alliance aims to establish industry standards for ethical hosting practices and create a trust seal to help consumers distinguish between quality providers and "fly-by-night" operations. Christian also explains how collective action could combat the "race to the bottom" pricing model while maintaining service quality. The conversation also explores CloudFest's unique appeal as the premier hosting industry conference, where professionals gather in Europa Park, Germany for exceptional networking opportunities.

Host & Guests

• Jesse Friedman - Host
• Christian Dawson - Guest

• (00:00) - Teaser
• (01:35) - Cloud Fest: The Ultimate Hosting Conference
• (02:00) - Networking and Experiences at Cloud Fest
• (06:11) - The Secure Hosting Alliance Launch Party
• (09:44) - The Importance of Ethical Hosting
• (18:45) - The Open Web vs. Social Media
• (26:35) - Conclusion and Final Thoughts

• i2Coalition
• Secure Hosting Alliance
• Christian Dawson on LinkedIn
• Christian Dawson on SpeakerHub
• CloudFest 2025
• Europa Park
• RSVP to Secure Hosting Alliance events
• Impressive.host (for questions and comments)

Click here to watch a video of this episode.

In this episode of Impressive Hosting, Jesse Friedman speaks with Christian Dawson, co-founder of the Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition), about the newly launched Secure Hosting Alliance. They discuss how competing hosting companies are coming together to establish industry standards for responsible hosting practices and proactively address issues like content moderation and security. Christian explains the importance of Section 230 protections for hosting providers and how losing these protections could harm smaller WordPress hosts. The conversation explores how the Alliance works to educate legislators about the hosting industry while simultaneously encouraging hosts to collaborate on raising standards, demonstrating that competition doesn't have to be cutthroat when working toward a safer, freer internet.

Host & Guests

• Jesse Friedman - Host
• Christian Dawson - Guest

• (00:00) - Teaser
• (00:47) - Intro
• (02:03) - The Secure Hosting Alliance
• (13:13) - Global Influence and Legislation
• (16:56) - The Importance of Section 230
• (23:14) - How and Why to Join the Secure Hosting Alliance

• i2Coalition
• Secure Hosting Alliance
• Christian Dawson on LinkedIn
• Christian Dawson on SpeakerHub
• CloudFest
• The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet
• Electronic Frontier Foundation - Section 230
• Impressive.host (for questions and comments)

Click here to watch a video of this episode.