A few weeks ago I had a great meeting with Congressman Jim Cooper and a group of smart people about SOPA. Kudos to Mr. Cooper and his team for meeting with us and proposing the round table. I truly appreciate having been included in the discussion.
The round table consisted of myself and friends who are like-minded when it comes to being troubled by the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), but it also included a few people who support SOPA. The conversation was naturally heated, but good things came from it.
I had follow-up conversations with members of the round table, both people I consider friends. I did some serious thinking about the proposed bill and how it would and wouldn’t affect Americans and the Internet as we know it. We didn’t even discuss PIPA, which we really should have, since it affects Americans even more than SOPA.
I even had a fantastic discussion on Google Plus, so that I could be better informed exactly how SOPA would affect the Internet specifically.
What I have concluded
What I concluded is that the entertainment business has changed, the models are different now and it’s up to the artists, songwriters and content producers to change with the times too. While piracy is serious, it is also something that will never go away, so we need to adapt and change for this reason.
The two bills leave way too many questions unanswered, they are incredibly vague, which troubles me deeply. Without clear legislation proposed, no one should support SOPA or PIPA.
Please take 15 minutes to watch (or listen) to Clay Shirky discuss these topics in a recent TED talk entitled, Why SOPA is a bad idea. I think he does an incredible job at breaking it all down clearly. Decide for yourself and then act accordingly. If you can’t spare 14 minutes, then maybe you should go ahead and disconnect from the Internet right now. Seriously.
UPDATE
Bonus Points for listening to the episode: The Day The Internet Went Dark episode of This Week in Google. Take the time to educate yourself on this, it’s worth it. Listen to it now.
30 years ago this week, Commodore 64 was announced at CES. CES is the Consumer Electronics Show, the largest trade show of its kind.
My first computer was a TRS 80, but it was the C64 that changed my life. My friends loved coming over to play games like Tony Hawk’s Skate or Die!, but it was connecting to bulletin board systems (BBS) that excited me.
Bulletin Board Systems
I convinced my Mum to let me use our household’s telephone through the night and early morning as my first BBS. I would lay in my bed in the dark, the glow of the inactive red C64 disk light would be the only source of light in my room.
Suddenly, I would awaken to the sound of the disk dive running. My room would be lit green from the drive operating. Someone, somewhere would be using my computer! I would scurry out of bed, turn on the monitor and go into sysop mode to chat with my mysterious guest.
I can’t believe this was all 30 years ago. Happy birthday Commodore 64. Thanks for introducing me to life online.
Speaking of CES. I’ll be there on Monday. If you’re attending please be sure to let me know. Online communication is incredible, but there’s still nothing better than real life.
I want to take this time to thank you for subscribing and reading this blog.
A special shout out to those of you who have taken the time to leave a comment in the last 12 months.
It’s the comments that remind bloggers that someone is actually reading their stuff. It’s easy (and appreciated) to retweet, like and +1 posts, but it takes that extra step to actually leave some written words. So thanks.
I have some fun ideas for where I want to take this blog in the coming months, I hope you’ll stay subscribed (RSS or EMAIL) and join me as I explore new topics that I think you’ll get a lot from.
We’re just a stones throw away from 2012! Have a safe and happy new year. Keep your chin up and have fun.
The following are 15 of my most popular posts from 2011. Enjoy them.
- A QR code for the men’s room
- Never miss a marketing technology story
- Geek Breakfast VS. Nashcocktail
- What can you challenge yourself to do for 30 days?
- 5 QR code tips
- I have your house keys
- 10 Tips for Disney World
- How to avoid getting locked out of Gmail
- Twitter hacked
- 4 years and 3,000 tweets later
- Stop. You deserve this
- Breakfast is ruined
- The death of the personal blog
- Does your city have a technology ambassador?
- The tangible web
Photo from Flickr by dottieday
Community enthusiast, social media strategist, marketing professional, husband and dad based in Nashville, TN.
Griffin Technology's Social Media and Online Promotions Manager.
