By now, I’m hoping many of you have heard about what SOPA is and how it can affect you. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is on the verge of becoming a federal legislation and if the Senate decides to pass it, the way we use our internet will be greatly restricted. If you have not heard about SOPA and have been living under a rock, then please – I urge you to inform yourself – like right this second. I’ll even give you this video here that is a little over 4 minutes long, but will give you the gist of what is going down.
To break it down for you simply, the act claims that if you have anything on your blog, site, Facebook page etc. that you did not create yourself whether it is a song, a video, an image – the government has every right to shut you down for good. Basically, the existence of Yow Yow! would be no more. I don’t want that. I’m hoping that you don’t want that either because this doesn’t just affect Yow Yow! It affects every single website on the internet. The most wonderful thing about the internet or social media in general is the ability to share. I strongly believe that sourcing should be enough and while I know that wasn’t a priority for me early on because I simply didn’t know the “rules” of blogging, it most certainly is now.
Take a second to think of all the outlets you may use: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, Flickr, Pinterest, Soundcloud, Instagram…
If you mess up by posting a funny picture on someone else’s wall that you found somewhere else, or used a song for the backdrop of your video for a class project, you could potentially get your favorite websites (listed above) shut down forever. You may think that I’m over-exaggerating because that sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Well, I’m not; that’s SOPA for you.
On Wednesday, Wikipedia will participate in the blackout along with many other websites to protest SOPA. What that means for you? Finish your research project for class tonight.
I have not decided yet whether or not Yow Yow! will be joining the protest, but I’m sure you’ll have your answer by tomorrow morning.