A lot of people are not to happy about the idea of SOPA making its way into U.S. law (Image credit: ibtimes.com)
Last week at this time I knew nothing about SOPA. Nothing. When my #pr20chat co-host Heather Whaling mentioned it to me as a topic for our chat, I believe I replied: “Oh yeah, SOPA. I like those after I eat Mexican food.” Get it? SOPA. Sopapillas. Yeah, I know. At least you don’t have to live with me. Most of my friends feel sorry for my wife.
Anyway, we talked SOPA on last week’s chat and I’ve been following it over the past week in an attempt to learn more. And why I don’t think the bill will ever be passed, anything that could change the way we use the Internet deserves our attention because it could effect how all of us not only live, but do our jobs.
That said, here are 10 resources that will help you and me (I’m still learning) get up to speed on SOPA. If you have others we should consider, please leave them in the comments.
1. “Wow, I had no clue SOPA was such a bad idea…” (Social Fresh). This post by Rosie Siman does a great job explaining what SOPA is and what it could mean if passed.
2. How SOPA would effect you FAQ (CNET). Lots of goodness in this post by Declan McCullagh, but my favorite FAQ is the first one — What’s the justification for SOPA and Protect IP?
3. The letter Google, Facebook, Twitter, Zynga, eBay, Mozilla, Yahoo, AOL, and LinkedIn sent to the Senate and House of Reps opposing SOPA.
4. SOPA infographic from SlideShare. Highlights SOPA’s potential impact on startups and potential to become a law.
5. So is SOPA dead? Not exactly (Forbes). Paul Tassi explains why reports of SOPA’s death are premature and calls our attention to PIPA — the Senate version of the House bill, not that girl everyone was talking about at the Royal Wedding.
6. List of companies supporting SOPA and those opposed (OpenCongress.com).
7. Sites that have confirmed an Internet blackout this Wednesday to protest SOPA and PIPA (Quora). Thanks for @prtini for sharing this resource. Surprised the list isn’t longer, but some big names on board, including Wikipedia and Mozilla.
8. A live discussion of SOPA and PIPA bills (boldprogressives.org). Discussion takes place from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. EST, features craigslist founder Craig Newmark and reddit founder Alexis Ohanian.
9. Interview with FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski on his POV regarding SOPA (TheVerge.com). Genachowski: “We have to figure out a way to protect intellectual property and not break the Internet.”
10. SOPA blackout for WordPress plugin and a VETO the SOPA bill petition (Worpress,org and WhiteHouse.gov). A way for you to participate in the SOPA blackout as well as a petition against SOPA with more than 50,000 signatures, which recently received a response from the White House.
January 17, 2012
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