SOPA & PIPA: What is it? How can you fight back?

I hate that my first blog post on my new site is going to be a social/political post but I feel with the SOPA/PIPA issue it's important that people understand what's going on, and I want to throw in what assistance I can!

There are plenty of posts on what it is and what can be done, so I'm not going to bore you with a long post detailing my take. Instead I'll link you to a few that are out there. I will say that as an individual who produces media and works in a field that is frequently the victim of copyright infringement (I believe it hits us Illustrators a lot harder than it does the movie/music business) I am firmly opposed to SOPA/PIPA. I think it's a scare tactic, a chance for the MPAA to throw their weight around. It didn't work when they were picking off people at random (http://betanews.com/2005/11/02/mpaa-sues-grandfather-for-600-000/) and making examples of them, so they're taking on the whole internet. The MPAA has put ninety four million dollars into buying congressional votes! That said, the clowns who are lucky to make 40k a year are bringing them to ruin with their downloading. We don't have ninety four mill, at least I don't. (If you do, let me direct you to my commission rates) The media blackout is how we show our voice! Unfortunately my site is small and not fully up, so I can't really help out via a blackout, but I can help by adding my voice and encouraging you to add yours.

To understand the SOPA/PIPA issue I've included some links for you guys!

Wil Wheaton's post on SOPA/PIPA

http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2012/01/today-the-us-senate-is-considering-legislation-that-would-destroy-the-free-and-open-internet.html

Reddit's Technical Look at SOPA

http://blog.reddit.com/2012/01/technical-examination-of-sopa-and.html

Wikipedia's Blackout Page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page Wikipedia will give you the info you need to contact your senator/congressman.