Morning Meanderings…. Is It The End Of Blogging As We Know It?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)

Good morning all!  😀

My day yesterday was well…. AWESOME!  But long…. BUT AWESOME! But yeah… I am a bit groggy this morning… We had a large meeting I was in charge of setting up last night and it was a lot of prep work… a lot of planning…. and I worked 12 hours yesterday to make it happen….. but it did, and it was fun… and there was cake (but I didnt eat any)…  😛

Yesterday I had posted about the SOPA/PIPA thing coming down the pipe and what that could mean for our little corners of the world.  I am believing it is not going to affect us Book Bloggers much but I can see why people are in an uproar about it.

This morning I received this encouraging note:

Google launched a petition.  Wikipedia voted to shut itself off.  Senators’ websites went down just from the sheer surge of voters trying to write them.   NYC and SF geeks had protests that packed city blocks.

You made history today: nothing like this has ever happened before.  Tech companies and users teamed up.  Tens of millions of people who make the internet what it is joined together to defend their freedoms.  The free network defended itself.  Whatever you call it, the bottom line is clear: from today forward, it will be muchharder to mess up the internet. 

The really crazy part?  We might even win.

Approaching Monday’s crucial Senate vote there are now 35 Senators publicly opposing PIPA.  Last week there were 5.   And it just takes just 41 solid “no” votes to permanently stall PIPA (and SOPA) in the Senate.  What seemed like miles away a few weeks ago is now within reach. 

But don’t trust predictions.  The forces behind SOPA & PIPA (mostly movie companies) can make small changes to these bills until they know they have the votes to pass.  Members of Congress know SOPA & PIPA are unpopular, but they don’t understand why–so they’re easily duped by superficial changes.  The Senate returns next week, and the next few days are critical.  Here are two things to think about:

1. Plan on calling your Senator every day next week.  Pick up the phone each morning and call your Senators’ offices, until they vote “no” on cloture.  If your site participated today, consider running a “Call the Senate” link all next week.  

2. Drop in at your Senators’ district offices.  We don’t have a cool map widget to show you the offices nearest you (we’re too exhausted! any takers?).  So do it the old fashioned way: use Google, or the phonebook to find the address, and just walk in, say you oppose PIPA, and urge the Senator to vote “no” on cloture.  These drop-in visits make our spectacular online protests more tangible and credible. 

I guess we shall see…

Then I was just reading a new comment on the post I wrote January 8th about Changes In The Book Blogging World and feeling sad about it.  Which, now, 11 days later and MANY MANY great comments… I am still sad about those we have lost along the way (the good one’s that is…) but from responses I also am now encouraged as there are many of us still out here that are enjoying what we do…. not attacking each other or authors or publishers, but genuinely having a good time and doing it well.  That my friends, is the camp I want to be in.  😀

So is it the end of blogging as we know it?  I don’t think so.  I think we are going to be just fine.

I made a comment on that post this morning, and as I thought about it I agreed it was how I feel.  I like my little planet Book Journey.  It’s cozy here…. I have friends who gather here…. and we talk books.  Whats not to love?  😛

Have a fabulous day – I am off to work to clean up the destruction  fun of last night.  I am also picking up a great cup of COFFEE on my way 😀

18 thoughts on “Morning Meanderings…. Is It The End Of Blogging As We Know It?”

  1. I agree…our cozy corners of the world must continue!

    I try not to panic when issues are as controversial as this one; it sounds as though the efforts yesterday at least got some attention. Maybe the lawmakers will think twice.

    We shall survive!

    Reply

  2. I guess that is mainly for USA for I haven’t read much about it in the Netherlands.
    But I like to blog and read other blogs like yours 🙂

    Reply

  3. The scary thing about this isn’t so much that it might change blogging as we know it, it’s what good changes might have occurred but won’t because of the chilling effects of potential enforcement of this law.

    Would a service like google or wiki have even been allowed to be created if this law were in effect at the birth of the internet? And if ISPs, webhosts, blogging platforms, search engines etc. become responsible for their users content, will these services remain free or nearly free?

    Just some food for thought, and reasons why I oppose these bills. And yes, the rest of the world should be concerned, although I’m not sure they can do much about it, because these are global companies that will be affected by new US laws.

    Reply

    1. Great points Leslie! I think they would make a bigger mess of things than good. I think if they were going to make changes they need to really have their guidelines in place and not become the “internet police) 😀

      Reply

  4. This post actually made me feel really encouraged, LOL… I was feeling sort of sad or discouraged with all the SOPA stuff and all the blogger/twitter drama too (even though I haven’t really seen or definitely been a part of it… just heard a lot about it).

    Reply

  6. There are way too many public officials speaking out against SOPA/PIPA, on both sides of the aisle, I can’t imagine this will actually pass. Yes, piracy on the internet needs to be addressed, but the language of the bill needs to be different. As of right now, it’s up to the creators themselves to “police” the internet for their work…and as tough as that is, it’s the way it has to be for now.

    I agree, we’ll be ok.

    Reply

  8. We can continue to pick our corners, yours will always be one for me. I stay away from negative in the blogosphere. I may not be in control of what others say but I can be in control of what I say.

    Reply

  9. Thanks for this update Sheila. We may need a bill against piracy but it needs to be narrowed for the purpose and not so wide that it inhibits honest sharing of information. I often wonder why more common sense isn’t available to those who write up these bills.
    Anyway – I like your planet and mine and I am glad they can share in a journey of books with many other bloggers!

    Reply

    1. Right Martha! I think they get this big picture of doing good (much like the disclosure of where we get our books scare of a couple years ago) and then get everyone worked up and then realize how do they manage this well…..
      Hopefully if they do feel they need to do something they think this through well and know what they are doing before they go in guns a blazing….. I cant even imagine how did a task this would be….

      Reply

Leave a reply to Leslie Cancel reply