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 😀



























