As some of you know I joined the blackout yesterday in protest to stop SOPA and PIPA. I also called my representatives and will again.
But I was curious about what would happen to the stats on my site.
Not much. In fact I actually got a few more page views than normal for a Wednesday.
I did get some folks who told me they could still see my site and the plugin I used was designed to only show it once to each user. (Do you know how that’s done? Did you know every computer and mobile device you use has it’s own IP address? It does.) That meant I couldn’t really check.
None-the-less when I called my reps I also told them I’d shut down three sites which may have impressed them, who knows.
Will this technique work again? Maybe, but like anything it can also be overused.
I’m glad I participated and I’m glad you did too. You did, didn’t you?
Write well and often,
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At least some good came out of the protest at least.
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Yeah, at least a delay and maybe time to educate congress… sigh.
I have free Wordpress so I couldn’t use a plugin, but I make my entire blog black and replaced my header with a STOP SOPA banner, and posted an infographic that explained it.
One of my chat friends who lives in Germany posted a comment on my blog that said “this is about what we expect from Americans.” Makes me embarrassed to live her sometimes!
I also emailed all my congresscritters. I tried to send a message to the bill’s primary author, TX Critter Lamar Smith but conveniently for him, his website doesn’t accept messages from outside his district. Coward!
Elizabeth West recently posted..And Now Back to Our Regular Programming
lol, you go girl! And yeah, I’m often embarrassed these days to be an American. So sad.
As a Canuck, I’ve been watching this with interest. I hadn’t thought to shut down my site – I don’t think anyone would notice if I did!
I do intend to do a post today on the word “draconian” which I’ve been hearing a lot lately in association with SOPA/PIPA.
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“Draconian” is a good word for SOPA/PIPA – sigh.
I’m not a US citizen – but I did post extensively on FB.
From what I see, only people deeply involved with the ‘net understand the implications of the bill – and then, not too many of them…
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True, sadly true Helenee – and not surprising really – it is fairly complex and technical… I mean things like html, servers, bits and bites are pretty mysterious..
I contacted my reps and used Twitter and Facebook to spread the word.
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Thanks Lori.
Well, you know I was in with the blackout. I was honestly amazed as the numbers of sites and congressmen who responded to this. As to whether this can be done again, not sure – it would depend on the cause I imagine. But damn it was neat to be a part of getting the government to listen for a change.
Thanks by the way.
Anne:
While the blackout yesterday did a lot to raise awareness of the issue, a little direct action is also needed. Call or write your senators and representative to let them know you oppose PIPA and SOPA.
It’s working, by the way. As of last night, 33 senators had declared their opposition to PIPA. This morning, it’s up to 38.
Last week it was five.
Call. Write. Email. Every voice is needed to make a difference.
Open Congress PIPA Whip Count with email and contact information.
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Great news Mark, and thanks for the links. When I call if the Washington line is busy I call their local offices.
Now (6pm EST), 40 senators are against PIPA.
Mark Keating recently posted..Renewable jobs growth faster than any other energy sector
they all should be against it… but the entertainment industry provides a whole bunch of funding. ProPublica has some fascinating stats on that – http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/
I didn’t do the shutdown, but definitely contacted my rep. There’s a simple sign-up going around on Facebook that you can post to your wall, also Twitter & Google+
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Good for you… thanks.