Let's all keep our eye out for non-geeks that probably have no exposure to SOPA to see if any of these 'blackouts' work. Write about it. Blog about it. Post it to Google+. I am honestly curious…
Here's my thought. The true test of the Reddit, Wikipedia, & Google etc. blackouts (or similar) will be if my MOM tells me about it.
She has not seen one tiny smidgin of information on the television (that I know of) nor have I talked to her about it. She watches Dancing with the Stars and American Idol and shows of the ilk. She is the average American Internet user and in her early 60s. She's on Facebook and no other social network. She has her own Yahoo email address, plus one at her job. She sends me 'chain mail' style quotes and funny pictures from time to time. I don't think she uses the Internet in any capacity for her job, and her social use doesn't include Googling that I know of. She is probably a lot like people you know outside of the magic box sitting on your desk right now.
If the anti-SOPA messages get to her, and makes her aware of the problem, then it's worked. I am not exactly sure the message will get in front of her, or if she will realize the severity of what can will happen if SOPA is passed and enforced.
Just a thought… or twenty.
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For me, the true test will be the users asking me questions for stuff they won't be able to find on their own tomorrow. And of course, the classic user that will call to ask me why the Internet is down. I always enjoy getting that call. 😀
I just saw a post saying Google was backing out of blacking out. Hope it's not true! Just saw the guy made a typo… it read "backing out" whew!
Already blogged, Lynette:
http://holtz.com/blog/blog/its-time-for-the-pr-profession-to-join-the-opposition-to-sopa-and-pipa/3813/
They aren't going 100% offline, just a splash message or something. I haven't seen exactly what they plan on doing or the verbiage involved, but it does seem pretty clear they aren't going OFFLINE like Wikipedia and Reddit are.
I was thinking the same thing about it: Most people probably have no idea what it is. It seems to me that Facebook people are not the same at all as G+ people. On here, people appear to be far more aware of everything going on than on Facebook. G+ is like the geek haven or something at the moment, more than any other place I've seen.
the article I read noted that they would change their homepage in support of all the blackouts…
Unfortunately if it doesn't effect them they won't notice. Not that I'm a geek, long way from one, but I use the net. Not to escape to a controlled fantasy world, the real one.
I'm replacing the home page of my modest site with a Stop SOPA notice.
My mom uses the Internet for a few select things. I don't want to imply that she lives in the 'real world' and we don't (!!) but she has limited online exposure for sure. The purpose of blackouts is to get the attention of normal people (we are extraordinary lol….). Will it work?
For the record +Shel Holtz your site and FIR are anything BUT modest. You have a big brain full of STUFF and you know how to write it down 😉
+Lynette Young your mother is like my mother, and my daughter, and MOST people! This must we BIG enough for the masses to "get" what SOPA and PIPA are all about. If Facebook and Twitter went DOWN for a day with just a big notice as to why… that would make an impact.
The biggest problem getting this info into the heads of people outside the community is that the media has shown zero interest in covering it. Not NBC, not CNN, not Fox, not the NYT…it's off the radar screen of the news organizations, so it's off the radar screen of the general public.
If FB went down for 26.3 minutes, teenagers would be educating their parents about SOPA at dinnertime.
+Shel Holtz my husband +Dave Young was listening to NPR this morning (Philly) and they were talking about anti-SOPA issues. The broadcast was cut off, and picked up again just as they were finishing up. Not sure if it was on purpose or not, but it's fishy.
That does sound way too fishy +Lynette Young because I listen to NPR and have never heard them interrupted!
And speaking of SOPA and the blackout, the MPAA has weighed in:
http://boingboing.net/2012/01/17/mpaa-issues-statement-on-jan.html
HOLY —- !
"It is an irresponsible response and a disservice to people who rely on them for information and use their services." – It's irresponsible to let people control our speech who don't know how to do anything but drool on themselves in massive stupidity.
"It is also an abuse of power given the freedoms these companies enjoy in the marketplace today" – Pass SOPA you clowns and see how fast stuff gets taken off those websites you rely on for information and services.
My head hurts.
Agreed, I wonder how widespread this will really be now that the threat is diminishing?
I don't think the threat is diminishing, just being diverted and hidden.
Just wrote my post about it http://www.tech4mommies.com/2012/01/why-is-the-internet-broken/
I've blogged about it extensively at MomCrunch. Will be adding another post about tomorrow tonight.
Thank you.
Looks like a lot of the non-geeks sat up and noticed from the poll results all over the show 😀 Thanks to a lot of big names like google, wikipedia, reddit, and all the other hundreds!