Stay afloat, small blogs. You are the future of news.
Most people remember SOPA. The large media benefited from this anti-privacy bill being passed, so they didn't report one bit of it on the news or papers. Opposers can't oppose if they don't find out about it. Tech companies like Facebook and Google were harmed by it, so they opposed SOPA. Then came CISPA, a different anti-privacy bill for the Internet. This one didn't infringe on Google's or Facebook's rights, so they silently supported it. In fact, this bill could potentially give private sectors the power to buy, sell and share our private online information. Without a warrant, our emails could be read for security purposes. You can't legally read people's paper mails without a warrant, but you want to read our emails?! If that happens, we can stop trying to save trees and revert to using paper statements, fax machines and telegrams.
News outlets are large corporations or are owned/backed by large corporations. They have not only their interests at stake, but also investors. Even thought the left wing and right wing media may have opposing ideas, they still have to work for the money. It's either that or lose profits and shut down. We understand why businesses must do what they do. But we don't have to like or support it!
Most people remember SOPA. The large media benefited from this anti-privacy bill being passed, so they didn't report one bit of it on the news or papers. Opposers can't oppose if they don't find out about it. Tech companies like Facebook and Google were harmed by it, so they opposed SOPA. Then came CISPA, a different anti-privacy bill for the Internet. This one didn't infringe on Google's or Facebook's rights, so they silently supported it. In fact, this bill could potentially give private sectors the power to buy, sell and share our private online information. Without a warrant, our emails could be read for security purposes. You can't legally read people's paper mails without a warrant, but you want to read our emails?! If that happens, we can stop trying to save trees and revert to using paper statements, fax machines and telegrams.
This is why freedom of speech on the Internet is just as - if not more - necessary than any other form of freedom. Small bloggers, freelance writers, or people who have no monetary gain can still have influence and spread the news that the big media outlets don't want spread. These are real people who have true interests, love and concern for each other and their country.
Isn't it frightening that the media has so much power? If the news wants to cover the stories of killers and bombers so that all of America will know and think about it, they can. The news can simply not cover something and most people will not know of it. I admit that I tend to rely on TV for news and was late to learn about both SOPA and CISPA online. SOPA obviously got more coverage by the big tech companies, but CISPA was almost drowned. If not for the true nonprofits and social media users, perhaps many people would never learn of it.
Sometimes all it takes for an unfavorable bill to pass is that the people it affects never learns about it. If the media doesn't tell, most people won't ever know.
If you have ever wanted to write a blog, don't wait. Start now. Whether you write about food, hats or politics, your opinion matters. If you don't put the information out there, who will?
It's a difficult world out there, yes it is.
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