The failed SOPA and PIPA legislation may have been the catalyst for a larger movement. It looks like it pissed off enough people that innovators and disruptors will go on the offensive.
Joel Spolsky is saying we should start lobbying for our own copyright laws, to get what we really need and want, rather than the endless compromises that will slowly erode our rights.
Paul Graham is straight up asking for startups to kill Hollywood.
Clay Shirky explains the history behind laws like this, and why it won’t be the last.
Chris Dodd blatantly threatening politicians to stay bought, really makes the case that we need to fight back. Of course it’s no surprise that things work like this.
Tech companies are only just learning how to influence congress, but it certainly worked in the case of SOPA and PIPA. Now we need to start getting laws passed to benefit innovators, rather than the slow erosion of rights that we’ve seen over the past couple of decades.
That said, the only real way to fix American politics, and prevent this kind of thing, is a constitutional amendment to get the money out of Congress.
SiliconGraphics (Taken with instagram)
Square Moleskine (Taken with instagram)
A Ginjinha (Taken with instagram)
Yet another lighthouse. (Taken with instagram)
I need to learn Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese. Of course I never actually put in the effort that takes. I think the only way I’ll really do it is spend months in some place with mostly the language I need to learn. That means taking a break from work or switching to a remote working setup. It won’t happen while I’m at Square.
When I went to Mexico I certainly could feel my comprehension increasing. And I’m up to about an 8 word Dutch vocabulary! Though I keep getting all the languages mixed up in my head. I’ve had 3 days of solid Dutch, and now were headed into Portuguese. Though there will be more English only speaking friends there so it may not have as much forced immersion. I have a lot more exposure to Portuguese than Dutch, but I’ve studied Spanish quite a lot more. I figure if I can combine Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch with English, I’ll have all the great colonial powers! Maybe I’d need French too?
