blackout

I wish this post was only referring to Britney Spears' 2007 album blackout but no.

if you haven't noticed yet today, there is a number of web browsers and blogs that are raising awareness to the issue that faces free speech online by "blacking out" their websites.

this gives us an idea of what the internet would be like without sites like wikipedia, google, blogger, facebook, anything you can think of that allows you to search and post "pirated" content.

the cause of this?

SOPA and PIPA

two bills the U.S. Senate consider passing.

 Detailed information about these bills can be found in the Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act articles on Wikipedia

many of you like me probably frequent these sites on a daily basis, so imagine living without them?

sure there can be pros to this bill: we'd spend less time on the internet. and that's basically it.

our culture online is centered on sharing information. we read the news online, catch up on our favorite twitter feeds, post about the things we see and read online, listen to and discover new music through blogs, watch videos, etc. etc.

our blogging lives would practically be over if these SOPA and PIPA bills pass.

forget about posting looks from your favorite runway show.

forget about sharing photos from your favorite vogue editorial.

the abilities of fashion blogging will be so limited if these bills pass.

take a look at your blog now and notice the images you post that come from other websites. it will probably look like this:

today, Google reported that 4.5 million people signed anti-SOPA petition.

if you'd like to sign the petition to end this ridiculous bill, head over here and make a difference: https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction