Thursday, January 19, 2012

Wikipedia's Self-Inflicted Black Eye

Free online knowledge site Wikipedia has pulled its own plug for 24 hours, to protest draft US anti-online piracy legislation.
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) has the backing of Hollywood, the music industry, the Business Software Alliance, the National Assn of Manufacturers and the US Chamber of Commerce. But the founders of Google, Twitter, Wikipedia, Yahoo! and other internet giants have expressed concern that it would
"give the US government the power to censor the Web using techniques similar to those used by China, Malaysia and Iran."
" 'Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.' MLK - on Wednesday, Wikipedia demands," Wiki founder Jimmy Wales said, citing slain US civil rights leader Martin Luther King.
He said Wikipedia is going dark for a full day. He tweeted:                   
"Student warning! Do your homework early. Wikipedia protesting bad law on Wednesday!"  (Mind you, students should be aware that Wiki is not the font of all knowledge, because anyone can add info to it. It's full of inaccuracies, and should be used more as a starting point for research, not the definitive word. However my niece was told by her teacher: "If it's on Wikipedia, it must be true"! Riiiiiiigghhtt. And how young is this teacher...? However, I digress...)
I fail to see how locking your shop and blacking out the windows for a day, to protest something happening in a shop across the road, is going to help your business! Shoppers will simply - cross - the - road. Customer loyalty takes years to build up... and minutes to rip down.
There are many ways to protest: punching yourself in the eye is a curious choice.

PS: 19 Jan.2012 - And how would you cope, with NO internet???
PS: 20 Jan.2012 - Wiki, quit grandstanding. Find an alternative.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, if it was good enough for Christ...

Writer Of The Purple Sage said...

Hmmm, I suggest Jesus Christ and Jimmy Wales are NOT in the same league. Look it up on Wiki if you're unsure...but you'll have to wait until after the blackout.