Yesterday was a historic day. The internet community came together and crushed all of the work and millions of dollars that went into lobbying for passing SOPA and PIPA. As illustrated by this fantastic image by ProPublica we clearly made an impact and moved many SOPA supporters to the opposition column. Additionally, many of PIPA’s co-sponsors have now reneged on their sponsorship and instead, oppose the bill now.
SOPA and PIPA might still make its way to vote and still has the potential of passing as there are so many people that are yet undecided. That would obviously be terrible. But that’s not the point of this post.
The key to all of this is that we spoke with our voices, not our money. We rallied around a cause and showed the world what the internet community is capable of. We made it clear to everyone that we will not stand for this bullshit anymore. We are a venerable force to be reckoned with and we will not kowtow to the agendas and lobbyists that our opponents throw at us. This marks the day of a new future: one where communities can be far louder than dollars.
January 18th, 2012 is the day the internet won.
