Google should display "Google is unavailable today because of SOPA [bla bla bla] If you still want to access google go to google.fr or any european google".
Why Google And Facebook Need To Go Dark To Protest SOPA
71–80 of 96 posts
Re: Why Google And Facebook Need To Go Dark To Protest SOPA
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Going dark is not something either company would do Until someone decides that they're hosting infringing content, of course.
I find it exceedingly hard to believe that Google would be brought down as a repercussion of Google. It's very unlikely that any widespread, powerful websites (like Google or Facebook) would be taken down, because removing them from the ecosystem would prompt an enormous user reaction. Say what you will about the intelligence of those involved with SOPA, they know about how much they can rock the boat.
> I find it exceedingly hard to believe that Google would be brought down as a repercussion of Google.
The notion that some sites are too big to be subject to it sounds to me like another good reason to reject this law entirely.
Re: Why Google And Facebook Need To Go Dark To Protest SOPA
#73Google might be well served by some sort of partial blackout on its home page, but Facebook would need to get more creative -- and, dare I say it, more social. A blackout of any kind on Facebook would create a minor to major annoyance for an audience that we can presume is largely ignorant to apathetic about SOPA. If, instead, Facebook released profile widget of some sort -- say, a standardized black box as one's def…
I hope that Google at least does a doodle educating people about the issue and urging them to contact their representatives. I'm less sure about what Facebook could do, but I hope they at least do something to inform people.
Also, it's clear that the threat of crazy legislation isn't going to go away any time soon. I hope that we turn this into an internet holiday of sorts and celebrate "Internet Freedom Day" every year from now on. Hopefully it could turn into the Internet's version of the Fourth of July.
Re: Why Google And Facebook Need To Go Dark To Protest SOPA
#74I posted this elsewhere, but I think it got buried. IMO it is worth reposting here: Assuming this spreads, I believe a potential ramification of major sites blacking out would be new laws that would attempt to make such black outs illegal. It could be seen as equivalent to strikes in essential service industries like transportation. Such strikes are semi-regulated and governments can and have ordered strikers back on…
I really don't see how a law like that would ever get past the Supreme Court, seeing as how it's a major restriction of 1st Amendment rights. It would also be a major signal to every web app out there that this is the wrong country to be in. edit: wrong institution.
By the time something reaches the Supreme Court, years of damage have been done.
Re: Why Google And Facebook Need To Go Dark To Protest SOPA
#75I liked this one even better: http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2012/01/11/reddits-so...
Re: Why Google And Facebook Need To Go Dark To Protest SOPA
#76Going dark for a day is a pretty scary proposition for a company whose continued success is largely based on habitual usage. As a practical matter, Google search is not really that much better than Bing. Making 600 million people use your competitor's equally capable product for a day would be pure insanity. Especially for such speculative gain. I can't believe people think Google is dumb enough to try a blackout.
Look at it this way. Either they do a blackout and (probably) save their entire company, or don't and lose everything. While I'm not a businessman, I'd rather take the chance of making everyone use Bing/DuckDuckGo/Yahoo/Whatever for a day rather than risk losing my entire companies main product(s).
False dichotomy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma
Re: Why Google And Facebook Need To Go Dark To Protest SOPA
#77I've been following the SOPA issue on the periphery and I agree there needs to be more awareness and publicity around it but I don't find a blackout to be the most effective way of defeating this legislation. Reddit is fine because they don't have that much money to lose by going dark for a day but we know clearly that money has a big influence on the outcome of elections and political races. Why not take the revenue…
>much money to lose by going dark for a da
I very much doubt any site that is as user-content driven as Google has more to lose from a day of service outages than an eternity dealing with the fallout of SOPA
Re: Why Google And Facebook Need To Go Dark To Protest SOPA
#78It would be truly amazing to see this. Reddit going dark is fantastic, but to an extent it's "preaching to the choir"- Reddit is already the centre of SOPA activism. Google, Facebook or Twitter going dark would be a huge statement. Is there a movement for other sites to go dark on Jan 18th as well? My startup going dark by itself wouldn't have a huge impact, but if it was part of a national day of activism it could b…
I believe Facebook is the least one willing to stand up for civil rights - as long as not about some 3rd world dictatorship. With their ongoing questionable practice in regards to privacy they are certainly going to duck and cover as soon as something controversial comes up. Google and especially Twitter are from my view substantially more supportive to causes like these.
That's too bad, because under a law like SOPA, the social sites will be affected first.
Re: Why Google And Facebook Need To Go Dark To Protest SOPA
#79They should make it go dark in Washington only, these companies are good in targeted 'advertisement' anyway. I wonder how the government would react on a blackout targeted only at them
They should also target the offices of the MPAA, RIAA, Viacom, etc. for a blackout. And if people really want to do something effective, they should boycott movie theaters, iTunes, and Netflix streaming that day. Am I the only one cynical enough to think that the Google is only against SOPA so they'll get a special exemption from the law, like McDonald's and the health care law?
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2010-10-07-h...
Re: Why Google And Facebook Need To Go Dark To Protest SOPA
#80While this would make a statement, somewhere I saw a good point--someone will be googling to see if the snake that bit them was poisonous. Google is now critical infrastructure, like power. If it goes out, people will quite possibly die.
I'm not trying to troll but is Google much better for that query than Bing? Or is it lack of awareness of Bing?
Google seems a lot better with long tail terms than Bing.