Why SOPA is a Bad Idea

I agree with Clay Shirky when he says SOPA is a bad idea. The Internet should not be censored at all. It should stay open to the public, and Congress and the media should not try to get in the way. Shirky brings up a lot of good points when discussing the reasons that SOPA should not be passed. The background of how SOPA came to be is interesting and surprising. The fact that acts like this have been tried before means that if SOPA does not pass, there will be more just like it in the future. The Internet needs to remain open and uncensored. Censoring the Internet will not help it, only hurt it.

TED Talk Reflection

In class today, we watched the TED talk where Eli Pariser discussed "filter circles" online. I did not know about the filter circles before today's class. But, I must say, I'm not a fan. I would much prefer the web to be totally free of filter circles so that I can see all the information the Internet has to offer on the topic I'm interested  in. The fact that major websites like Google and Facebook are filtering the information we receive upsets me. I believe we should be able to view everything the web has to offer. Google and Facebook don't really know what my interests are just because I tend to click certain links or search for specific things. The web was once a place totally free of filtering. It needs to get back to that point.