Ask those active in the field of communications and the answer is simple – They are two bills that will undermine free speech, plain and simple.

But, ask regulators and they will tell you that both bills will protect our content from piracy.

What do the bills hope to accomplish?

The Stop Online Piracy Act, known as SOPA and the Protect Intellectual Property Act, known as PIPA, intend to prevent foreign-based websites from selling pirated movies, music and other products.

Currently, federal law enforcement has the authority to shut down any U.S.-based website that sells pirated content, but they cannot control the sale of pirated content from foreign sites.

In the spirit of full disclosure, both bills are backed by The Motion Picture Association of America, who claims that this illegal practice has cost them billions in lost revenue.

How can SOPA and PIPA stop piracy?

The bills hope to prevent U.S. companies from providing funding, advertising, links or other assistance to foreign sites. The bills would allow the Justice Department to prevent pirate sites from getting U.S. traffic and funding.

Going a step further, The Justice Department could seek a court order that would require U.S. Internet providers to block access to foreign pirate websites. Access could be blocked either by making it impossible for users to type a simple web address into an Internet browser or by requiring search engines like Google to disable links to the sites.

The bills would also allow Hollywood studios to take private legal action against websites that are alleged to be hosting pirated material.

So, does this affect my “free speech” rights?

According to a Wikipedia official, if passed, the bills could allow for “censorship without due process.”  In other words, the “Government” could determine what content is “pirated” and prevent U.S. websites from displaying this content. This is a particularly thorny prospect for opponents of the bill including Facebook, Wikipedia and Twitter, all of which depend heavily on content uploaded by users.

•       Related Wikipedia article

For instance, you conduct a search on Google, as you have hundreds of thousands of times in the past, and yielding pages of results. Sound familiar? Well, the difference here is that your “results” may look very different. The US government would now have the authority to ban sites suspected of intellectual property theft – piracy – from appearing in your search results.

The shining light of the entire controversy – The House has shelved the SOPA bill (for now) but the PIPA bill is still very much alive in the Senate.

What do you think? Will SOPA and PIPA prevent online piracy?

To all my PR peers – be honest…..isn’t this you too?

 10. During a date you are tweeting a reporter about a new pooper scooper.

9. A TV assignment editor threatens to break your dialing finger if you call again on deadline.

8. You didn’t take a single public relations course before entering the field.

7. Your friends become nauseous when you want to talk about another new media placement.

6. You sent a pitch to editor Jim Harris and realized it was Jill Harrison.

5. You lost a PR job because you told the recruiter that you “like people.”

4. You get excited when anyone at The New York Times takes your call.

3. At 4 a.m. you’re at a TV station for an early morning segment.

2. You have a PR budget that will just about cover a large latte.

1. Your mother still doesn’t understand what you do for a living.

David Brimm is president of BrimmComm Inc.

 Thank you, David Brimm, for sharing this post and brightening my day!

I had the great “pleasure” of coming across this deliciously relaxing video and it actually made me slow down….way down….and enjoy the music, the visuals, the imagined aroma of freshly brewed coffee and for a brief moment enjoy all that I have in my life – as it is – right now.

Enjoy!

via Life is like Coffee Movie.

After reading today’s “Writing: The No. 1 skill for PR pros” in PR Daily, I found myself wondering if, as a PR pro, I have adequately maintained or improved my own writing skills. As the article eloquently points out, the field of public relations is a melting pot of industries – business, journalism, social media, media relations – and so on. So whether you create content for your company’s publications or generate press releases for a small start-up or you write blog material, the common element we all share is, of course, strong writing skills.

As the PR landscape evolves and we adapt to the emerging trends and languages of social media (twitter – 140 characters or less, text messaging and condensed website content), I’m afraid we run the risk of abbreviating and condensing our content too easily – often at the expense of “good writing”.

As I learned long ago, from my first communications mentor (Ralph Long, former Editor of the Boston Herald), there is no substitute for exceptional writing.  Now engaged in a new role managing the communications channels (PR, marketing, social media, magazine and website content) for a Boston non-profit organization it has become even more critical to produce superb writing.

The article further reminded me to refer to (what many PR pros have dubbed the “bible for writers”) The Associated Press Stylebook when searching for strict grammar guidelines. I found my copy dusty and hidden in a remote corner of my office bookcase. It now stands prominently on my desk right next to my computer – a proper place for a proper resource.

So, as I embrace the new world of social media and the tools for which it provides, I am also happy and comforted with the knowledge that my journey into the wild west of social media, as it relates to PR, began with exceptional writing skills.

With news of the latest “buy one, get one free” (BOGO) offer from Verizon Wireless for the Motorola DROID I could hardly contain myself. My son’s phone had broken and his insurance had run out, so the timing could not be better. Or could it?

After hearing the salesman’s pitch, though I hardly needed convincing, I had my credit card at the ready and my pen itching to leave a mark. And what a mark I made. An indelible mark on my conscience and sensibility.

Here’s how the “buy one, get one free” deal works. You pay $249 up front for phone one (which retails for $149 with a two-year contract) and receive the second phone for an additional $100. You must then submit two $100 mail-in rebates (one for each phone) to receive your free phone. Confused? I was and I am convinced this is part of Verizon’s finely tuned marketing strategy for which I fell hook, line and sinker. Add to that the $100 per phone up-front insurance fee for each phone, plus tax, and a few accessories and there it was – I walked out the door with a $676 receipt!

Shock, horror and embarrassment (for falling for the offer’s allure) washed over me like a tidal wave. And it get’s worse. After experiencing the early stages of buyer’s remorse I soon learned that I bought my children a gift that will keep on giving long after the novelty of the “smart” phones wear off (a slight irony I realize).

Once you have purchased these beautiful examples of advanced technology you will soon discover, as I did, that you are now bound to a $29.99 per month data package. And if you are asking yourself why I didn’t just “opt out” of the pricey ($60 per month for two phones) data package option, well I thought of that too. However, after a lengthy conversation begging, pleading and appealing to the voice on the other end of the phone, I was gently let down. “Opting out” is no longer an option I learned that very sad day (though my children did not share my sorrow).

So, in conclusion, I not only purchased the Cadillac of 3-G smart phones that day but I gave away a piece of my wealth, heart and soul.

Happy talking/texting and internet surfing to you all!

You may have noticed that my posts have been, well, more than sparse of late. I have gained a new job and lost time. Though a small part of me feels free from keeping up with the pace of Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin posts, a larger party of me feels so disconnected that I yearn for freedom to “tweet” and “chat” at my leisure.

What kind of job does she have, you might ask? A job without Facebook, Twitter and Blogging? Sadly, I must admit, at least for today, my job does not empower me to indulge my Social Media obsession.

I miss you all and I apologize to those who have stopped following me and I truly, truly hope to gain your fellowship again.

A communicator by nature, I am inherently drawn to many methods of communication including Social Media and will, again, indulge at my once feverish pace.  Until then, I will check in as often as possible and participate in my favorite past times like #journchat, #solopr and #ff as often as time will allow.

My statement to politicians – “stand up for what you believe and pick a side”! The people you represent have CLEARLY chosen a side. We know what we want. Just listen! Your constituents are talking in coffee shops, bus/train stations, blogs and Tea Parties! Why aren’t you listening?

I am so frustrated and disgusted with your continued lack of empathy and understanding for the American people! We are NOT dumb. We are NOT disenfranchised. We ARE interested! We DO care! And, yes, politicians, we actually DO understand (though your continued condescension would imply otherwise) what you are selling.

So stand up for what you believe and do the job you were elected to do!