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Jan 20
2012
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Based on recent events surrounding SOPA and PIPA, it would seem that public opinion still plays a role in policy making in Washington. Both the House and Senate indefinitely postponed votes on anti-piracy bills in the wake of internet protests that left the public wondering what was up with Wikipedia. But despite the level of media coverage this event received, many are left wondering what SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act-not to be confused with Kate Middleton's kid sister) were actually about. The bills are aimed at fighting piracy of copyrighted materials and counterfeited material goods. Opponents do not take issue with the bills' intentions, but instead argue that aspects of the legislation are too broad in censoring entire websites rather than the content in question.
At this point, the word has spread about the popularity of Pinterest, a growing social networking site with a highly engaged audience of 3.3 million users and growing. But because Pinterest is not the same as the likes of Facebook and Twitter--it's less about promotion and more about aspiration--businesses have not quite figured out how they can get a piece of the action. 
This week, Google made a big announcement about the integration of it ubiquitous search engine and its less ubiquitous social network, Google+. In a merger of services, all searches made by Google+ members (and those signed into a Google account) will now produce results from the web as well as information relevant to the individual's social graph, called "personal results." For example, a search for Thai restaurants will now show results from the web along with a recent post your friend made about the Thai food they had for dinner over the weekend.
