STOP sopa

There are two pieces of legislation, currently being considered by Congress, that will seriously endanger the very freedoms America was built upon - specifically free speech.

"SOPA and the PROTECT IP Act propose massive new regulatory powers over the Internet that will seriously endanger free speech and the constitutionally upheld principal of Fair Use. These bills would create broad powers to remove entire web sites by manipulating the Domain Name System (DNS) and Internet search results, all without any action from a court of law. Blogs, status updates, consumer reviews and even links to other web sites may make web sites a target to be blacklisted. Smaller and independent ISPs will be particularly hard hit trying to police their users to avoid interruption of service.

These bills are not the way to address online piracy. SOPA and PROTECT IP are bad for TierraNet, bad for our customers, and bad for the Internet. Our favorite websites -- Wikipedia, Facebook, Youtube -- even your own blog, and your favorite online store -- will all be permanently wounded.

I urge you to take a moment to let your representatives in Washington D.C. know your feelings. Please EDUCATE yourself about this proposed legislation, VOICE your opinions, and EXERCISE the right to free speech on the Internet that we take for granted." - Brian Scott, CEO of TierraNet

RESOURCES:
http://americancensorship.org/infographic.html

Electronic Frontier Foundation - Stop the Internet Blacklist Legislation

Marketing in a Down Economy

"In a slow economy the one thing to boost is sales and marketing" SmallBiz Technology

"It certainly makes sense to think about new ways to market a business right now – and the biggest growth of marketing will be online." Wall Street Journal

"In a sputtering economy, small businesses are often quick to rein in their marketing budgets. But that may be a shortsighted strategy. Glum economic times can be an opportunity for small companies to make inroads on their competitors' turf and re-energize their marketing efforts." WSJ Small Business Report

2012 Tax Trends for Small Business

Are Large Corporations skipping over taxes, while small & medium size businesses (SMB) carry the burden?

We found this article in Small Business Trends. It may be useful for small business owners to be aware of these potential trends:

http://smallbiztrends.com/2011/12/top-10-small-business-tax-trends-2012.html

The 10 main points highlighted in this article are:
1. Taxes will remain a political football.
2. Tax audits are on the rise.
3. Uncertainty about health care rules remains.
4. Some favorable business tax rules will be extended.
5. State and local governments scrounge for new sources of revenue.
6. Unemployment taxes will go up for some employers.
7. Estate planning for business owners remains challenging.
8. Filings will be almost exclusively online.
9. Low interest rates will have an impact.
10. The U.S. tax system will continue to become more and more complex.

Phone 'Rootkit' Maker Carrier IQ May Have Violated Wiretap Law In Millions Of Cases - Forbes

Phone 'Rootkit' Maker Carrier IQ May Have Violated Wiretap Law In Millions Of Cases - Forbes