As most internet traffickers have undoubtedly discovered by now, Wikipedia has blacked out its website today to protest the proposed SOPA legislation, which, the site argues, “could fatally damage the free and open Internet.” If you clicked the link on 1/18, you noticed that the site wisely decided to leave the SOPA page accessible to cast a sort of spotlight on the issue.
Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are littered with comments bemoaning life without Wikipedia, with most commenters expressing something to the effect of, “I’d never realized how many times a day I reference Wikipedia…” I definitely missed having access to the site throughout the day, especially when I was listening to Heems’ hyper-referential mixtape, Nehru Jackets, and trying to sort through his litany of cultural name drops.
Without Wikipedia, I, like the site, was left in the dark.
For this stroke of genius, I offer a hearty kudos to Jimmy Wales and his team. While the explicit cause of the blackout was to protest the legislation, they have certainly achieved an implicit goal as well.
That is, they reminded all of us that life without Wikipedia sucks.
While SOPA might pose a long-term threat to the site, the more immediate threat of funding shortages looms larger. Today’s effort was a not-so-subtle nudge to supplement their all-too-subtle banner ads reminding us that their site is sustained largely through user donations. SOPA gave them a perfect excuse to briefly remind us of a world without Wikipedia, so that those banner ads carry some additional heft when the site returns. I will be curious to see if donations to the site do actually rise after the blackout.
For now, it appears the explicit reason for the blackout, increasing awareness and asking readers to pressure their legislators to abort the bill, was successful.
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