My Congressman's Response to Stop Online Piracy Act

Like many Americans who took action to stop SOPA, I contacted my Congressman Steve Rothman of New Jersey's 9th Congressional district. I was very pleased with his response. See below.

It's about putting your elected officials to work for you!

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Dear Mr. Hamilton

Thank you for contacting me in opposition to H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act. I appreciate hearing from you and I welcome the opportunity to respond.



One of the side effects of the Internet's explosive growth is its impact on intellectual property and digital media. It is undeniable that broadband technology and increased computing power have made it easier to illegally disseminate copyrighted material. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, intellectual property in the United States is worth more than $5 trillion. The U.S. has been a leader in developing new technologies, and as a result, has been a major target of global theft. I am pleased that President Obama appointed Victoria Espniel as the first Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator at the Office of Management and Budget, a position created by Congress in 2008. She has overseen the Administration's strategy to tackle the wide range of problems associated with intellectual property enforcement including better coordination and cooperation between U.S. government agencies as well as private industry.



As you may know, H.R. 3261 was introduced by Representative Lamar Smith (R-Texas) on April 26, 2011. If enacted, H.R. 3261 would allow the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to seek injunctions against foreign Web sites that steal music, films, software and other intellectual property created by U.S. firms. The bill also includes provisions that could hold third parties — payment-processing and other partners — responsible for piracy and counterfeiting on other sites. The bill would make the unauthorized web streaming of copyrighted content a felony with a possible penalty of up to five years in prison. This bill is currently before the House Judiciary Committee.



I am opposed to H.R. 3261 because the provisions of the legislation would enforce Internet censorship, which would be in direct violation of the First Amendment. The measure would allow federal courts to order any Internet Service Provider to stop recognizing a website on a temporary restraining order issued the same day as the formal complaint is filed. Also, blocking entire domains or websites could suppress vast amounts of protected speech containing no infringing content whatsoever. Under this measure entire domains would be blocked based on finding infringing materials on a single sub-domain. This tactic could stifle technological innovation on the Internet and hinder startup companies from being competitive.



I believe the Administration's strategy of increased cooperation between government agencies and private industry will reduce the intellectual property infringement occurring over the Internet. Agencies will increasingly go after foreign-based web sites and web services that infringe on our intellectual property rights. I will continue to closely monitor these developments and do my part as a federal legislator to ensure that the laws that protect our nation's intellectual property and Internet are robust, fair, and constitutional.



Thank you again for contacting me. It is a privilege and an honor to serve you and to act as your voice in our nation's capital. Please feel free to contact me again with any other issue or matter that concerns you. You may also want to visit my website at www.house.gov/rothman where you can find out how I have voted on legislation, learn which bills I have introduced and cosponsored, and keep current with my latest activities and policy statements.




Sincerely,

Steve Rothman
Member of Congress

10 Checklist Items to Help Find a Tech Co-Founder

Many tech start-up founders seek co-founders to help build their businesses. This can be a daunting task as nobody is going to be as dedicated to the start-up as the founder.

There are many things to consider when selecting a co-founder.

Take my co-founder check list test.

1) Does your potential co-founder share your vision? yes +0 no -3
2) Has impressive resume and industry knowledgeable? yes +3 no -2
3) Do they have a full time job or full time student? yes -2 no +1
4) Do they miss meetings? regularly -5 sometimes -2 never +1
5) Are they late to meetings? regularly -2 sometimes -1 never +2
6) Do they desire large shares of your company? -1
7) Have they secured important partnerships? +3 for each partnership
8) Have they secured important clients? +2 for each client
9) Any significant task or win that has allowed your company to grow (ex product build, talent finds)? +1 for each task
10) any significant negative incident that has questioned their committment? -1 per incident

-10 or lower don't even think about having them on your management team
-5 still a bad choice for your team
0 has potential
5 a good fit for your team with room for growth
10 A dream team member and definite keeper

As the founder, your score should be over 10+, if it isn't then you have alot of work to do!

What do you think?

4 Ways Steve Jobs Changes The World

Steve Jobs changed the way in which we all interact with technology. I got my 1st computer in 1982. It was a Commodore 64 computer. Most of the functionality was text based as there was no concept of drag and drop. I took my 1st computer class in high school in 1984. We learned on IBM XT computers running MS DOS.

Even though I've never been a huge fan of Apple, I respect the game and the ingenuity required to take bold steps and change conventional thinking. The Macintosh computer was a bold step. The boldness is reflected in this Apple Superbowl Ad from 1984.


Before the Macintosh computer we were subject to typing commands from a DOS screen.
If I wanted to look at a large number of Microsoft Word files in a folder and see the file sizes I would type the following from a DOC command prompt "dir *.doc /c /p".
Now we simply double click 1 icon.

We Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple in the early 90s, Apple ceased to innovate.
Upon Steve Jobs' return we saw products such as:
The iPod
The iPhone
The iPad

1) Steve Jobs didn't invent the computer but he made it easy to use and fun. Windows, Linux and every other operating system has copied Apple's concept.

2) Steve Jobs didn't invent music or MP3 technology, but he made practical to carry thousands of songs in our pocket. Sony, Zune and every other MP3 player has copied Apple's model.

3) Steve Jobs didn't invent the mobile phone, but he combined different technologies into a smart phone that had never been done before. Android, Blackberry and Microsoft are trying to may catch up.

4) Steve Jobs didn't invent the tablet computer but he created a demand that has yet to see its full potential. Amazon, Motorola, Acer, Dell are trying to play catch up.

30 years of amazing technology.

So, what do you think?

2 Reasons Why You Should Avoid Google+ (Flour vs Crack)

As many of you know, I am a social media consultant and I released a book on social media January 2010 called Social Media Branding in the Age of Obama. It’s my job to stay on top of anything social media related. Last week, Google announced a limited release of Google+ which is Google’s answer to Facebook.
Some of my clients immediately asked me if they should be concerned. Therefore, I needed to test Google+ so I could give them an answer.
Let me start by saying if I were a Google employee, I would find a dark place to hide. Don’t drink the Koolaid. Google+ reminds me of a very good 12th grade programming assignment. Thus, I am not impressed.

2 reasons why you should avoid Google+

1. Artificial Demand:
Google is a master at creating artificial demand. With Google+ it’s classic economics. They simply limit the supply to create an artificial demand. I even got caught up in this mess. Google is playing us all. Don’t believe the hype.

2. No “Wow Factor":
In 1999 when I did my 1st Google search and saw the results I said “Wow, this is sweet” and I’ve been a Google fan ever since.
In 2008 when I joined Facebook and saw the seamless connectivity to friends I said “Wow, this is sweet” and I’ve been a Facebook fan ever since.
In 2011 when I joined Google+ I said “This is all yall working with? WTH”.
Google+ copied Facebook’s interface and integrated accounts using their Gmail API. I am familiar with API integrations and it’s not rocket science. In addition, Google+ has a java enabled drag and drop feature that allows you to classify your friends into groups called circles. There is nothing new here.
That’s pretty much it. No “Wow Factor”. A group of talented 12th graders could have built this in a few months.

For those of you who are familiar with street drug terminology you have heard the word “gank”. As the NWA rapper Ice Cube said “Ganked means being took for your bank or your money or your doe or something…”. The slang word gank is a verb and a noun. According to doubletongued.org, Gank: fake illegal drugs sold as real. As we know, social media can be addictive like drugs and Google is trying to pull off a gank move. They are trying to sell us fake drugs.

Google+ is flour.
Facebook is crack.

What do you think?

For you soft folks, who get offended easily. Excuse the illegal drug references. This publication does not condone the use of illegal drugs.

Finish Him!

According to Reuters, the California Supreme Court eliminated a ban on the sale of violent video games to minors. Reuters goes on to say "Governments cannot ban the sale or rental of violent video games to minors because it would violate free-speech rights, the U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday in its first ruling in a video game case."

In 1991 Midway released Mortal Kombat which is/was a very violent fighting game. There have been several sequels to this hit video game. Mortal Kombat was most famous for its "Finishing Moves" which were death blows to be completed at the end of each 1-on-1 match. Finishing Moves consisted of decapitations, gripping out of hearts and spines and other gruesome acts of violence.

Check out Mortal Kombat Finishing Moves Here:



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Now the California Supreme Court says anyone, regardless of age, can buy or rent these games. So, what do you think?

Outsourcing Player Hater

I was at a dinner party a few years ago and the topic of outsourcing came up. I am the owner of a web development firm and I've been outsourcing since 2003. I have a computer science degree and I used to do the grunt level coding/programming back in the day, but since 2003, I've been working smarter by outsourcing. I design all aspects of the projects that I outsource. I rarely give my coders the latitude to make system architecture decisions.

Anyway, at this dinner party I was heavily criticized by a woman for using technical labor in eastern Europe and Asia. I was told that I am taking away jobs from U.S. based workers. Well, I am a smaller player in a big game. I am only doing what Microsoft, Dell, IBM and every other major tech firm has been doing for decades. In addition, I have U.S. based workers doing customer relations which is extremely valuable. I compensate my U.S. workers accordingly, thus they are making a lot of money. I told that dinner party hater "Don't hate the player, hate the game".

In addition, I would like to quote myself: "Anything goes, when it comes to code, cyber pimpin ain't easy!"
Eric Hamilton 2011

So what do you think?

SBI Award for The Web Academy

We are pleased to announce that the City of New York Board of Directors of the National BDPA is honoring the Web Academy with the Small Business Innovator(SBI) Award, which shall be presented at the 15th Annual BDPA NY Scholarship and Awards Dinner on Wednesday, June 29th, 2011 at UBS, 299 Park Avenue. The theme for the evening is "Innovating our Future".
http://2011bdpanyawards.eventbrite.com/

You made this possible by supporting the Web Academy as a student or simply forwarding an email about our program.

As always, feel free to enroll in FREE web design classes at: http://thewebacademy.org