1. SOPA and PIPA would censor the Web

The U.S. government could order the blocking of sites using methods similar to those employed by China. Among other things, search engines could be forced to delete entire websites from their search results. That’s why 41 human rights organizations and 110 prominent law professors have expressed grave concerns about the bills.

2. SOPA and PIPA would be job-killers because they would create a new era of uncertainty for American business

Law-abiding U.S. internet companies would have to monitor everything users link to or upload or face the risk of time-consuming litigation. That’s why AOL, EBay, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Mozilla, Twitter, Yahoo and Zynga wrote a letter to Congress saying these bills “pose a serious risk to our industry’s continued track record of innovation and job-creation.” It’s also why 55 of America’s most successful venture capitalists expressed concern that PIPA “would stifle investment in Internet services, throttle innovation, and hurt American competitiveness”. More than 204 entrepreneurs told Congress that PIPA and SOPA would “hurt economic growth and chill innovation”.

3. SOPA and PIPA wouldn’t stop piracy

To make matters worse, SOPA and PIPA won’t even work. The censorship regulations written into these bills won’t shut down pirate sites. These sites will just change their addresses and continue their criminal activities, while law-abiding companies will suffer high penalties for breaches they can’t possibly control.

There are effective ways to combat foreign “rogue” websites dedicated to copyright infringement and trademark counterfeiting, while preserving the innovation and dynamism that have made the Internet such an important driver of American economic growth and job creation. Congress should consider alternatives like the OPEN Act, which takes targeted and focused steps to cut off the money supply from foreign pirate sites without making US companies censor the Web.

Members of Congress are trying to do the right thing by going after pirates and counterfeiters but SOPA and PIPA are the wrong way to do it.

via Google

We’ll be at the La Crosse Business Expo today, Thursday November 3rd, from 1pm-7pm at the La Crosse Center. Free website consultations all day long. Say hi, get feedback on your website or engage us on ideas for a new website.

Business Expo Brochure

Congratulations to Bruce Todd! for winning the iPod Touch. Thanks again to everyone who visited our booth this year at the expo, see you next year!

We’ve premiered our new web video reel at the La Crosse Business Expo this past Thursday, let us know what you think!

Welcome to the Coulee Creative Blog. We’ve got a lot of things on our minds, and soon some of those “things” will be posted in this blog.

This page will be a melting pot of web design, marketing, and local recreation.  Expect anything from posts about Search Engine Optimization to the best bike trails in Wisconsin.