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Here at SMWTO we aim to decode industry jargon and find out what it means—to social media and to you. Think of it as a crash course, or just great preparation for the stimulating discussions you’ll have when you’re enjoying all that Social Media Week has to offer. Today we tackle SOPA!

So what is it?

Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) introduced the Stop Online Piracy Act (or H.R 3261) to The U.S. House of Representatives on October 26, 2011, and while still at the Committee stage it could be passed within the year. The Bill would allow the U.S Department of Justice, and copyright holders, to seek court orders against websites accused of perpetrating and facilitating copyright infringement.

Image by [F]Oxymoron

The fight against online piracy has been a long, largely unsuccessful one. The entertainment industry is obviously keen* to enact any regulation that might stop the flow of bootleg blockbuster copies online, and if SOPA were solely interested in these offenders then it would get a gold star.

However, unlike past anti-piracy bills, SOPA sets its sights on any infringement of copyrights, no matter how small. The US Attorney General can order service providers, search engines, payment providers and advertisers to stop doing business with any accused sites. This type of regulation would create a blacklist of domain names, inaccessible to users within the US.

What does this mean?

Lets start with what it means for Social Media. Without being hyperbolic, SOPA will be the worst thing ever!

Pick your poison – Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Reddit, – all of these sites largely consist of people sharing cool stuff they find online. But the shared nature of social media will be problematic. By SOPA’s definitions, if a single tweet or link were to share (or promote) copyrighted materials then the entire website would be in violation.

SOPA is dangerous because of its broad scope. While going after rogue websites, SOPA has the potential to bring down the internet as we know it. To gratuitously quote Yancey Strickler in this recent NY times article:

“The schism between content creators and platforms like Kickstarter, Tumblr and YouTube is generational… It’s people who grew up on the Web versus people who still don’t use it. In Washington, they simply don’t see the way that the Web has completely reconfigured society across classes, education and race. The Internet isn’t real to them yet.”

Image by Joe Campbell

For the large portion of Internet users who have grown up in modern online culture, and who are reluctant to pay for content they could easily find for free, the whole idea of internet regulation is unappealing. But, it is in our best interest to pay for content** in one way or another. Anthony Wing Kosner noted for Forbes “If there were more trust between consumers and content companies it would be easier to make common cause” and find ways to fund creators of corporate and viral social media content.

To say that these bills are attracting fierce opposition from the technology industry would be an understatement. Concerns have grown so wide as to require comment from the White House. “Proposed laws must not tamper with the technical architecture of the Internet through manipulation of the Domain Name System (DNS), a foundation of Internet security,” the White House wrote. “Our analysis of the DNS filtering provisions in some proposed legislation suggests that they pose a real risk to cybersecurity and yet leave contraband goods and services accessible online.”

It is not that the online community is unsympathetic to creative industries trying reaffirm control over their creations and ensure compensation for their work, it’s just that no one really feels the Internet should be controlled by a government that doesn’t seem to appreciate how it works.

Happening Now

English Wikipedia, as well as Reddit, php.net and the entire Cheezburger network, are going black today (Jan.18) in protest against anti-piracy legislation, including SOPA and the now pressing Protect IP bill (PIPA).

So today may be a difficult day for students and web developers but let the inconvenience of not being able to look up which of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles carried the nunchuks drive you to join the growing community response. (It’s Michelangelo by the way)

A few blacked out sites, including Wikipedia, Google (U.S. only), WIRED, WordPress and Reddit. Image by Hayden Tay

You can find the Bill in its entirety here and decide for yourself .

*For the moment, we can overlook the fact that the 32 sponsors of the legislation received four times as much in contributions from the entertainment industry as they did from software and Internet companies.

**movies, television, really all entertainment industries at risk to lose up to 19 million jobs to online piracy.

BuzzWords is a new feature from SMWTO where we aim to decode industry jargon and find out what it means—to social media and to you. Think of it as a crash course, or otherwise great preparation for the stimulating discussions you’ll have when you’re enjoying all that Social Media Week has to offer.

BuzzWord: Gamification

So what is it?

Gamification is the use of game design techniques to engage audiences in ways that traditional marketing cannot. Companies want take advantage of our natural predisposition to be attracted to game-like systems, so they use new tools to bring in new customers. Have you ever collected rewards points or earned a Barista Badge on Foursquare after visiting Starbucks? Congratulations—you’ve been gamified.

Gamification can be as simple as a progress bar that tracks your completion of an online survey, or as complicated as a system of prizes and feedback created to reward continuous engagement. The ultimate goal of gamification is to encourage people to perform tasks that would normally be considered boring so as to create as much value for the user as possible.

So what does this mean?

Depending on where you stand on its merits, gamification is either revolutionizing customer-based industries or exploiting and diluting video game culture for the sake of corporate gain. Yes, gamification allows companies to offer an improved level of customer experience in exchange for brand loyalty, but in the end, who benefits most?

Happening right now:

One of the most interesting examples of gamification came along this past September from researches at the University of Washington. In an effort to combat a protein-cutting enzyme from the Mason-Pfizer Monkey Virus (M-PMV), the researches and the Center for Game Science produced a video game called Foldit, a puzzle game where players are challenged to pin down the best structures for certain proteins. Within weeks, gamers helped form the shape of the problematic enzyme that had been baffling scientists for decades, and the result might result in a massive step forward in HIV research. This is an example of how gamification can live in the middle ground between real change and virtual satisfaction, and it would be nice to imagine gamification being consistently used to further such positive ends.

So is gamification an amazing way to engage large groups of people to solve problems? And is it inevitable that any cool technological advancement will ultimately be exploited for commercial gain?

Want more information on how gaming is hanging the world? Check out Jane McGonical’s TED talk on gaming.

It’s amazing how quickly some technologies go from novel to essential, but social media-related technologies in particular seem to be moving at light speed. We can share and connect faster than ever but let’s be honest—sometimes these tools straddle the line between creepy and awesome. For today’s Super Cool Technology post, we looked at at two apps that integrate social media in new, and possibly stalker-ish, ways.

Sonar

Never again will you miss a chance to freak out a stranger with how much you have in common. Sonar is an app that geo-tracks you current locations and then draws from an aggregate of public information from your social networks to highlight people nearby that you should meet. From there, you can introduce yourself, learn more about the things you have in common, or just follow them from a safe distance.

Why it’s creepy:
By drawing on all the internet has to offer, Sonar can let people know where you’re from, what you do, and everything you like without the bother of ever having to have a conversation with you. Applications like these take the mystery and joy out of slowly getting to know people. This type of app offers an immediate feeling of familiarity, even if that feeling is false—something which might be said for all social networking. It should also be noted that while you “opt in” to use the app, anyone with a social network can be found using Sonar, whether they have to application or not.

Why it’s awesome:
It’s likely to become a useful networking tool as it would be ideal in convention-like situations where employers want to find the right type of employee.

More importantly, it would probably eliminate awkward conversations if you could just open up Sonar and see that the cute guy at the bar also likes Grizzly Bear and Werner Herzog films.

EchoEcho

No more time wasted texting meeting locations to friends, as this app will let anyone with your phone number find you instantly. EchoEcho only asks that you answer one question: “Where are you?”

Why it’s creepy:
Anyone in your address book could find you at anytime. Your parents would know you were lying when you told them you were going to the library (Lee’s Dance Cave). Your ex—if you still have them in your address book—could see you at that romantic French restaurant downtown and come waltzing in on you and your…boss? Enter the age of location based stalking.

Why it’s awesome:
Gone are the days of “wait, which Starbucks are you at?” or losing friends at Lollapalooza. EchoEcho does require that you ask people for permission to receive their exact coordinates, but will choosing to “decline” become the new social faux pas?

So what do you think? Are these location-based apps creepy, or the next step in social technology?