SOPA’s stated intent is to protect copyrighted property from being pirated online. The media industry claims that piracy leads to a loss of profits and comes back to haunt the consumer in the end. Many that pirate media justify their actions with qualms of excessive pricing and the disbelief that their indiscretion could have any affect on a fiscally successful company.

Media, be it music, movies, games, etc will feel the burden in different areas, concurrent with their industry model of fiscal responsibilities. Across all boards, piracy widens the gap between the reach and influence of a product to the profits gained by said product. Companies can have a popular title without seeing the financial compensation to cover their costs of that production. With lower expected returns for their investment, companies are forced to raise the cost of that product to the consumer. The raise in cost allows profit margins to retain original or close to original percentages on a particular title. Going further down the chain, retail outlets cannot compete with pirated pricing, thus selling less of that product, and see a decrease in business which results in them hiring less people (fewer jobs).

It’s hard not to understand why companies want to crack down on piracy, regardless of your stance on it. Among the bill’s top proponents are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and media giants, the Motion Pictures Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). SOPA aims to protect industry products and industry jobs by allowing the government and private companies to shut down websites that hold copyright infringements.

Criticism of SOPA has been heard loud and strong from the tech industry, particularly in New York City where several tech startups have thrived. Among the bill’s top opponents are LinkedIn, eBay, Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia and Reddit. These companies have voiced concerned about 1^st Amendment rights and censorship, among others.

What do all these sites have in common and what are they seeing that Congress is not? It requires us to dig into SOPA just a little more. The websites that oppose SOPA are those that are run on user-generated material. Under SOPA, user generated content would become to responsibility of the website itself. Let’s use the example of Pirate Bay. If someone were to post directions on Reddit or Facebook on how to log into Pirate Bay and how to download their favorite movies, Reddit would be accountable for the transgression and held responsible for enabling copyright infringement. The fear is that user generated websites could legally tampered with or worst case scenario, shut down within a few weeks of the bill’s passing.

Sites that rely on user generated content simply cannot exist in their current state under these laws. They are currently not responsible for information uploaded by a user. SOPA changes that. Users fear is that these websites will be replaced with commercialized versions of themselves or be removed/blocked all together.

With millions of pieces of content synchronously being made available, content has become hard to manage in real time. With existing laws in place (Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998), an ISP must remove material from web sites that appear to constitute copyright infringement. This can be requested or flagged by the copyright owner or their representative. Under SOPA, websites could be shut down or blocked by simply being accused of enabling copyright infringement.

The tech industry – specifically those sites running on user generated content have created thousands of jobs in the past few years. Slowing down on innovation is not something the country can afford to do, and not something these young companies want to see happen. They claim Congress will seek to end piracy and hurt the tech industry as collateral damage.

For many, it’s hard to garner support for the RIAA. They’re known for being ruthless in their pursuit of those that illegally download music. SOPA however, is not just about piracy, it’s about property. Including intellectual property.

Aside from tangible products and goods that are protected under SOPA, the bill also addresses the issue of intellectual property. A foreign website selling knock-off purses would be covered under the bill. This is considered intellectual property theft.

This is important for companies, specifically those that pride themselves on providing high quality often high price point goods. Buying bad quality, imposter goods presents a bad image of that company to the buyer, in opposition to the image they have developed and portray and in many cases, in direct opposition to the goods they manufacture.  Associating a supposed ‘high end’ brand with bad quality will damage a company’s image, in turn; damage their brand and their profits.

As the United States cannot do anything to shut down a foreign site, the most they can do is block access to it, under the moniker of protecting Americans into not paying for fake goods. This raises all kinds of questions on censorship, government interference and has even drawn the ire of those that claim this violates the principles of a free market.

Amongst the loudest of SOPA opponents, the Reddit community has displayed the true power of the internet and has collectively raised their voices in protest. They’ve managed to raise awareness to the general population, and have made their feeling felt in the pockets of supporting corporations.

Among the top proponents of SOPA was GoDaddy.com. Having faced public backlash for their involvement, they have since backed off. The backlash? A Reddit user called for a national, ‘Change your Provider Day’ in opposition to GoDaddy’s stance. Within 5 days, GoDaddy lost 74,000 domains due to the Reddit-driven campaign.

As GoDaddy hasn’t been getting a break about this lately, let’s give them one and look at why they’ve supported this. The company was being sued by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (which produces the Oscars each year) for facilitating trademark infringement by allowing domains to be registered by individuals that used it to promote the Oscars (ie. 2011oscars.com), without the consent of the Academy. If SOPA passes, GoDaddy is alleviated of responsibility and those sites can just be taken down or blocked.

Another major concern with the bill is that it does very little to actually target piracy. Taking a closer look, SOPA only targets http, or the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (one of many internet protocols) and does nothing to target the BitTorrent protocol. This protocol which uses neither http nor DNS accounts for approximately 95% of piracy. Thus, the bill does nothing to actually stop piracy where it thrives and only has a negative impact on the structure of the internet which has prospered in the past two decades under the free exchange of information.

In the game of combating piracy, companies are left to wonder to who to blame. Several tech companies have expressed their desire to see the private sector tackle piracy on their own and resist the idea of government regulation of the internet. The comedian, Louis CK is an example of the private sector taking on this issue. The comedian abstained from the production assistance of a larger corporation and opted to film a comedy special, set up his website, and produce the event by himself.

He promoted the special to his fans and admitted that they could pirate it if they want to, but asked for their support and spend $5 to download the special. The low price countered any claims that it would be too expensive for fans to manage. This honest and genuine request resonated with his fan base and others seeking to support the cause. People forewent on downloading a pirated copy of the event, and opted to pay the $5. All profits went to him and covered his production costs. This social test was a stellar success, and Louis CK made over $1 million dollars in sales off the comedy special.

The question becomes if the private sector can tackle this problem on their own by restructuring their own businesses that have seen financial success in the past, or if a heavy handed government ruling that threatens to ‘break’ the internet is necessary. SOPA draws ire from what it fails to do. Fear of SOPA comes from not what it threatens to take away, but from what is can be used to do. As a law is only as good as its interpretation of those regulating it, SOPA can be used to not only protect the intellectual and tangible property of business owners, but to limit free speech and the free flow of information to and from American citizens.

Like the VCR recorder upon its launch, the mp3 player when introduced, and YouTube even today – the answer of large corporations has always been to stifle innovations that can potentially interfere with their business models and profits by trying to get them banned/blocked. Their latest attempt to censor the internet is no different. Think what the world would be like if it weren’t for those tech innovations. SOPA goes beyond protecting the right of copyright owners and takes a dangerous step into government intervention in the flow of information and freedom of speech guaranteed to American citizens.

Steven Sinofsky, President of Windows says that a device with an old Atom processor and 1GB RAM would be enough to run Windows-8, even Windows-7 can run well on that configuration. Windows-8 has improved on system performance and speed on more powerful devices – tablet computers, Mobile Devices, desktop and laptop PC’s. The operating system which is due to released in 2012, works with ARM low power processors. The company will soon reveal details on the chips that will be integrated into desktop and laptop machines.

Microsoft Corp. is also planning to launch its own marketplace; “Windows Store” for Tablet PC’s as well mobile devices. It is being introduced with number of Metro-style apps. The company is ahead of its growing competition in the mobile device and Tablet sectors.

Microsoft President Steven Sinofsky showcased some of the new changes at BUILD. Internet Explorer’s new version-10 will be able to switch between the standard desktop view and Metro style UI. The design language applications of Windows-7 are now easily compatible to run through Windows-8 devices. Sky-Drive storage supports integrated cloud based applications like Mail, Calendar and apps with the user’s Windows Live ID, which will have the new Metro UI process.

Windows has been controlling its growth due to market competition. The global market for Desktop Systems and laptops are slower than in the past, whereas for tablets – they are expected to reach over 70 million at the end of this year and grow up to 300 million in 2015.

For more discussions and conversations about Windows-8, please head over to the forums: http://win8.ms/forums

The newer version of iPhone is expected to be thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4 and said to have an 8-mega pixel camer. The iPhone will operate with Qualcomm Inc.’s wireless baseband chips, a person familiar with the matter tells the Wall Street Journal.

A source at one of Apple’s suppliers says the company is looking to meet its goal of 25M units by the end of this year-2011. Apple said it sold 18.65 million iPhones in the fiscal second quarter, which ended March 26. Last month after returning from a trip to Taiwan, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty said Apple will commence production on the next version of the iPhone this August.

Shipments of the new iPhone could be delayed if Hon Hai can’t improve its yield rate as the new iPhone is “complicated and difficult to assemble, the WSJ says.

The first GSM call was made by Finnish Prime Minister Harri Holkeri to Kaarina Suonio who was the Vice-mayor of Tampere. The call took place in Finland on July 1, 1991. The first network was built by Telenokia and Siemens and operated by Radiolinja (now Elisa) using a 900 MHz band. In the call, Holkeri and Suonio discussed the benefits of the New GSM technology, voice quality, security, privacy and the phones identity being in the SIM card. This allowed consumers to easily manipulate and choose products they like.

The GSM standard was agreed on in 1987 by 13 European nations, settings standards for the technology. In 1992 the first short messaging service (SMS or text message) was sent and Vodafone UK and Telecom Finland signed the first international roaming agreement. In 20 years, GSM has grown rapidly and today has reached over 4.4 billion people in 212 countries.

The first commercial GPRS services were launched in 2000. The first UMTS (W-CDMA) network was launched and worldwide GSM subscribers exceeded 500 million that year. In 2002 the first GSM network with 800 MHz frequency band became operational and also the first multimedia messaging services (MMS) were introduced. EDGE services first became operational in 2003 and the number of worldwide GSM subscribers exceeded 1 billion in 2004.

Over time, the technology has evolved to support 400, 800, 1800 and 1900MHz bands; and now supports WDCMA-based UMTS (3G) and later HSPA and HSPA+. The GSM standard Association currently holds 80% of the global mobile market.

Return on Investment is a measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to compare the efficiency of a number of different investments. Calculating ROI is a popular metric because of its versatility and its ability to account for several factors.

Through years of experience, Blueliner’s Senior Management team has gained a unique ability to measure an accurate return on investment. Blueliner has developed a custom ROI strategy in which several factors can be taken into account including multiple variables.

Blueliner CEO, Arman Rousta, for the first time will share his proven techniques with you. Rousta’s formula for success has resulted in millions of dollars for clients over the years. In this special, 2-hour, interactive, web-based workshop, Blueliner CEO, Arman Rousta will lead you step by step through building an accurate ROI plan.

At the end of this workshop, you will have the knowledge to properly determine the actual value in any investment effort. Attendees will be guided through the process of formulating this strategy, mapping out costs, planning expenditures, and be able to apply to it any investment they’re contemplating. Attendees will also receive a copy of Rousta’s tested ROI template to easily guide their future investments.

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With 1 out of every 5 phone purchases today smart phones, mobile devices are on schedule to be responsible for 10% of all web traffic by 2012. With mobile, we have entered a new generation of truly being connected to the digital world at all times. The possibilities of advertising and marketing have grown tremendously. Social programs like Foursquare have made it possible to not only gather an immense amount of data and lock into a target demographic, but to directly communicate and incentive them. Many companies have already taken advantage of this.

Tune in to a special presentation by Blueliner CEO, Arman Rousta, as he takes you through the advances in digital technology, what we can expect in the future, and how we can use it all to usher in a brand new era of digital advertising.

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Social Media Marketing and Search Engine Optimization are 2 of the “7 Pillars of Digital Strategy”. They are also arguably the most important. Many companies have built entire marketing strategies based solely on the establishment and maintenance of these 2 pillars.

Social Media Marketing promises remain significant for the years to come. It’s instant communication, and now available at the pockets of millions of consumers. It allows for a direct dialogue unlike anything businesses had the ability to practice on a mass level in the past. Retention, Lead Generation, Reputation Management, the possibilities are endless.

SEO is by far the most desired Pillar. It is the difference between coming up on the 1st page of a Google search and the 28th. Every website needs to be optimized for specific keywords to be found on the internet. With search engines always changing, getting smarter, SEO is also changing and getting smarter. At Blueliner, we take pride in our great SEO work.

Blueliner invites you to an online presentation to learn about setting up marketing plans and best practices for tackling these essential pillars.

When: Thursday May 19th @ 2pm EST

Where: Online Web Conference

Cost: Free

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Anar Studios (a Blueliner Company) – a full-fledged production house in Jersey City presents:

THE MCNY’S 2ND ANNUAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

Telling Stories – Shaping Dreams” is the theme for this year’s event, which includes a moderated movie industry panel and a filmmakers roundtable on April 7^th, followed by the screening of the selected short films on April 8^th. both days from 6-9pm.

The Festival will be held in the MCNY Conference Center, 431 Canal Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10013 on the corner of Canal and Varick Streets.

Great people like Nefertiti Strong, Roslyn Patterson, Bernard H. Jackson III ( the ex-lawyer of Michael Jackson) and many more will join the MCNY’s 2nd Annual Short Film Festival.

There are several benefits to participating depending on who you are:

●      As a student you will receive hands on training in project management as well as connect with leading professionals in the film industry.

●      As a filmmaker your short film will be screened at a New York film festival, and you will have the opportunity to meet industry insiders as well as network with a community of artists and film enthusiasts.

●      As a judge or panelist it is an opportunity to share hard earned knowledge to an excited audience.

●      As an audience member you will get to network and meet professionals in the film, business and media industries, as well as see amazing short films from some of the most talented rising artist from around the world.

If you have questions about the event, your film, or anything else you can contact our executive producer of the event George Kevin Jordan at gkjwriter72@gmail.com.  Please put MCNY short film festival in the subject line and allow at least 24 hours for a proper response.

The film festival is sponsored by Metropolitan College of New York and a number of media, marketing and Fortune 500 companies including: Blueliner Marketing, Anar Studios, NeoBlackCinema.com, Kraft Foods, and TheFutureForward.net

The film festival needed to be promoted, so that Anar Studios set up a professional photo shoot in oder to create brand awarness for this film festival.

Almost 250 breath-taking photos are waiting on www.flickr.com/photos/anarstudios to be discovered….

RSVP on the official page of the event: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=2109658922161

In this time of incredibly rapid change, forecasting is key to providing strategic direction so companies can adapt and adjust to the transitions confronting them today and in the years and decades ahead. By using forecast information intelligently, top management can best take advantage of current forces and trends. The Shift Age Trend Report by David Houle is a semi-annual briefing on the social, economic, cultural, scientific, and technological trends that are shaping our world.

Blueliner Marketing is honored to have futurist David Houle as a co-presenter for the Digital Forecast Webinar. David is a futurist, strategist, and speaker. He has always been slightly ahead the curve. Houle spent more than 20 years in media and entertainment. He has worked at NBC, CBS and was part of the senior executive team that launched MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1 and CNN Headline News. David Houle is regarded as an emerging, influential voice of future thought. Houle is consistently ranked as one of the top futurists and futurist keynote speakers on the major search engines. He has keynoted numerous conferences across the country and has been invited to speak at corporate management retreats.

Houle will be joined by Blueliner CEO, Arman Rousta. Houle describes Rousta as “one of the most plugged in people in the interactive space and is someone I turn to for intelligent discussions about digital trends and marketing”. Arman Rousta is a contributor to Digital Forecast, providing insight into the digital future.

Join us for this highly interactive webinar featuring Blueliner CEO, Arman Rousta and futurist David Houle.

When: Thursday June 2nd @ 2pm EST

Where: Online Web Conference

Cost: Free

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Launching a successful digital campaign requires a lot of work. Businesses tend to only allocate time to the strategy, setup, and implementation stages. Many forget to designate the necessary time to the maintenance. A good digital strategy includes maintenance, monitoring, and improving.

Monitoring your company’s Analytics is key to driving a successful ROI. It’s important to determine measurable objectives and track the results of your online and offline initiatives. Campaigns could be tracked for ROI on referring sites, keywords, conversion rates, user behavior data, organic vs. paid results and much more. Analytics will lend insight into positive and negative effects of campaign specifics, allowing you to recognize key issues as they are happening and make the necessary positive adjustments.

Customer Relationship Management is also a vital part of a business’ maintenance. While overwhelming at times, a customer that you have not maintained some form of communication with will probably not be your customer again. Blueliner utilizes some of the most advanced methods and tools to organize your company’s CRM efforts. Join us for a one hour, interactive, and educational feature and learn how the 7 Pillars best business practices can help your company reach its short and long term potential.

When: Wednesday June 15th @ 2pm EST

Where: Online Web Conference

Cost: Free

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