Thus in the most frightening scenario, one could imagine a world where Apple’s textbooks serve only to increase the digital divide, and thus the achievement gap. In this scenario, there will be some students who are able to use the new textbooks, likely those at wealthy suburban schools where either the school or their parents can afford to buy them an iPad, while other students, most likely those in impoverished urban schools, are stuck using paper textbooks that have been handed down for years.

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), also known as H.R. 3261, is a bill that was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on October 26, 2011, by Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) and a bipartisan group of 12 initial co-sponsors. The bill expands the ability of U.S. law enforcement and copyright holders to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods. Now before the House Judiciary Committee, it builds on the similar PRO-IP Act of 2008 and the corresponding Senate bill, the PROTECT IP Act.

The originally proposed bill would allow the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as copyright holders, to seek court orders against websites accused of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement. Depending on who requests the court orders, the actions could include barring online advertising networks and payment facilitators such as PayPal from doing business with the allegedly infringing website, barring search engines from linking to such…

You still may be saying “so what” but here are a few real life issues you should think about

An Internet site is dedicated to theft of U.S. property’ if [a portion of the site is US-directed] and is used by users within the United States and is primarily designed or operated for the purpose of offering services in a manner that enables or facilitates [copyright violation or circumvention of copyright protection measures].

• What this is means is that any site that that allow users to post content that could  enable copyright infringement could be shut down. Here are a few examples that could effect your  everyday life. ( YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia and Gmail) the current proposal makes little distinction  and leaves it open to almost any interpretation the government wants to take to determine almost any site is in violation.
• What happens if you are accused of  copyright infringement under this new  law. Again i could paraphrase but this text explains it best.

Section 201(b)(1) expands criminal copyright infringement to include:

…At least 10 copies or phonorecords, or of at least 10 public performances by means of digital transmission, of 1 or more copyrighted works, during any 180-day period, which have a total retail value of more than $2,500.

Now, the way that the value of a work can be computed in court is the very crude (value of the work times number of views).

…Total retail value may be shown by evidence of the total retail price that persons receiving the reproductions, distributions, or public performances constituting the offense would have paid to receive such reproductions, distributions, or public performances lawfully.

This means, for example, if you upload a video to YouTube of you singing a popular song, and that song might sell for $1, and your video gets 2,500 views, you are guilty of felony copyright infringement. Furthermore, you can tack on “willful infringement for commercial gain or valued at more than $1,000.”

This would make you a felon, and if a copyright holder were to bring a suit against you, would give you a criminal record that would make it virtually impossible to gain future employment, and may subject you to up to three years in prison for singing a song. You don’t have to receive any money. You don’t have to gain anything from your video. Simply receiving 2,500 views on a song you sung, which happens to have copyright held by someone else, makes you a felon.

So now do you see why you should be concerned? This is why many sites are “blackout” today in protest because this poorly written law could impact how we use the internet today.

for more exhaustive coverage of the issue you can use the links below:

When we have the opportunity to disrupt the status quo we have to understand that we see obstacles from all sides. Just people seeing that initial failure immediately people to say that we are not ready for a seat at the table These unique challenges require four key principles.

Infrastructure

There are areas of the country where the current infrastructure can not give it’s inhabitants access to current internet technology. Those areas are primarily rural areas and lower income urban areas. In both these causes the current wired internet products are not readily available and there is no short term plans to change that. Because of that limitation Both of those audiences have taken advantage of wireless to get their access Although the rural areas in some cases still struggle because currently most wires networks don’t reach all rural areas. The ATT /T-Mobile deal would have solved this problem for many of those areas but that is currently not moving forward. No one else has stepped up to offer a solution for this problem which leads me to have concerns that the people in these areas would be left behind.

Digital Literacy  and Empowerment

People believe cost is the biggest barrier to increasing adoption.  I don’t agree.  I believe that the real issue is the lack of digital literacy among minorities which limits the ability to see the value they can get from broadband. The mobile device is a great example. Mobile usage among African Americans and Hispanics is growing at a rapid pace.  We have come to understand the value that broadband wireless access adds to our lives in various areas ( education, Employment, healthcare, etc..) SO even in lower income areas you have seen growth in smartphone purchases because in the investment empowers those users various areas. I’ve seen in many times when I’ve spoken to large groups  that once that light bulb moment occurs when the people in the room see how it creates value in their lives, the perception immediately changes.

If we really want to see Urban Digital Divide close then these are two areas we need to focus on and the private sector has to play a part for to happen quickly and we have to play a part for the value to be clear and obvious.

African Americans Are Trendsetters

We have always been trendsetters whether it’s Fashion, gadgets, music, or businesses African Americans have been pioneers in most cases. As I think about my early days growing up I realize that it was because of Black media that I always known how we impacted the world. This in turn gave me the confidence to realize that I to could to one day help set trends as well. In times when it was almost impossible to find Black images for us to emulate, we found them on Black media outlets. Whether is was the Jet and Ebony on your dining room table, The Black radio stations that Cathy Hughes created for us with Radio One or Bob Johnson giving us images on the TV with BET. We always had these outlets to help us understand we were making an impact in the world.

The other things that these companies showed us was that there were opportunities for innovation for African Americans in their respective industries. If there was no Jet or Ebony would there have been a Vibe, Source, Giant or Black Enterprise? If not for Radio One we would not have the powerful Black music that motivates us today or the strong Syndicated voices like Tom Joyner, or Yolanda Adams. And with TV there are too many examples to begin to mention. The point is that the success of these media business created an ecosystem of success for African Americans in those areas.

The Digital Problem

So now we are faced with a new wave of innovation, the digital age, which presents it’s own set of challenges for African Americans and it’s own set of opportunities for Black Media. We have not had as strong of a showing in Black media on the digital front as we have had in more traditional forms of media. I ask you to name 5 products (Not Sites) that exist for African Americans (Web or Mobile) right now. I believe you will be hard pressed to so do so. In the age of Facebook and Twitter these product platforms create opportunities for content to have life of it’s own and for the users to become tastemakers and curators. Even the most active content communities recognize that they need these platforms to create the type of engagement and the viral reach needed to make their digital platforms successful. Even Mainstream media companies like Conde Nast have seen the need in a product platform to create growth in this age, which explains their purchase of Reddit.
While there is currently no shortage of content sites for African Americans there are currently few product options that cater to African Americans even though sites like twitter have proven we can and will engage in these products in mass. Our users currently get that engagement in these products but still desire for those products to allow the items and topics that are culturally relevant to be front and center. Something those products will never give them due to their mainstream focus.

Multicultural is Not the Same as Black

Part of the reason why these products do not exist is because certain perceptions have been created that have devalued the focus on the African American audience. People now use Catch all phrases like “Hip hop demographic” or “Urban” to encapsulate the Black audience. While books like Steve Stoute’s Tanning of America have done a great job showing how these subcultures have influenced mainstream America but I would contend that the “tanning” piece of this is due to the innovations coming from African Americans and those terms don’t speak to the breadth and needs of African American culture. . Latino focused media companies are currently much more successful at this in the digital space in their ability to create offerings that are both culturally relevant and engaging while also showing the value of their audience’s diversity to mainstream consumers and the advertising community.

Why We Need Black Media To Succeed In Digital

With the lack of digital products catering to our audience and the dilution of our audience’s unique value proposition, where should we look for that ecosystem to be created? Where we have always looked, Black media. As Black media companies are successful in the digital space creating products for this audience they will once again be able to create iconic examples of what success looks in the digital space so that we can encourage other entrepreneurs to model that behavior as they have on other media platforms. This is not a new problem. I’ve personally been working on this for over a decade during my time at BET and in Co-founding Globalgrind.com. But in both of those experiences I’ve realized that a media company that has both and strong product and a strong media platform is key to accelerating this growth. This is one of the reason I’m excited to be at Interactive One. We have the ability to reach African Americans across 3 mediums (Radio, TV and Online). We also understand the value and having products to anchor those experiences are in the process of developing a new version of Blackplanet . I am personally spearheading this project and am excited to help revitalize this brand for a new generation. There also needs to be an effort to create a digital entrepreneurship pipeline within our audience as well. Ineteractive One was sponsor of the NewME Accelerator program, which was featured on CNN’s Black in America but that was just one example of the many things we can do and other media companies can do. I believe it’s important for us all to push for Black media to be successful in digital. It’s important for their future as well as ours.

New Jersey could be on the path to a prosperous digital future with the passage of the bipartisan
Market Competition and Consumer Choice Act. Current regulations proved useful when they were put
into place more than three decades ago when there was a telephone monopoly. Since that time we
have seen tremendous growth in competitive forces, but regulations have not kept up pace and now
threaten to stifle future growth and development.

New Jersey has an opportunity to create a win-win situation for consumers by passing this bill.
Competition rather than legislation drives innovation and investment in the telephone and cable
marketplace. Regulation of modern technologies with modern rules will create an environment that is
ripe for affordable technologies, job growth, and economic opportunities.

This bill will make New Jersey a more competitive place for big businesses to come and invest in our
state. Businesses are looking for modernized states to ensure their business needs can be met. New
Jersey, right now, cannot meet those needs, due to old regulatory restrictions. Outdated regulations
are barriers to an innovative, competitive marketplace. Less innovation means fewer business
opportunities. Fewer business opportunities mean fewer jobs with no new job growth. No new job
growth for the residents of New Jersey means bills go unpaid and layoffs continue. And we all know
where that leads. To the unemployment line.

We are in a unique period of time when innovation is allowing many young entrepreneurs to create
economic value for themselves. The numbers show that people who are not from areas that are thriving
in this new digital economy are being left behind. The opportunities for new business large and small
are right in front of us if we can get old regulations out of our way. New services and investment put
consumer choice and opportunity right in our grasp.

I’ve committed my life to informing and educating people about how innovation can impact them and
empower them. But that can’t be done if the landscape is not changed to usher in that innovation.

Earlier this year before it was tabled, the New Jersey General Assembly passed this telecommunications
reform bill, and we cheered its passage. Now we are at risk of losing the momentum and the
opportunity for New Jersey to be an example to other states of how modern telecommunications
reform can, and will, benefit all consumers. Virginia did it. Florida did it. Texas did it. And several other
states have done it as well. And these states are representing success by bringing more jobs to their
states and more business growth. New Jersey is a part of my DNA so I want to see us compete and be on
par.

Please, New Jersey, become reform savvy, and pass this important bill. Let us help New Jerseyans
find jobs, lower their taxes, while attracting new businesses to our state. We cannot afford to let this
opportunity pass us by. Let’s send old regulatory rules out the door and usher in new reforms. Let’s
pass the Market Competition and Consumer Choice Act.