While some people are voicing their disapproval, I think this is more than enough on Google's side. It seems ridiculous to assume a for-profit company that has to answer to shareholders would shut down completely for the day, however the fact that both their homepage as well as the logo on all search result pages link to a detailed explanation that your average user should understand is more than enough. We should be applauding this action and hope that it spreads the word even further.
Edit: Also for those concerned that the Google Doodle isn't enough; here were stats from Wikipedia on a Google Doodle search query: http://stats.grok.se/en/201109/Albert_Szent-Gy%C3%B6rgyi - I believe 4.2 million views is significant.
I'm totally happy with what Google did to their homepage. It will definitely get attention. I'm disappointed about their call to action. It vaguely points users to a message that "Congress" (who in Congress?) is doing something bad. Sign another worthless petition. Why not give people a way to call them? Why not list the bill's co-sponsors? The companies that are supporting it?
Because I don't think your average user will bother to call. They will be made aware of the problem - perhaps it will come up in conversation at the water cooler - but I doubt they will care enough to place that actual call. I wish there was more call to action - and more importantly, an easier to read info graphic.
You're right. Most users won't. But if 1% of users actually do that's an enormous impact. Right now, there's nothing to even push them in that direction. Even users who get riled up will probably feel their work has been done by signing that aimless petition and not bother looking up how to contact their representatives.
Well said. As much as I love the HN community, sometimes the negativity really gets to me. To all of the naysayers, let's see you run a multi-billion-dollar company better than Google does. I say they do a fine job of balancing business, fun, innovation, politics, community, and a thousand other things.
I actually think this will do better than a total outage, anyway. Many people go to Google several times a day. Now, each time they go, they'll see this message and be reminded of it, rather than seeing it once, getting annoyed, and moving on to another search engine.
I agree. This isn't just 1 day protest for Google if they shut down. If 1% of their regular user base find a better experience elsewhere whilst they are shut down then their potential loss is in the millions a year.
It's not like it is just 1 site either, with a few major players showing support then the total audience reached is far into the millions
I'm happy to see that Google has gone with a clear, direct anti-SOPA message: "Millions of Americans oppose SOPA and PIPA because these bills would censor the Internet and slow economic growth in the U.S."
And their call-to-action message on the home screen: "Tell Congress: Please don't censor the web!"
Simple and clear.
Wikipedia's message is much more vague and indirect: "Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge ... Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open internet." [How?]
And then their detail page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Learn...) spends the first three bullet points talking about details about the Wikipedia action (how long they will be blacked out for, how they decided, etc.) before getting to: "SOPA and PIPA are real threats to the free and open Internet." Okay you've got my attention. Go on... "Although recent media reports have suggested that the bills are losing support, they are not dead." Argh! If I haven't been following this debate, why do I care about the current health of the bill? Tell me what's going on and why it's important!
This reminds me of their recent banners soliciting donations, which other commentators have pointed out were indirect and not as effective as they could have been.
I was more impressed by wikipedias wording and action than googles.
Googles message is very technical.
Wikipedia strikes the heart, the black imagery, the background. Its perfect. It really feels how bad it would be without a free internet. Google feels like a minor political detail in Washington that is going down. A very tiny link on the google.com page which few people will see, and I havent seen it anywhere else, despite what HNs say that it should be in the logo and what not. Its not.
Google fail, this is the least they could have done.
This PDF is horribly complex to render and is slowing my machine down considerably just to zoom in and read it. And I'm on a 10-month old MacBook Pro Quad i7!
If anybody out there can fix this, please do before millions of people give up trying to read it.
I wanted to read the tiny white text but the PDF froze my computer for almost 10 seconds while it loaded. An image with a larger font could have been more effective.
Is anyone else getting a 'Sorry, we are unable to retrieve the document for viewing or you don't have permission to view the document. ' when you click on the image?
That worked, thanks. Now I wonder when they will change the color choice of the text. The difficulty of reading off-white text on a light blue background with random off-white motif is high.
Very nice work Google. Such a bold logo will generate valuable public discussion. Although it's disappointing that we weren't able individually to generate as much buzz as is certain to come of this, I appreciate that some of the bigger companies are stepping up. (I say that based on the scientific metric that every person I spoke to not in the tech field had no idea of either bill).
"This is all just a reminder that many of the opponents of SOPA and PROTECT IP, while they like to portray themselves as brave Internet freedom-fighters, are in reality doing little more than protecting their own business interests. They profit from illegal activities, and they will vigorously resist legislation that seeks to put this practice to an end."
I'm not sure where Google's petition goes, and couldn't find a way to view it after signing. Do petitions mean anything? Google truly has the power to 'melt phones' so they may not be able to advocate that, but aren't there other things that can be done?
How many supporters would these types of bills have if it was very clear to readers who were the supporters and opposition to these bills? If congress knew their name was potentially going to be plastered on google or wikipedia, would they have a different stance?
If SOPA opposition was looking for a tagline, I think this comes as close as anything - "The U.S. government could order the blocking of sites using methods similar to those employed by China".
I remember reading that Google said the protest wouldn't involve its logo from somewhere, whoever reported that certainly didn't see this coming. Thumbs up Google!
no they said their logo would be in place as usual. I remember reading that comment and thinking: hmm, that's vague enough to still allow for blacking out their logo.
Disappointed that Facebook/twitter appear to be relatively quiet. Facebook especially is immensely influential now. Perhaps they feel anything that hurts Google is good for them?
There's a notion: block access only from geo-IPs in D.C. and Hollywood. (I'm not really suggesting this, but it amuses me, and we do need to take the offensive in some way more practical than that, not just keep reacting.)
> "Fighting online piracy is important. The most effective way to shut down pirate websites is through targeted legislation that cuts off their funding. There’s no need to make American social networks, blogs and search engines censor the Internet or undermine the existing laws that have enabled the Web to thrive, creating millions of U.S. jobs."
Here's how I read that: We're going to support any anti-piracy legislation that doesn't impact our business.
I think we need to give that option serious consideration before we support it (OPEN Act proposes it, too), because I think it could be easily abused as well. A site like Wikileaks could easily have its funds seized under an "anti-piracy" law like that.
So I doubt I will support something like that personally, but on the other hand, maybe something like that is needed to make alternative payment methods like Bitcoin and Flattr really explode in popularity, just like DMCA led to the explosion of BitTorrent's popularity.
Does anyone else wish that they had put up Facebook and Twitter buttons next to the G+ button on this? I get that those companies are the competition, but you would think if the point is to get the word out about this awful legislation, they would let bygones be bygones.
Does it bother anyone else that they've basically required a gmail just to read the PDF infographic? Sure, you can right-click "save-as", but the kind of people they need to be speaking to aren't going to 'know how'/'go through the trouble' to view it...
On the other hand, I think Wikipedia nailed its execution with the teaser and overlay. I know we can't expect a for-profit company like Google to completely shut-down, but a subtle interference into everyone's use of the site would have been nice to see. I guess I feel a little let down with this.
*EDIT: After reading some comments, it looks like this was just a permissions error. While it alleviates some of my disappointment, I'm still not completely sold that it will speak loudly to many Americans.
After seeing Wikipedia and Google, I am convinced that this means the end of SOPA and PIPA for now. Am I being really naive in thinking that Congress is not going to try another attempt at any internet regulation till at least the elections are over?
I'm taking the opportunity to spam my friends and family with this news. "Check out the Google logo today! Wonder why it's a big black bar?" It's jarring and it piques people's curiosity. I think it'll do good things for educating the public.
The call to action here seems rather weak to those who've been following it for a while, but this is the best we can hope for when reaching out to the broader base.
The more you try to educate, the more joe public will push back.
There's sort of a force multiplier with Google protesting online. It's that Google also has lobbyists who are pointing out and explaining the online protests to legislators.
Is FB going to do something similar? If not, why not? I imagine the tag-team of Google and FB would do wonders for educating the entire public on this crucial issue.
Maybe a more efficient way would be to register as a republican and vote for Ron Paul. That's pretty much the middle finger to the whole establishment.
That is seriously weak. The phones would be ringing off the hook if Google stopped service instead for 24 hours. As it is, everyone will simply think it's another cute Google doodle.
Do you really expect a service as integral to the Internet as Google to shutdown entirely? Would they want to give people an excuse to try Bing or another search engine? What about their shareholders?
This is about as far as they can go, and tellingly this is the first time that I can remember them using their homepage for such a call to action.
Expecting them to go dark for 24 hours is just naïve.
Do you really expect a service as integral to the Internet as Google to shutdown entirely? Would they want to give people an excuse to try Bing or another search engine? What about their shareholders?
Their shareholders will have much more to worry about if SOPA passes. Plus, Google being completely down in protest for a day would be a huge PR win; it would make those that stayed up and running look ridiculous. Wikipedia's approach is the strongest and most likely to actually sway people into action while Google's will be largely ignored by the public.
I disagree, I think this was a very appropriate move for Google. Consider that Google has shareholders to answer to (they can't just take a community vote, like Wikipedia).
I'm actually thoroughly thrilled with what they did, when I visited the main search page the blacked out Google logo was actually psychologically shocking for me, enough to make me click it to find out why (that black box acts like a visual sink attracting me).
Think of the crazy amount of people that hit that main search page. This plus Wikipedia's complete blackout will seriously make some movement.
I disagree. Google's phones would be ringing off the hook if they discontinued service for a day and that wouldn't benefit anyone. We shouldn't punish the entire Internet for the day, only do enough to raise awareness. This is the most obstructed I've ever seen their logo and the first time I've seen them link to something other than just a search term on the "doodle." I believe they have done their part.
This is more than just a doodle. And it's a day long event at a ton of websites. People will notice the doodle. They'll notice that wikipedia is down. They'll notice Wordpress' page. They'll notice the front page of Huffington Post. In the context of everything that's happening today, people will perk up.
Edit: Also for those concerned that the Google Doodle isn't enough; here were stats from Wikipedia on a Google Doodle search query: http://stats.grok.se/en/201109/Albert_Szent-Gy%C3%B6rgyi - I believe 4.2 million views is significant.
Edit 2: And a HN discussion on click-thru rates for the Google Doodle topic searches: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3004392