SNP’s word of the day: Blackout

Word: Blackout

Meaning(s): A regional or even wider-spread failure of electric power; an intentional shutting down of electric power to protect a region from air strikes; a loss of human consciousness; a loss of memory; a suspension of radio, TV, or internet communication.

Usage: “The blackout started at 12:00 a.m. Eastern time (5:00 a.m. GMT) on Wednesday morning and will last until 12:00 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday (also 5:00 a.m. GMT).” — from the National Post‘s excellent summary of SOPA and STOP SOPA action

You should know it because: Today the internet goes dark, or so the headlines say, although it is clear you are still reading this. Most of the internet, in fact, is bright as usual. But some of your most-clicked sites—Wikipedia, Reddit, Boing Boing, and some less-major American players—are participating in a 24-hour full or partial blackout to protest SOPA. What’s SOPA? It’s an acronym for the Stop Online Piracy Act, an intensely divisive piece of potential U.S. legislation that would force search engines to block results associated with piracy. Obviously, this has massive implications for the internet, from Google on down, and would make our alternate universe a far less free place. This isn’t really about whether or not you side with net pirates—pretty much everyone believes that creators should be paid for their work. No, it’s a culture war, a clash between the titans of old Hollywood and old media (major movie studios, book publishers) and the juggernauts of the new world.

That’s why, when considering today’s blackout, it makes most sense to compare it the World War II definition of blackout. Regions of Allied countries, like Britain, went dark to avoid being seen and slaughtered by air strikes. The internet now is like the Allies. SOPA, a broadly restrictive, undemocratic bill, is like… Hitler, I guess. You can see which side I’m on (although, I think it’s also naive to think the internet was ever wholly democratic).

The blackout reminds us how precarious a place of “freedom” and borderlessness the internet is. We pretend it’s solid; we store so much of ourselves there. But there is nothing physical about this world-wide web. It’s electricity. It’s consciousness. It can flicker, or go out, in an instant.

The post SNP’s word of the day: Blackout appeared first on FASHION Magazine.