“It was a pleasure to have Victoria work with us, she was personable, enthusiastic and used her initiative well – essential attributes required within the work environment. We were really impressed with how she applied herself to all jobs given, regardless of whether menial or of high importance. Victoria fit into the marketing team and overall Oceanarium team quickly and easily, receiving positive feedback from other departments.”
--- Samantha Jux-Holderness
Marketing & PR Co-Ordinator at Bournemouth Oceanarium
Oh, the end of exams!
The joy! The freedom! The… boredom?
And therefore, boredom leads to the internet. Discovering things on Wikipedia, sharing on Reddit, browsing Twitter and Facebook….
Oh, what’s that? The day my exams ended, Wiki and Reddit both blacked out to protest SOPA – the Stop Online Piracy Act. This annoyed many of the regular visitors who had little clue as to what the protest was about. You can’t live without Wikipedia for a day? SOPA could threaten its existence for life – try finding out about that theorist, now. You might actually have to – gasp – read a book.
Now I don’t know about you – but I wouldn’t say that Wikipedia and Reddit exactly ENCOURAGE or even take part in piracy? Sharing yes, but piracy? No. For those of you unfamiliar, Reddit is a (somewhat geeky) forum for sharing links to ANYTHING on the internet. You can link to amusing pictures of cats, a fun YouTube video, a shocking news story… anything you like, really. Sounds pretty good? It is! I should know, I spend hours whiling time there… when I’m not busy studying, obviously.
Now, correct me if I’m wrong but I always thought that the internet was a tool for communication and information? Surely, a website like Reddit encompasses that. Through Reddit I have not only laughed at cats jumping bizarrely away from water (see here, it’s hilarious) but also been made aware of things I otherwise would not have known, thanks to its large and diverse amount of users. It’s a way of interacting with other people in the world, finding out their reactions to politics and popular culture. It’s honestly a brilliant website and if it were to be shut down because of SOPA, it would be a crying shame.
As for Wikipedia – ALL of us, EVERYONE has used Wikipedia for something. As a starting point (maybe more…) for essays and study, clarifying definitions or even just genuine curiosity. This was built by the internet. Yes, it may not be entirely reliable – we’ve all seen ridiculous edits of information from celebrities to my old school’s Headteacher – but it is a starting point that can sometimes lead to mild amusement and more often than not feeling informed about something far better than any textbook could have explained it. With related hyperlinks, it’s so much more interactive and useful for our purposes.
Those who complained about the blackouts are either misinformed or simply unaware – please take them seriously, it’s a remarkable thing to do to shut your website down for the day – especially ones with such huge amounts of traffic – SOPA could genuinely harm the internet as we know it and prevent the kind of freedom we enjoy now. There are a few petitions around if you feel strongly about it, for now, stay aware and keep your eyes open – the internet is changing.
The consequences
of SOPA
A post for Fight Apathy... or Don't, a student-run website from universities across the UK