Been an interesting week, bringing together some focus for my writing, and some last minute favors. It’s been fun, though, and that’s an important aspect!

First order of business for the mash-up this week is a new law being put through its paces with the backing of the RIAA. In Tennessee it is now illegal to share your passwords to sites like Netflix. Obviously, the law’s intent is to protect the entertainment industry from people who are doing mass sale of passwords and other techniques to make money or steal wholesale from these companies. I agree that’s wrong.

The problem is this:

The RIAA says the bill was geared more towards hackers who sell passwords in bulk, but admits it could be used against people using a friend or relative’s password. The punishment for stealing $500 or less of entertainment would be a misdemeanor and up to a year in jail, as well as a $2,500 fine. Anything higher than $500 would be a felony with more serious penalties.

I have an issue with this. Even the most optimistic person has to admit that money seriously helps in the court of law, and the RIAA has a lot of money to throw around. I also don’t expect them to stop at ‘hackers.’ What I find funny, though, is all the services that this law covers? Already have systems in place to police their users. Netflix, for example, can only run on two devices at a time. Why do we need a law for something the companies already have figured out?

Watch out for similar bills near you, and please, take a stand, one way or the other. Democracy works best when we’re all involved.

On to the mash-up!

Twitter Tuesday #19–Ah, the Dreaded Follow Friday « Kristen Lamb’s Blog Kristen Lamb breaks it down: the right way to approach #MM, #WW, and #FF.

Seth’s Blog: The hard part (one of them) Short and sweet from Seth Godin. How do you get to be so smart?

Writer Beware™ Blogs!: Contract Red Flag: Net Profit Royalty Clauses I like researching contracts, and this one is pretty spooky for writers. Keep yourselves informed!

» 6 Personality Types Who Will Succeed as Writers | A. Victoria Mixon, Editor Who will succeed as a writer?

Villains Dissected: Magneto « Terrell Mims University Terrell examines Magneto, the X-Men’s arch-nemesis. One of my favorite comic villains.

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn’t seen it) on Vimeo Have a laugh!

Aaron Koblin: Artfully visualizing our humanity | Video on TED.com Because I always need to share a TED talk, how data can be art. There are some awesome visualizations in this video!