Category: internet finds

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Amazon Boycott, Alternate Title: Getting Violently Ill Whilst Reading

Earlier today, while on Twitter, I heard about parents starting a boycott of Amazon. I followed a few conversations, and figured out that there was a e-Book in their Kindle store that was causing a stir. Clicking on the link, I found that it linked to book that is basically a guide to pedophilia.

I couldn’t believe it — I mean, I’ve purchased things for my children on Amazon.

In scanning articles tonight, it appears that Amazon is holding to its position that it will continue to sell the e-book. Their statement in response to the criticism is as follows: “Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable. Amazon does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts, however, we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions.”

Amazon just made it very easy for me to make a major purchasing decision — I won’t be shopping there unless that book is taken down.

Do I believe in Free Speech? Of course.

Do I believe in the Free Market Place? Of course.

What I don’t believe in is the promotion of the exploitation of children.

I don’t believe in a company so lacking in morals that it will make money selling formula, baby toys, and children’s clothing on the exact same domain name that caters to pedophiles.

They are not doing a public service by allowing this e-book to be purchased. They are doing nothing but taking an opportunity to make some money on a book that could possibly destroy children’s lives. They are looking only at the bottom dollar of what they may make on this book.

Which is really too bad for them.

If you want to read more, follow #boycottamazon on Twitter, type that search term into Google or Facebook  or try this article on Tech Crunch http://techcrunch.com/2010/11/10/amazon-defends-pedophile-how-to-guide/

(Warning: it contains an excerpt from this filth. I started physically shaking, and almost threw up reading it. It is sick, it is wrong. It is in bad taste.)

IT IS A DANGER TO CHILDREN AND NEEDS TO BE REMOVED.

I’ll keep you posted. Til then, I’m sitting on my Amazon credits. I’m not posting affiliate links. If this all dies down (as causes and boycotts sometimes do) and the book is still available, I’ll use up my credits on some more items for the Pajama Program and call it a day.

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Dreaming of a Polar Family Vacation

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I learned early on as a new mom that vacation with kids typically isn’t a vacation — it’s a family trip. A family trip means travel, means family, means fun, means memories, but it’s not a vacation for mom. Suitcases need to be packed, children need to be entertained while traveling, and upon arrival? Oh my — there’s the sleeping away from home issue, the eating away from home issue and the pottying away from home issue. That’s a lot of issues for a 5day/6night adventure. My line of thinking is this — for it to be a real vacation at this point, it needs to be all-inclusive. And there needs to be on-site childcare so that at some point in the trip there is an actual vacation. I’ve concluded then, that our ultimate vacation would be an Alaskan Cruise.

Why Alaska? I don’t need to be paranoid about sunscreen, and I think seeing that part of the country would be amazing. I imagine it would be a National Geographic issue come to life — educational, breath-taking, interesting, and fun all in one swoop. The kids would swoon at the wildlife, I would swoon at the lack of housekeeping and cooking for which I’d be responsible, and I think it would be a win-win all around. The four of us would be able to have a lot of family time exploring what the ship had to offer, as well as swimming, sharing meals, and enjoying entertainment when we weren’t on excursions. I would make no beds. I would make no meals. I might even spring for the housekeeping staff to do our laundry. That, my friends, would be a real vacation! Where would you go??

Don’t forget to enter the “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, for a chance to win your own ultimate family vacation. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

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What’s your Internet like these days?

Well that was a nice, unintended break from posting.

Something that’s hit home for me this week is just how vast the Internet really is, and, truly, how virtual it all is. That there can be stress, disagreement and even name-calling on a website or forum, and then you close your laptop, walk outside and it’s silenced. That’s kind of amazing. I’ve also realized how different people use the internets in different ways, and what may appear to mainstream/popular crowd sites to some, are virtually unknown to the rest of the world wide web users out there.

A college roommate of mine has started a new venture, Persephone Magazine, a daily, online destination for women. I’m contributing, and it’s fun because I think it will give me a chance to test some non-mom muscles every now and again. But here’s the thing– we are the same age, live in the same town and share many of the same interests. Her inspirations for the site, the sites from which modeled after, and who she thinks is a big deal on the web are completely different from my inspirations and aspirations world wide web wise. Which is exciting because we are already learning a lot from each other. And? She’s kind of a wordpress goddess, and who can’t use one of those in her life??

The other interesting thing from this past week is the internet explosion that happened on Grown In My Heart. The intentions were simple –plan on conference on a cruise ship that could be inspiring for anyone involved in adoption. The seven writers who attended BlogHer this past summer thought it could be done. We had such great conversations and brainstorming that weekend, we thought it would translate easily to the online community at large. We spent almost two months figuring out a locale, and had started to secure speakers, so we thought it’d be a good time to put out some information about an event we were so very excited about.

Then it all broke loose. Comments started flying around like rotten tomatoes. Attempts to reign it in flopped fantastically, and well, to be honest, we’re not quite sure where to go from here. I don’t really even recommend delving into the comments, because any voice of reason and any valid points are very hard to separate from people’s rants and personal agendas.

Again, what’s amazing though, is that unless you read the site, you have no idea that that little corner of the internet exploded on itself. Little earthquakes happen like that every single day, I’m sure, all over the Internet.

I’ve also been riveted by the coverage of teen bullying, and learning a lot about Google AdWords and keyword searches. My friend Jason has been talking a lot about bullying on his radio show, and I’ve never been prouder to call him my friend or my prom date.

As so that’s been my past week on the internet. What’s new with you?