I love how the biggest chunk of supporters is naturally around LA (Hollywood and friends) and there is nobody supporting it around the Bay Area.
However, outside these two obvious observations, I don't see any significant patterns. It seems to just be a smattering of support with most states having one or none. Is this because the issue is less important and controversial outside of California (is it even?) or am I missing something?
Personally, I really like the map -- the information is related to state representatives, and these people are going to listen to their constituents more than anyone else. Having a map helps me quickly answer:
- Are any of my representatives sponsoring SOPA?
- Are there representatives sponsoring SOPA in any other states I can make a difference in (have family, friends, business ties to)?
Suggestions:
- Add contact info for each sponsor to the placemarkers, not just listed below.
- Please list mailing addresses for each sponsor. While twitter and facebook are convenient, representatives take written and mailed feedback much more seriously.
Why is the most prominent image a map? Is there really a geographical component to this issue? Or rather, is that purported geographical component so pressing that it requires a map that takes up all available above-the-fold space?
* To be less harsh...I think it's great you're gathering up the important legislative facts about this bill. I just overreact when I see maps being used for seemingly little purpose.
I don't know that the map itself offers much, but as the OP stated, it does help you quickly see who in your or any other state supports SOPA. I didn't realize there was anything below the fold though; when I see a large map like that, I assume it's the whole page and ignore the scroll bar, but that's just me.
As an aside, I learned that Ben Quayle in Arizona, who serves as the Chairman for the Science Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation [1], supports this bill. That made me especially sad; I had, perhaps foolishly, expected someone in such a position to understand the evils of this bill.
I wanted people to see at a glance whether there's a chance their own representative is supporting the Act.
Also, the reason I started looking at it was to see if there really was a concentration of support in any particular region. It seems as though there is.
But your point is well taken... I probably should make it smaller so it's clear there's more information below.
I put this together because I was curious who the actual sponsors of SOPA were.
I welcome feedback on how to make the site more informative. In particular I would like to include links to some of the best articles discussing the issue. Any suggestions?
I like the map; makes it obvious at a glance that the LA/Hollywood-region is dominated by supporters, with not a single supporter from the Bay Area/Silicon Valley. No surprise there, but even more stark of a contrast than I expected.
Also happy to see that my adopted state (Colorado) has no supporters at all. Which is a mixed blessing, of course...no one to protest to who will pay any attention to me.
Thanks for putting this together, though. Maybe others will discover nearby supporters who they can protest to -- or who maybe have friends who they can convince to write a letter. If anyone knows someone in greater LA, for example, odds are good that they have a rep who's supporting SOPA.
Don't forget PIPA ("Protect IP Act", S. 968), the Senate's counterpart. Both must be reconciled and passed for this cr-p to go into effect. (Though I'm not too hopeful about Senators' responsiveness.)
The facts that almost half of Senators are sponsors and that they represent whole states would make a spatial visualization less helpful, I think.
I figured this particular format would be more effective to highlight the small minority (32/435) of House members sponsoring SOPA. So I started there.
You're absolutely right that PROTECT IP deserves just as much attention, though. I will get to work as soon as I can on compiling a table of the PROTECT IP sponsors' contact info.
However, outside these two obvious observations, I don't see any significant patterns. It seems to just be a smattering of support with most states having one or none. Is this because the issue is less important and controversial outside of California (is it even?) or am I missing something?