Sen. Marco Rubio

​That was quick. Less than an hour ago, Sen. Marco Rubio announced he no longer supports the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) -- the Senate version of the Stop Online Privacy (SOPA) -- which he was previously a cosponsor of.

As we noted this morning, two South Florida congressional representatives, Democratic Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Ted Deutch, are cosponsors of SOPA.

Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson is listed by the Library of Congress as a cosponsor of PIPA.

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bagelradio.com

​If you go to Wikipedia's website today, you may cry after finding it's not giving out information today. The Google logo is also blacked out on that website, and Reddit and other sites are also blacking themselves out today.

If you're looking for someone local to blame for any of your internet-related problems, look no further than Democratic Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Ted Deutch.

That's because they're two of the 30 cosponsors of a House bill titled the "Stop Online Piracy Act" -- and the Senate side's bill, the "Protect Intellectual Property Act" -- which nerds have been freaking out about for weeks and the rest of the world is discovering today.

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Google

Navigating the Fort Lauderdale airport. For some reason, there's an app for that.

​Why you would need a map from Google of the inside of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is beyond us, but it now exists.

The airport is one of a handful of locations now mapped on the indoors for the Google Maps application for Android devices, and we're still trying to figure out what the point is.

According to the Google, you can now see the indoor floor plans of these locations, with the ability to handle multiple floors, your location, and see points of interest inside the building.

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inquisitr.com

​Apparently the only argument coming out in favor or against any bill this session in the Florida Legislature is related to whether it creates jobs.

(See: dwarf tossing, ban on.)

Today, when people head to the interwebs to buy things at a price that doesn't require setting up a tent outside of Best Buy for a week, people at the Capitol will be shaking their fists.

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bnet.com

Just like Jim Cramer doesn't have access to stock from Iron Man, John Mattera didn't have access to multiple things he was allegedly selling.

​As they say in South Florida: another day, another alleged multimillion-dollar scam.

John Mattera, 50, was arrested at his Fort Lauderdale home yesterday, charged with securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, and money laundering. Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an emergency court order to freeze all of his assets.

According to the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office, Mattera banked $11 million by defrauding people through a scheme to have them invest in his pre-IPO shares of technology companies like Facebook and Groupon -- which he never had access to and probably never could have.

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charter97.org

​At the time of this post, the House Judiciary Committee is discussing H.R. 3261: the Stop Online Piracy Act (watch it live here), which is considered by those opposed to the legislation to be "the first American Internet censorship system."

That's why DNC Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is among 25 House members who have cosponsored the bill and are being targeted during "American Censorship Day" -- which is today.

On its face, the bill has been described as legislation that simply helps law enforcement and internet service providers stop trademark counterfeiting, copyright infringement, or theft of trade secrets.

Opponents say it's way more than that.

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astriker.com

Jesus, an iPhone kind of guy.

​If the youngsters out there need something a little more high-brow than a fart-noise application for their iPhones, there are now apps for that.

Sen. Marco Rubio announced the release of the aptly named "U.S. Senator Marco Rubio" application for the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices this week, and it actually works well.

"I am very encouraged by the level of constituent engagement we've seen this year through traditional letters and emails, but also through our constituent mailbox series, website blog, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages," Rubio says in a statement. "With these apps, Floridians will have even more tools to help keep them connected to our office and communicate with us."

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knowyourmeme.com

​Now that the term "networking" has become part of the American lexicon, a Jacksonville entrepreneur wants to take credit for creating it in 1985.

Bill Lewis released a statement this week saying all he wants is for his name to be associated with the phrase, saying he "simply wants to clarify his role in its adaptation to today's business, professional, and social vernacular and take credit where credit is due."

Lewis says that since "networking" is now the "catch-term" on websites like Facebook and Twitter, it's time for the truth -- or at least what he claims to be the truth -- to come out.

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I can has sterilization?

​This might come as a disappointment to animal hoarders, but well adjusted pet owners will be happy to learn that a local scientist's research could slow pet overpopulation.
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via techcrunch.com

Google is now more social.

​Maybe Google's new feature is why Twitter is over capacity -- internet-folk be tweetin' the news to the far reaches of the universe (btw, did you see those pictures of Mercury? I'd +1 that). "The +1 button is shorthand for 'this is pretty cool' or 'you should check this out.'," according to the Google explanation of its new feature, announced today.

Here's how it works...

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