SOPA's kicked up a storm and there's no shortage of buzz in news, blogs and social media about the legislation and what it means.  However, while the noise is good in raising awareness, if you really want to have an impact, you have take some action.  

1.  Get smart. Read up on SOPA and learn what it means and decide for yourself if this issue is something you have a strong view point on.  Wikipedia has one of the best SOPA articles I've read -- and represents both sides -- for and against SOPA. 

2.  Write an email. Write your representatives in the US Congress.  No action you can take will be as powerful as writing your elected officials.   Putting your name, and more importantly your vote, behind your viewpoint is the most powerful action you can take to influence the outcome.  Yes, you have to provide your address, phone number and email -- and yes -- you'll get a lot of political junk (snail) mail as a result.  But anoyminity doesn't mean a thing -- your name and vote is what counts.

Avoid form letters and write your own simple note:  

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Dear Senator Smith:

I'm writing to you to ask you to vote agains SOPA. I think SOPA is bad because of X, Y and Z.  Next election cycle, I plan to vote against any elected official that supports or votes for SOPA. 

Sincerely,

John Schmidt

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• Write your Senator:  Visit the US Senate's website  and use the "Find Your Senators" tool in the top right corner. Locate the Senators that represent you (and you have two) and navigate to the "contact" form.  Take the time to complete the form and match it to the category that best fits. For me, since "SOPA" wasn't an option, I chose either "small business" or "IT/technology" depending on what categories that elected official offers. 
• Write your Congressperson:  Visit the US House of Representatives website and use the "Find Your Representative" in the top right corner.  Enter your zip code to locate your Congressperson (you'll have one).  Same deal as with the Senate, navigate the site to find the contact form and write a personal letter. 

We can write as many anti-SOPA articles and blog posts as we'd like, but elected officials listen to votes.  If you really want to make a difference, stop what you are doing and take 10 minutes to send three emails now.