The biggest Internet names are talking about joining forces in an effort to raise awareness for SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act. This is a measure your lawmakers are contemplating passing into law while you’re reading this. Supported primarily by large record labels, movie studios and conservatives in Washington, SOPA would essentially allow judges to arbitrarily order any website to block any content it chooses.

Sound scary? It is. In a coordinated effort to raise awareness and convince the confused crew in D.C. to drop the dictatorship-like law from passing some of the Internet’s most influential powerhouses are joining forces. Among those are Google, Facebook, Amazon, Yahoo, eBay and others. They’re calling it the “nuclear” option.

This “nuclear” option may be a temporary inconvenience for many of us, but if it works, it’s worth it.

GoDaddy, on the other hand, originally supported SOPA. This caused an uproar and an attempt at a mass boycott of their domain registration services. There was a significant effort to convince and support GoDaddy customers in moving their domains to other domain registrars. Other services were even giving discounts for doing just that. As a result, GoDaddy has since renounced its public support of SOPA, but we here at ErixClix don’t believe the driving force behind GoDaddy’s politics actually changed their minds on the subject.

Regardless, it’s time to raise awareness of the oppressive, free-speech clobbering, law they are considering and fight it until it’s dropped.

UPDATE 12/22/2011 – It was announced that John Boehner, House GOP leader and stubborn bonehead, has finally relented his weak and desperate position on the the payroll tax cut. It looks like, at least for a couple months, 160 million Americans will get to keep the 4.2% payroll tax rate. Score 1 for Obama and the 99%.

ORIGINAL STORY – John Boehner and the rest of the GOP left to take their holiday vacation time, but not before denying the rest of America the payroll tax cut extension. Which means, if action isn’t taken, their “no new tax” pledge officially only applies to the rich as the middle class gets an average of a $1000 annual tax increase as a result.

It’s obvious now that the GOP wants Obama to fail and doesn’t care if their policy of failure affects the rest of us. Their politics are killing us…literally in some cases.

Their pledge for no new taxes on the rich has become a pledge of poverty to the rest of us.

The good news is, it looks like their campaign to endlessly barrage the media with anti-Obama slogans and fact-less finger pointing isn’t working, Obama’s approval rating has jumped a sharp 5% to near 50%, while the GOP controlled Congress’ approval rating is down to 11% and falling.

Not that the Republican hard-heads will change, but it looks like their policy of imposing failure is backfiring.

Yet another high paid, over-educated, over-hyped, well connected CEO destroys yet another company. Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, is the latest moron to destroy an extraordinarily successful business.

This destruction is so unbelievable and ridiculous in its face it almost seems intentional. I always believed this kind of failure is calculated as it doesn’t come easily! So, how do you completely screw up the most successful online streaming and DVD rental business?

Step 1 : Instead of increasing, DECREASE your online streaming movie selection by walking away from your most valuable content provider (Starz).

Step 2 : In a very highly competitive business, raise your prices beyond all reasonable inflationary expectations to the point of shocking your customer base.

And finally, Step 3 : Take your bread and butter, and now over priced, business, DVD rental, and make it a separate company where your already loyal users must now migrate to and add extra steps and complexity to the process they were already used to.

This should be a “How To” on destroying a brand. And it doesn’t just kill the company, it kills jobs, and therefore the economy. Reed Hastings isn’t just a big idiot, he’s part of the bigger problem. Meanwhile, he gets to take his multi-million dollar salary as a reward for this gross incompetence.

Does any of this sound familiar? Let me refresh your memory: HP, Carly Fiorina and the Compaq purchase. eBay’s Meg Whitman with her unending price increases and tax-code-esque fee structure. Even our beloved Apple. Before Steve Jobs was brought back in (I believe as a last resort), John Sculley and Gil Amelio, both permanent members of the a*hole CEO’s club, nearly positioned the company and its great products for a hostile takeover (Oracle’s Larry Ellison and AT&T were some of Apple’s potential takeover suitors) in the late 90′s.

What do they have in common? Reed Hastings, Carly Fiorina, Meg Whitman, John Sculley and Gil Amelio are all permanent members of the CEO’s club. They all attended prestigious schools and are all well connected. But are any of them qualified? I don’t think so. But they all were well paid and well equipped with golden parachutes so that after their rein of terror they could leave the nuclear waste behind as well-off multi-millionaires.

What’s the solution? I like Steve Jobs’ paycheck. Since Apple brought him back, Steve’s paycheck was a huge, monolithic, $1, yes, one dollar. Steve was paid for performance, and perform he did.

What motivation do these CEOs have to perform? Whether the company succeeds or it tanks under their command, they get obscene financial compensation. Some might see this as corruption…even criminal.

Steve Jobs was a college dropout. The “grossly incompetent” CEOs club members are all Ivy league d*bags. If shareholders want to see results, if they want to see $$$, I think they need to change their ways, re-evaluate the accepted conventions when hiring true, visionary leaders. It’s just not about the GPA.

This week Apple announced their highest quarterly earnings in the history of the company. Sounds like a typical Apple success update doesn’t it? The stock probably went up, yet again, right? Actually, no, it didn’t. And for the most ridiculous reason.

It’s one thing to fear Apple’s future on the recent loss of their co-founder Steve Jobs, therefore causing a dip in stock price. It’s one thing to question where the innovation will come from. These can cause valuation decreases in a company’s shares.

However, this rather significant 5% drop is due to something more Wall Street manufactured. AAPL dropped over $20 in one day because Apple’s highest earning quarter was a tad shy of analyst’s precious quarterly projections, and for the first time in history, Apple missed its own guidance, which has historically been rather conservative.

So, does this warrant the fear and abandonment of the stock? Does this slight, but unprecedented miss justify the panic? I don’t think so. A success story like Apple missing their own guidance for the first time, while simultaneously having their best quarter ever is hardly ‘material’ enough for me to run for the exit.

The real issue is that the stock’s devaluation may be justified for other reasons. It’s no secret that Apple’s non-stop success for the past decade was the sole result of the leadership and vision of the late Steve Jobs. And it’s no secret that everyone is wondering where the innovation for the next 10 years will come from.

It’s almost certain that Steve left not only a great corporate culture and legacy, but also a road-map, at least for the near future. A few more significant upgrades to the iPhone (NFC Near-field communication for mobile payment, larger screen, pre-approved form factor changes), iPad (Retina display, additional smaller screen model, lighter, faster), etc, etc. But what happens after that? Who will invent the next super-cool thing that we didn’t know we needed but have to have? Tim Cook? While a very nice guy, and very capable of leading Apple through the existing road-map, is he capable of world changing innovation? Scott Forstall? Phil Schiller? A great team, a world class team. But, I don’t think so.

And it is for that reason, Apple’s monumental rise will, at some point, level out. Hopefully, the legacy, culture and pre-laid plans are enough to get Apple through the next 5 to 10 years safely and securely. At least until the next Walt Disney, Henry Ford or Steve Jobs emerges.

Another huge “down day” on Wall Street. Today’s excuse? The S&P credit rating drop. Everyone keeps saying S&P made a huge miscalculation and that America’s credit rating is still AAA. How can this be? We have a deadlocked government, two wars, a faltering global economy, and a hopeless unemployment situation.

But there is one thing that everyone, besides S&P, seems to agree on; that America is still a AAA credit bet. I believe in staying positive and moving forward and holding strong and all that, but at some point, when will we face reality?

The reality is things are not good. And nobody is able to do anything about it. Now, why should a credit rating agency ‘pretend’ along with the rest of us, that everything is fine. I think it’s time to stop pretending, hoping, and praying, and start doing something about it.

Michelle Bachmann has been caught praying for jobs recently. Now, do we think jobs will fall from the sky? Or do we actively have to create them? Will the expenses of the government, war, healthcare, public programs, general costs, just pay for itself? Is there a magic slot machine somewhere? Or, do we have to raise taxes ever so slightly on the most fortunate of us, who, by the way, made their money because of this great country? Shouldn’t they have to pay their fair share for taking advantage of the opportunities they’ve enjoyed here?

Brief history ‘reminder:’ Remember that great ancient Roman civilization? Even that eventually fell, but only when they ignored their problems and believed (or maybe hoped) that they were indestructible.

God Bless America

Unfortunately, the American people are only just now realizing the mess their short-sightedness has made. Losing patience last year with President Obama then electing the loud-mouth, broken record, pseudo-Tea Party Republican Congress we have in place now, in hindsight, seems to have been a huge mistake.

Now what do we do?

The Republican majority Congress has dug their heels in pretty deep on keeping the ultra rich and multi-billion dollar corporations their Bush-era tax breaks and loopholes.

Where’s my “tax loophole” for being poor? As a small business owner why do I pay tax just for being self-employed? (that’s compounded with regular income tax?) Shouldn’t large corporations pay more taxes instead of breaking the backs of the self-employed, small business owner? We goofed. We voted as if we were rich, because we wanted to be. Protect the rich because I might be one someday…right?

So, what to do? Contact your Congressman. Pressure your Congressman. Here’s a link to get you started…and yes…it matters.  Click this link to Contact your Congressman.

When will the analysts get it?  How many straight quarters does Apple (AAPL) have to outperform the market?  How many years of consistency will it take before analysts give Apple a fair shake?  After not only surviving this recession Apple has again in it’s Q2 Earnings Report released today shown it has what it takes to be a strong, short-term as well as long-term investment.  Or is it something else?  Is there some other reason analysts are reactive and not proactively confident about Apple?

Cut off your nose to spite your…Apple?

It is quite possible, that all those years of being wrong about Apple, recommending Microsoft (MSFT, nicknamed “Mr. Softy”) as the safe bet to their clients while Apple climbs from $12 to $100, splits, climbs back up over $100 and closes today at $121 may give them cause to “stay the stubborn course” on their technology picks.  It’s a missed boat, and to get on this late in the game is admitting you missed out on the biggest gains.  And that does not feel good.  Do this in large enough numbers and it effects an industry.

Analysts, instead of doing their jobs and researching what looks like a high risk stock on the surface, with a little investigation, would have seen the fundamentals were there.  There are a few analysts that used their brains and earned their hefty commissions that took a chance on Apple, but they are very few and far between.  Hats off to those who had to endure ridicule and condemnation from the “be safe” drones!

So yes, I ultimately believe that after all of the non-stop gains they’ve watched pass them by, it’s now easier for them to continue to ‘pass’ on Apple and stick with Mr. Softy.  Harboring resentment is bad for your portfolio.

Is it too late?

Currently Apple holds less than 15% of the desktop computer market in the U.S.  There are 2 ways to look at this, 1) Why is that number so small?  Or, 2) Look how much room they have to grow.  So let’s see, are they growing?  Well, just in the last 3 years, their market share has grown by a full third…and is still growing.  Let alone the ‘other’ profit center…handheld devices.

The iPhone…clearly the most popular smartphone on the market, still has not saturated the market as far as Research In Motion(RIMM)’s Blackberry.  Again, this is good news.  The research, as well as the real numbers released by Apple today show the momentum is still in Apple’s favor.  And with the very public release of a new iPhone OS, and a new iPhone coming in June, even more reasons to switch to the iPhone will have presented themselves.

Competition

Typically, when so many companies are trying to compete with you, as are LG, Research In Motion, Samsung, Palm and others, who are trying to invent the next “iPhone Killer”, you’re in trouble.  Someone finds a way to outdo you.  Thus far it has not worked with Apple because their approach, marketing, innovation and corporate culture is different.

Microsoft’s retaliation for the “I’m a PC, I’m a Mac” commercials also, are not working.  Further, their attempt at making a friendlier easier to use (as Apple’s Mac OS is known for) OS, Vista, crashed and burned, souring many on even giving them a chance on the upcoming Windows 7.

So far, Apple’s “core” does seem impervious.  At least until a potential competitor finds a way to reinvent itself from the ground up.  And that’s not easy.  So that takes care of the competition, for now.

So, no, it’s not too late to get on this boat.  But what do I know? I’m not an analyst.

Considering the GOP and their corporate tax breaks, short-sighted policies of greed and gross, multi-pronged mismanagement of the economy.  And!  That it was their administration directly responsible for the financial meltdown we are all now drowning in…

I would say it’s a blessing and a sign that we are doing the right thing that these very people are almost entirely against the new economic stimulus package!  Doesn’t that, by definition, mean it will work!?

Complaining that the new economic stimulus will do nothing and is a waste of spending, while continuing to not offer an alternative solution provides even more justification for my rejoicing over their inept and complete lack of understanding of how an economy works.  Have we not learned “trickle-down” obviously doesn’t?  Create jobs, create wealth…sounds simple enough.

Aside from the sarcastic tone of this commentary, I would like to be yet another to state that the very people that put this recession into high gear don’t have much credibility today while President Obama makes an attempt at digging us out of the mess.  And how completely irresponsible it is, as our representatives, to make every effort to undermine an attempt at recovery.  The president has been elected. The stimulus law has passed.  The people have spoken.  Now get behind it!

Things aren’t all bad during a recession and if you’re still here in 2009, you’re doing better than some!  You should use this time to prepare for a recovering economy.  And here are two reasons why there’s no better time to do it.

Less user traffic, easier to migrate

Upgrading or migrating your technology infrastructure can be tricky and costly in a live production environment.  However, with fewer customers and commercial web traffic, you’ve been handed the perfect opportunity for upgrading or migrating your technology infrastructure.  Any planned or even unplanned outages will have much less impact on already slow business.

Recession Discounts

And not only is traffic significantly lower, because of the recession, competition for your business has increased, therefore cost of IT products and services are also significantly lower.  Some of these services are even no-cost.

Free for all

Google Apps hosted services currently have a standard, no-charge edition that includes ad-based hosting of email, calendar and document services for your company.  This is a great way for small even medium businesses to lower IT overhead taking advantage of Google’s superior spam management and groupware features built-in to Google Docs and Google Calendar.

Blue-light Special

Further, many hosted services (e.g. managed and unmanaged servers) are now deeply discounted.  Upgrading your capacity and actually SAVING money over your current services is common in this market.  Do some shopping around and you may find you can have more and pay LESS than you are now.

The Advantage

With a few simple migrations and upgrades when the economy does recover you will be ready.  And maybe, even for now, save on costs with these new services.  Also, your boss will have yet another reason to keep you around, since you’ll be busy doing no-cost or low cost upgrades to the company’s IT infrastructure…which will make them look good too!

Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, raised further concerns about his health after releasing a statement yesterday that seemed to back-peddle over his previous statement that portrayed his health problems as maybe being not so bad. After this new announcement, with what seems like a contradiction shareholders want an explanation, some alleging serious legal infringement. Do they want Apple’s CEO to pronounce his own death sentence before even his doctors are able to?

THE HUMAN FACTOR

Coincidentally, in 2001 my own father was diagnosed with the same exact rare, “lesser of two evils,” type of pancreatic cancer Steve Jobs was also diagnosed with. During my father’s treatment at Mayo in Scottsdale, Arizona his weight fluctuated, there were ups and downs, and the prognosis wasn’t good.

However, during all of the years my family went through this period there was not a single instance where his doctors were able to tell us with any measure of certainty whether or not my dad was going to survive this. They even made statements like “he could be with us for 6 months, or you could have another 20 years.” That is the nature of the islet cell type of cancer he had. It’s very slow growing, sometimes treatable, and supposedly Jobs’ surgery was successful in removing the cancer.

Now, it’s after the fact, he’s lost weight and there’s concern. The latest reasoning is a hormone imbalance. Even a small amount of research shows these can easily be fixed, or they can lead to fatality.

SO, HURRY UP AND DIE ALREADY

What the vicious analysts seem to want here is a “yay” or “nay” on Jobs’ life. They want the doctors to inject him with a magic cure, or they want a death sentence pronounced. So they can predict the future and either make boat loads of  money or cash out and move on to the next hot rumor. And if you don’t give them that certainty they will sue you!

Otherwise, I have no other explanations for this kind of behavior. Expecting Steve Jobs to tell everyone if he’s going to live or die, when, by the nature of his health problems (which actually were publicized long ago) it is almost impossible to predict the outcome.

PROFIT FROM LIFE

The analysts just say they want more detail. I think they already know as much as they have a right to. I wonder how these vultures would feel if they were diagnosed with cancer and everyone said…”c’mon tell us if you’re going to live or die so I know if I’m going to make money or not!”

Finally, there will always be the human equation, and in business, you can’t always have certainty. And, regarding the legal standing on this matter, in the battle between decency and financial certainty, I think we should be able to sue for indecency not the other thing.

We support you Steve and get well soon!

Goodbye Mr. Gates and farewell…as you step down from active duty at the behemoth enterprise you named Microsoft (MSFT).  Just one thing…will you be missed?

From business, leadership and investment points of view…I don’t think so.  The contrast is seen when we examine the impact your counterpart Steve Jobs, at Apple, has on those same issues.

Just a few short weeks ago, Steve Jobs was introducing us to the new 3G iPhone.  Not minutes after the demonstration, blogs and editorials were filling up with commentary and concern about what appeared to be a sickly looking CEO.

Not a few days later, enough momentum was built up in the industry regarding the rumors of an ailing CEO, once stricken with a rare form of pancreatic cancer, for the news to negatively affect the share price (AAPL).

I believe it is normal for the health of a CEO as influential and successful as Steve Jobs to affect the value of a company.  If the person most directly responsible for a company’s success is no longer around, they cannot continue to lead that company to success.  Especially with a company like Apple.  Before Steve was brought back as CEO nearly 10 years ago, Apple had a succession of failed Chiefs.

So, the contrast to Mr. Gates is Steve Jobs.  Gates is leaving, he left, he’s gone.  Stock price…the same.  Investors…not worried.  Business world cares Bill’s leaving?  No, not really.

Why mention this?  It sounds like I’m simply honoring Steve Jobs as a leader…but I’m really talking business here…

This brings me back to any possible future value of Microsoft and Apple.  You can’t have a leader that leaves a legacy of ambivalence with the business world and have the company they lead last forever.  The foundation is shaky..the future is murky…the proof is in the pudding?  Microsoft’s share price hasn’t moved much in ages.  Meanwhile their market share is steadily being eaten away by Apple and Linux-based solutions.  I thought share price was based on the future outlook?

Just as the analysts jumped on board with Apple (AAPL) after they had already showed signs of growth and a promising future.  They will too, continue to be the master oracles they are and predict a problem with Microsoft’s future, but only after that future has come and gone.

The dishonest business tactics (see Microsoft’s settlement with the states on Windows price fixing, European Union record fines), faulty product technologies (unreliable, insecure OS) and unfriendly nature of their products…all of this…will lead to an uncertain future for Microsoft (MSFT).

Steve Jobs may not live forever, but the Apple “seeds” he’s been planting for 10 years will most certainly last another 100.  Even mediocre leadership can hold all this up for a while…20…30 years?  The proof of that claim is in the man that just exited the stage from the other company.

Open letter to I****o Realty after a very trying time with Real Estate Agents in Scottsdale, Arizona, my experience ended up enlightening me to the dishonest and manipulative practices of Real Estate Agents.

Encouraging you about your home’s value before you sign with them, then after you are in contract, they barrage you with articles about how bad the market has gotten and your price is way off. If you don’t lower it enough they reduce service to nothing then offer you a cancellation. This keeps their average DOM listings up. Helping them lure new, unsuspecting clients into their game.

Real Estate Agent, being the only profession where after spending less than $3000 and less than a few months on classes, one can earn over six-figures in a very short time with no other formal education, or even a high school diploma. Why are we trusting THESE people to understand marketing and be aggressive sales-people? Why go to medical school?

The letter is as follows:
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I have thought very long and very hard about this. And it has been very difficult for me to remain calm about the wasted time and money with I****o Realty’s agent. I realize, after her first couple of attempts to scare me into lowering my price $30 to $40,000 below the lowest comparable had failed…she commensed a purposeful, sub-standard service on my property, intended to force me into canceling the contract, thus keeping her average DOM down and enabling her to round-up more potential clients…I have woken up…I finally did some research.

The article your agent sent me that was circulated by another I****o agent, not long after I first signed with Intero that was to convince me the market was even worse from just a few days before (before I****o had my signature), shows me this is common practice and quite possibly the policy of I****o Realty, to lure a client with 100% positive feedback about their home and listing price, then, after they’ve signed, talk the client down to an EXTREME BELOW MARKET price so the house can move overnight, I****o collects their full commissions, doing minimal work and your client takes tens of thousands in loss, AND WORST OF ALL the market takes an unnecessary, huge, fear-based hit to property values after the SOLD PROPERTY becomes a "comp" for other realtors to use to do the same and spread even more fear!!! THIS SEEMS CRIMINAL TO ME!!!

As it turns out, research shows, this seems to be common practice with agencies. Especially those that require full commissions!!! I found out today that this is such a common practice with Real Estate Professionals that there are numerous lawsuits pending in Maricopa County courts as I write this letter!!! I haven’t researched other cities, states etc. But I couldn’t believe what I found!!!

Two months of intentional neglect, and finding out from the last contact I sent her phone number to that she never returned their call. I believe she has been in breach of contract. How many missed opportunities? How many new buyers did she find to represent from the sign she planted on my property? Redirecting them to another bargain basement property she knew could be moved quickly? My loss, your gain.

I am "the little guy" and I sacrificed thousands of dollars (the 2 renters I turned away to keep it empty), full commissions, and wasted 2 months of a summer housing market. I was duped, scammed, and manipulated. This _literally_ has taken food out of my mouth.

I decided I cannot simply let this go because it most likely will hurt other people…and I****o will continue to profit from this. If I do not do my duty to report bad business practice, Intero will have no motivation to reprimand [your agent] or seek out other agents behaving in this manner or establish any new good faith policies.

There most certainly would be, yet another lawsuit pending if I didn’t have more taxing family dealings to take care of. And, of course, would not have signed and faxed the cancellation today to free myself to either list on my own or with another agency if I can find an honest one.

Nevertheless, so I can sleep at night, and not exercise apathy, resulting in further abuse of other home owners in this already difficult time we live in…a full and accurate BBB filing will have to do. Dates and subject matter of the emails between your agent, and myself will be filed with them as well as my cell phone records so they can see I am not making up stories about this "sudden and purposeful turnaround of the agent’s feduciary responsibilities" that your agency was contractually bound to.

I hope I****o finds a way to get rid of this kind of unethical, immoral behavior from their organization. I don’t have the time or money to legally pursue this. I hope the principals at your organization sleep well at night, I certainly don’t with people like this in the world.

I am reporting the Scottsdale I****o office to the Better Business Bureau in Phoenix, it’s fair play in my book. Maybe it’s a small step, but it’s the best I can do to help others.

Thank you for speaking with me today on the phone, you were very sincere and kind and I don’t blame you personally for this. I still believe there are good people in the world.

Sincerely,
Eric G

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Anyone that has had a similar experience is encouraged to PLEASE post the details of it here. Maybe we can get someone’s attention.