Protests go from the streets to the screen around Ann Arbor

It seems the protest bug has bitten many people around Ann Arbor this week.

It began with hundreds marching to Gov. Rick Snyder's home in Superior Township Monday on MLK Day. The protest, designed to show opposition to the state's emergency financial manager bill, attracted hundreds and made headlines across the state.

It had been planned for several weeks, and its participants seemed clear in their message: EFMs can damage democracy and leave one individual with too much power.

I hope we don't get in trouble to using this image if SOPA
becomes law. We'll claim fair-use on it, though.

And if that protest wasn't enough, plenty of people from around the area are chiming in about the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, a bill designed to curve online piracy and protect copyright for intellectual property owners.

This protest has gone more virtual, though, given the nature of the legislation. Several sites, including Wikipedia, Reddit and Wordpress have "blacked out" their sites, with Wikipedia denying access to simple searches on its English site. It'still accessible through mobile phones and through mirrored sites.

Several other sites, including one owned by an adviser to our company, Jay Rosen, have followed suit.

Have you participated in any protests this week? How do you best send a message to those in power of something you disapprove of?