Cocktail Hour: January 20, 2012

Did you blackout for SOPA on Wednesday? All around the Internet, things went dark in protest of this proposed legislation (see All Things D’s roundup of some of the bigger names that shut down on January 18). Did this affect your regularly scheduled programming?

Aside from SOPA, here’s a collection of some of the best content we’ve read this week. I checked, and nothing should be censored.

Defend our freedom to share (or why SOPA is a bad idea) (TED): Okay, one SOPA link. As digital professionals, SOPA and PIPA is something that all of us will be concerned with in some capacity. The issue of pirated work is something we all deal with, whether you’ve had a creative piece copied without permission or even if you watch copyrighted material on YouTube. And since we’re in the business of engagement, how is social sharing and content dissemination going to change? Clay Shirky, an adjunct professor at NYU, makes the case that we should be out there sharing, not just sitting on the couch.

Apple’s Education Event: Everything You Need to Know in One Handy List (The Next Web): Apple announced the launch of iBooks 2 yesterday, which means further integration of education and technology. How can we apply this to content marketing and mobile applications? With the ease of self-publishing through iBooks Author, will we see a jump in the use of eBooks as promotional and collateral materials? Will you be publishing your own book?

Design Trends 2012 (Web Design Shock): This one deserves the length of your entire beverage. If you’re a designer or developer (or are even just interested in the two), this article analyzes what’s ahead behind the scenes in 2012. It’s also filled with a ton of examples to see the programs in action. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to learn something new?

ComScore Releases December 2011 U.S. Online Video Rankings (ComScore): If you’re big on data, check out ComScore’s report on Americans’ video behavior in the past month. If you aren’t using video in strategies, this may be the data you need to give you a push in 2012. It just makes you wonder: What is everyone watching?!

94 Percent of Marketers Use Facebook (AllFacebook): Yes, people are using social media in marketing, but all networks are not created equal. In this survey, 94% of respondents said they used Facebook in their marketing efforts. Why the disparity between the networks? Is Facebook seen as “easy” or is it just because they know how much time people spend on the platform? Is it time to start branching out?

Share your best finds from the week in the comments below!