An app to promote mindful consumerism

You might have heard some of the ridiculous crap that's been going on with the Stop Online Piracy Act, otherwise known as SOPA.

If you don't know what this is: this is an act that will break free speech on the internet as we know it. SOPA is the House version (the Senate's being called PIPA), and it would

grant copyright holders sweeping powers to force websites hosting allegedly-infringing content offline without the need for a trial or even a court order.

(ExtremeTech)

Which is really sort of freakishly scary. No trial, no court order? (My mind's defense against freaking out completely has been to imagine SOPA and PIPA as Pokemon.)

Anyway, some brilliant folks developed an Android app which assists in this technological protest. It's called, simply, "Boycott SOPA." Most smartphones now have a feature that allows you to scan barcodes and QR codes, which may be links to websites, text, whatever. It's a standard feature. Boycott SOPA allows you to scan the barcode of any product and find out whether its maker supports SOPA or not.

I'm excited because of the implications this has on consumerism. With a simple little app (on a massively sophisticated phone, yes), you can go to the store and figure out, easily and quickly, how to vote with your money. Brilliant. Elegant. Love it. I'm waiting for the versions that tell you who supports big oil and who's racking up massive fees in pollution fines.