Was 2011 A Sweet Year?

Was 2011 A Sweet Year?

Was 2011 a sweet year? For many that saw their profits drop, maybe not. This has been a hard year, brought on by the slow recovery of the recession.


1. Panda. Ah yes, Panda. This little gem caused and is still causing tremendous havoc in the Internet community. Why? Many found their incomes drop by as much as 75 percent. And, many webmasters had to fight their way back to profits. Which meant, figuring out how to fix the problem, or more specifically, figuring out why Google hit their site. Some succeeded, some somewhat succeeded, and some failed. Did it help the quality of the Internet? In my opinion, that answer is based upon whether the searcher found what they needed.

2. Some state governments decided to institute an Internet tax. Again, affiliate marketers in those states found that their income dropped. Why? Some companies refused to pay the Internet tax, and decided to close their affiliate program in that state that instituted the "state Internet tax". For those companies that reside in that state, they had or have no recourse in paying the tax.

For affiliate marketers, who saw their affiliate program shut down, some may have lost a big chunk of revenue. And the state that instituted this change, it affected their bottom line as well. Who won. No one. 

For affiliate marketers who could move to another state, they either contemplated the move or did move. Again, the state lost more revenue.



3. Then there is SOPA. SOPA, which is the government's attempt to fight privacy. Granted many companies  agree that limiting privacy is important, it the method in which the government wants to institute the changes that they are supporting. Why?

The whole purpose of SOPA is to remove the pirates' ability to profit from their theft. However, there seems to be more questions about the proposed bill than there are answers. The bill intent is to get the worst of the worst offenders. However, definitions as to who is subject to legal actions, as well as, the remedies that are to be imposed must be clarified and narrowed in scope. If it is left with a more broad based interpretation, free speech, due process and possibly privacy could be compromised.


What will 2012 bring? Hopefully, a better year for all concerned.