The Internet: an invention that has undoubtedly changed history. We rely on the internet every day. We use it to make a dinner reservation, get directions, shop, interact with friends. But what if it just disappeared overnight? How would you get by without Google, YouTube, Facebook, or Wikipedia?

As users began logging on to their favorite websites Wednesday morning, they were greeted by censored, blacked out and, in some cases, shut down domains with anti-SOPA messages, as January 18 marked the largest online protest in history.

In case you have been living under a rock or you are one of the last remaining holdouts, you have undoubtedly heard of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) recently introduced in Washington. SOPA and PIPA were introduced to the House and Senate in an attempt to curb the download of pirated movies and music. It would allow the movie and music industries to send Internet Service Providers (ISP's) and search engine demands to deny access to any site found to be sharing copyrighted information. If one person uploaded the new Lady Gaga video on YouTube to share with friends, the entire YouTube website could shut down. 

Thousands of websites participated in the blackout with messages similar to the one found on the English Wikipedia home page that read: "Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge.”

Even the President of the United States is opposed to the current legislation.

The Internet masses made their voices heard as Twitter aggregated more than 2.4 million tweets about SOPA in one day. It's obvious this will not be an easy issue to settle as Hollywood prepares to go to battle against Silicon Valley. But, with tech giants Google, Facebook, Wikipedia, and others prepared to take a stand, this could truly be the battle of the century.

Where do you stand on the issue? Post your feedback in the comments section below.

There’s no question about it, social media is here to stay. From raising money for disaster-stricken countries to being a forum for celebrity gossip, there is no space social media has yet to invade – including the 2012 presidential campaign.

An early adopter, Barack Obama set a precedent in 2008 for effectively using social media to engage constituents and build support. Now, social media giants Twitter and Google, are jumping on the political bandwagon. 

Just in time for the Iowa caucus, Google launched a hub for the 2012 election that tracks the popularity of presidential candidates using search trends, mentions in Google News and YouTube views. Google.com/Elections organizes candidate information in a centralized dashboard and gives users the chance to weigh in on the candidates and the issues.

“We're launching an election hub where citizens can study, watch, discuss, learn about, participate in and perhaps even make an impact on the digital campaign trail as it blazes forward to Tuesday, November 6, 2012 and the election of the next President of the United States,” a Google spokesperson wrote in a statement.

Launching the same day and using Twitter as its aggregating platform, The Washington Post unveiled a new Twitter application, @MentionMachine. Like Google, the app monitors candidate’s mentions in the media and across the web revealing which candidates are being talked about most and where and displaying the most popular stories and tweets. The app is anticipated to be a good indicator of public sentiment amongst candidates.

Cory Haik, executive producer for news innovation and strategic projects for The Washington Post, says the app has the potential to be “an early indicator well ahead of polls or other traditional campaign measures.”

Only time will tell whether the new Google and Twitter data crunchers will influence election outcomes but, you can bet we will be watching. Will you look to these platforms for up-to-the-minute information on the candidates? Leave your comments below.