Dear internet,

Thank you. Last week we collectively discovered a power we’ve long been looking forward to, but had never fully exercised. An organic, leaderless movement arose online to combat two bills, SOPA and PIPA, which would’ve led to the wholesale destruction of the internet. You triumphed. And we’ve only begun.

When it comes to the deficit, unemployment, or really anything important, Congress is deadlocked; but when the entertainment industry pays lobbyists $94 million to get bills like SOPA and PIPA passed, Democrats and Republicans line up to co-sponsor it.

Proponents hoped it’d finally be some bipartisan feel good legislation before Christmas. You, internet, had other plans.

All the near-indispensable web software — that would have never existed had either of these bills been law — fittingly provided the platforms. We the people provided the message. For the first time after almost two decades of high expectations, the internet mobilized to send an unequivocal message to Washington — and our Congress responded.

It didn’t matter that until CNN reported on it months after SOPA was introduced in the House on Oct. 26, 2011, not a single major U.S. television outlet had covered either bill, or the boiling online dissent. Admittedly, one didn’t have to look far up their org. charts to infer why. But you gave them no choice after boycotts of supporters began, phone calls shut down congressional phone lines, protests were scheduled, and website blackouts were announced.

My scheduled testimony before the House on Jan. 18 was called off because of how thoroughly you thumped SOPA. With PIPA still looming, I joined thousands at New York Tech Meetup emergency protest in front of our Senators’ offices for their support of PIPA. As some of the most popular websites online went dark, Americans took to the streets across the country with messages against censorship and the destruction of a thriving part of our economy. David Segal put it well: “We are real. We exist in three dimensions, not just online.”

On that day — Jan. 18, 2012 — America reminded Congress that it’s beholden to the electorate, not lobbyists.

Former Senator Chris Dodd, now head of the MPAA, one of the biggest lobbyists for these bills, made a revealing threat on Fox News to members of Congress: “Don’t ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don’t pay any attention to me when my job is at stake.” Bullying lobbyists may write checks in Washington, but we the people cast the votes. In fact, it’s already become a campaign issue for 2012.

America doesn’t want to give Hollywood a bailout. Furthermore, if any good has come from these bills, it’s the bipartisan resentment to the lobbying that bought them. This legislation was a symptom of a bigger problem. Now the internet is responding by striking at the root. And I like our odds.

That’s the promise of an open internet. Where a college student on a bus starts writing the code that becomes a billion-dollar company a few years later, hires hundreds of Americans, and makes the world more efficient. Where filmmakers get the funding they need on Kickstarter for their documentary and with every dollar they raise, they get more advocates. Where a man tutoring his cousin starts an education revolution with an upload to YouTube. May the best ideas win.

The American Dream is alive and well online, where the story is told in HTML and isn’t limited to geography. We must keep it that way. We’ll use this momentum to bring real copyright reform (fixing a system that stifles creativity and innovation instead of promotes it as intended), abolish software patents (so patent trolls can’t continue their extortion), and most importantly, codify an online bill of rights just as we have our offline rights.

We’re working on a legislative framework that — unlike SOPA and PIPA — will be openly iterated and discussed. Sunlight isn’t just good for legislators; it’s good for legislation, too. Everyone is invited.

I’ve ruined my chances for a career in Hollywood. I’d never seek a career in Washington. I just want to go back to my career on the Internet as just another contributor to a great network; fortunately, that’s where all the power is anyway — with the people.