Comments on: My First Ever Blog Rant

By: Mike Ramer

Mike Ramer — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:16:31 +0000

Alicia, You’ve hit the core here. Content creation, idea ownership, ethics, legality, emotion. The interactive web is still the Wild West. Our best intentions of sharing ideas for the public good can be stolen by less creative copycats. Like you, I am fiercely protective of my ideas.

At the heart is this question: How do we provide value-add for our followers on the web, while protecting our ideas? Personally, I’m challenged by it everyday. Should we “give it all” or just enough? If I knew people would give credit everytime, I would give freely and fully.

You were right to get angry because you weren’t given credit for your work. The person should have contacted you prior and asked for permission. However, once done, you might have handled it differently by calling the person first and having a heart-to-heart conversation (like you did after your post) and requesting that credit be given.

Chalk it up for a learning experience. It’s flattering when people “use” your ideas. As well, keep in mind: When you publish content to the web, consider it free game and that it could get into rogue hands.

Next time, you might have distinct copyright marks and state: “This content is legally protected and can only be republished, in any form, by giving the author credit for the original work.” (Ask your attorney about specific language/use.)

Rest easy, my friend, you’re on the right side of this. The good news is that content and creativity rules. And, you have both! Best, Mike

By: Alicia Arenas

Alicia Arenas — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:30:07 +0000

Miriam – That is excellent advice. You are right. When we put things out in the public domain, it is more available for “re-purposing.” Mike Van Dervort and I had an off-line conversation about this today. I’m not sure what we as bloggers can do to protect our content without becoming obsessed by it. Perhaps that will be an upcoming blog post.

Jacqui – It’s always great to read your comments. I actually spoke with her tonight and will have a post up in the morning. I appreciate your sage advice.

Michael – Dude. I love that you tell it like it is!

Trisha – You are a blogger I greatly admire. And I have seen you, Sharlyn Lauby and others exhibit the “unofficial” blogging etiquette you mention. There have been several times when I’ve read the disappointment some bloggers have had when working on an awesome post, only to find that one of their colleagues has already posted it. But they and you do the right thing.

You are also correct in that there is very little original content – that is a struggle we will contend with as we continue to blog. Thank you for your comments!

By: Trish McFarlane

Trish McFarlane — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:25:26 +0000

Alicia, I think you went with the right approach. In this situation I would definitely mention it privately to the other blogger. This gives him/her the opportunity to rectify the situation. It is so hard to be original. I can think of two posts I have had ready to go live only to have another blogger beat me to it. Recently it was Victorio at Creative Chaos Consultant. Since he posted first, I scrapped my post and just commented on his blog. I think that this blogger should have done that once she saw you had just posted on something she was working on.
Another option for her would have been to reach out to you to collaborate on a follow up post. Since she didn’t do that, I think you made the most of the situation. Great learning experience for us all. I do think that most of us who blog know and understand the “unofficial” blogging etiquette and we would not deliberately steal content in full or in part. Unfortunately, there are some people who do this. Keep a watchful eye. : )

By: Emma Wallace

Emma Wallace — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:26:55 +0000

How frustrating! I have a similar-ish situation where I was browsing through a commenter’s photography website and realized she was using my lyrics in her photo albums that she sold. I understand the problem-how far should one go to protect one’s content? And, like an above commenter said, won’t the real creative mind behind it end up rising to the top anyways as they are the ones who really possess the creative ability? Whew! Tough call.

By: Michael Long (The Red Recruiter)

Michael Long (The Red Recruiter) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:08:56 +0000

That sucks! You should be pissed. Lots of constructive ideas above for how to approach it… but, I can still understand why you would be frustrated by this situation.

By: Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter

Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:48:11 +0000

Alicia,
Hmmm, I can understand your furor. As well, your taking the high road makes good sense.

If the situation continues to ‘stick in your craw,’ as they say, I’d probably encourage doing as Miriam suggests, sending her a message noting the similarities.

Or, it may be that she reads ‘this’ blog post and privately shares her regret with you, as well.

These things have a way of working themselves out, and your emotion behind the situation is legitimate and cause for some sort of action. The step you took to engage your colleagues and friends this way is a meaningful part of that work-out process.

Please do keep us posted.

By: Miriam Salpeter, Keppie Careers

Miriam Salpeter, Keppie Careers — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:34:49 +0000

I know how you feel. In fact, I advise people who are thinking of going online with a blog to recognize that people will “borrow” content without regard for anything. A lot of times, I find my content on sites making use of Google search and running ads around stolen blogs. There is never any name and it is usually a site registered outside the U.S. Frustrating. It is a shock when you see it and it is so blatant.

Since you know she read your post and was inspired by it, you could send a private message noting the similarities. Especially if she makes a note about crediting her if you want to share the ideas – how ironic! It almost begs for you to make a point to contact her.

You may give her the benefit of the doubt and assume it was an honest mistake – she forgot where she had been inspired. Maybe reminding her will inspire her to properly credit the source!