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Imitation

April 9, 2009 by Guest Author Leave a Comment


“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
Coined by Charles Caleb Colton in 1820 in his ‘Lacon.’

“Imitation” happens all the time on the web and is the source of much frustration for newspaper and other print media. The concept of “fair use” and “scraping the web” are terms mostly used when talking about copyright infringements for print media producers. The idea that citizen journalists can now report on news and other happenings with information taken from news sites it a disturbing phenomenon for many journalists to deal with, not to mention print media in general.

But is this type of imitation really flattering? Is this plagiarism? You’ve worked hard on your post. You’ve taken the time to think about it and possibly, do some research. You’ve carefully written and posted it on your blog. It’s your content based on your idea. Later , you discover through Twitter, or a friend that the very same content has been taken, copied and posted on someone else’s site! Sound incredible? It happens.

I’ve even seen it happen even on Twitter! We all know, or learn quickly (there is a LOT of twitter advice out there) the idea of the RT. You see something of value from someone else and you share. The RT is the attribution, the link back. Twitter has been called micro blogging – when you see something you’ve found and shared go by two seconds later from one of your followers with no RT, do you feel flattered by the “imitation”? I don’t.

I think it’s important to protect you work, your ideas, your content. The very idea of taking the time to think about, write and post your ideas deserves respect. That respect should allow you the right to not have your work copied without permission. Creative Commons is an excellent resource to help you with this. There are different licenses you can apply to your work that will protect it. A great resource for questions regarding this issue is Jonanthan Bailey, @plagiarismtoday on Twitter. He would be happy to discuss anything related to “imitation” with you.

Have you had experience with this and your writing? Do you see this as a problem?

from Kathryn Jennex aka @northernchick

photo credit: The Green Album

Filed Under: Successful Blog, Writing Tagged With: bc, Content, creative commons, imitation, Jonathan-Bailey, Kathryn Jennex, LinkedIn, Plagiarism, practiical communication, Twitter

See the WordCamp Dallas Videos at Your Leisure.

April 7, 2008 by Liz Leave a Comment

Word Camp 2008

Some folks have emailed asking where they might see the WordCamp Dallas presentations. Here are the videos released so far.

Liz Strauss WordCamp Dallas 2008

WordCamp Dallas 2008: Liz Strauss – Cmon, Lets Talk! It was a totally bad hair day, but the words went well — Well most of them.

WordCamp Dallas 2008: Lorelle VanFossen – WordPress Power Tips

Jonathan Bailey — Detect and Stop Content Theft

WordCamp Dallas 2008: The WordPress Podcast

WordCamp Dallas 2008: Cali Lewis and Neal Campbell

WordCamp Dallas 2008: John Pozadzides’ 45 Ways to Power Up Your Blog

WordCamp Dallas 2008: Matt Mullenweg, WordPress 2.5 and Beyond

Thanks to the folks who did the video and to John P. for posting them.

— ME “Liz” Strauss
Image source: John P.
Need help with writing? Work with Liz!!
SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. All of that expertise in one room! Register now!

Filed Under: SOB Business, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, John P., Jonathan-Bailey, LizStrauss, Lorelle-VanFossen, WordCampDallas2008

Jonathan Bailey Is a B.A.D. Blogger!

December 13, 2006 by Liz Leave a Comment

Blogger A Day Call: Hello is Jonathan there?

Jonathan Bailey and I met for the first time on the telephone this week, but we’ve been reading each other’s work for a while. We started right out talking about his blog, Plagiarism Today. I wasn’t going to miss a chance to discuss something that is, and has been, such a key part of my publishing life.

Jonathan said his approach to presenting the information on his blog — the practicality issues about plagiarism and copyright — is that it’s not enough to speak about a problem. He said he had to come up with an answer — some sort of solution that might be applied. That, he pointed out, was what takes most of his time. I just sighed in agreement. I was thinking about how that could be a lesson for anyone in any business.

During our conversation, Jonathan mentioned something I have little experience with — getting picked up by Digg or Slashdot and becoming the issue of blogsport. That day one of his posts had caused a conversation that had brought his server down. People have feelings about more than one side of plagiarism and copyright issues. Jonathan said that he was a niche blogger, but that sometimes he wished he could just write about baseball. I could see why he might say that.

We talked about problogging and how he’s decided that he’s going to give it a go. He’s got a background in programming that offers him a solid standing. We also talked about the opportunities that he was connecting to make a natural transition. Jonathan Bailey has a plan. We’d already discussed how he looks at a problem and finds a solution for it. So why wouldn’t he be able to turn an idea he’s got for his future into an actual opportunity?

I wonder if Jonathan knows that he is more knowledgeable, forward thinking, and engaging than anyone I’ve worked with at the United States Copyright Office in the past two decades?

B.A.D. Blogger Quote

I make it my mission to learn something new every day. Blogging is a reason to do that. It helps me grow as a writer and as a journalist. —Jonathan Bailey

Stop by Jonathan’s Blog, Plagiarism Today, and say hi!

Thanks, Jonathan, you B.A.D. Blogger!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Want to be a B.A.D. Blogger see the. . . a B.A.D. Blogger? page in the sidebar.

Filed Under: SOB Business, Successful Blog Tagged With: B.A.D. Blogger, bc, Blogger-a-day-call, Jonathan-Bailey, Plagarism-Today

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