…and it is not forming a tasty union either!
Content theft is not a new concept, it’s been around since the first scrolls no doubt. At least though in the many versions of the bible the correct person is most often given credit. Apologies to my religious readers.
Plagiarism is the use or close imitation of the language and ideas of another author and representation of them as ones own original work.
In the blogo-sphere plagiarism is high, too high. And now it’s not enough that some characters take to plagiarizing fellow bloggers, we now have nim-wits plagiarizing social network discussions.
The Mayhem:
This link (below) is to a persons blog posted on a Ryze discussion board. I use to run this group and the person was warned once before about posting plagiaristic rubbish.
Now feast your eyes on a discussion on LinkedIn
You may notice the blogger robbing content had ZERO contribution to the discussion. The dreaded discussion board lurker who follows discussions and uses for his/her own personal gain.
At the time of this entry NO credit to anyone for the discussion content provided. No source credit to content scrapped from LinkedIn. When the person was warned before he only changed post to sourced LinkedIn and gave no contributing members any credit.
Again, Plagiarism is the use or close imitation of the language and ideas of another author and representation of them as ones own original work.
Who wants to do business with a thief?
Un-Mayhem Method: If your a blogger and stumble upon another bloggers work (or discussion) you enjoy and decide to use that. Contact that person(s). You’ll gain more respect from your readers by giving “proper” credit and be viewed as an ethical business person. If you decide to chance using others ideas and content you’ll risk the loss of your chocolate bar. The chocolate and peanut butter can be a good match, only if each knows the others intentions.
I hear you on this one, Kathy. That happened to me once –someone took information I posted on my blog and used it as their own with zero credit. You really feel like you’ve been “robbed” when that happens.
The converse of that is when someone uses your content (with your consent as you suggest) and gives you due credit. That makes you feel like a thousand dollars. I’ve been on that end, too.
Oh, well. There’s a rotten apple in every bunch. Let’s hope that conscience will eventually prevail.