Blogging Tip: Don’t Steal People’s Content

OK, so the title is harsh, I admit …

But within the last week I’ve surfed to two blog sites and seen entire blog posts, which I wrote, simply copied and pasted (both with attribution) onto their blogs.

No names will be mentioned here or links given. (I try to live by the stuff I write about.)

But this here … well, it’s a “teachable moment.”

I’m not authority on copyright law, but I have been to journalism school (or at least slept through a couple classes, maybe that was a Holiday Inn). And I’ve also worked in newspaper journalism (three dailies, one magazine group). Plus, I’ve been trying to hone my “craft” since I wrote my first letter to the editor of my hometown newspaper.

OK … back to “the moment.”

And these are generalizations … but here are some pointers to bloggers for how to properly quote a fellow bloggers post:

>> Don’t copy and paste an entire post from another blogger or site or book or [insert any work that someone produces] (or even close to 40% of it) in your blog. That person took his/her time to dream, write and create that work. Don’t do them the dishonor of ripping it off.

>> When you quote, use short quotes and put parentheses around them. I even try to use the block quote function in my blog’s post editor so my readers know I’m not the originator of that content.

>> ALWAYS, always, always give them a proper link back to the original article. ALWAYS. A. L. W. A. Y. S.

>> Paraphrasing is OK, but NOT without attribution. Attribution means … yes, giving them a link, telling others that it’s not your thought, but theirs. I’ll give you a familiar word for when you don’t do that: plagarism. Or here’s another one: copyright infringement.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

If you asked that question and were genuinely serious, please go reread this post. It’s written especially for you.

Maybe you have more tips? Post them in these comments. I’ll give you proper attribution there. :-)

January 11, 2007 · Filed Under Blogging Tips

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2 Responses to “Blogging Tip: Don’t Steal People’s Content”

  1. Bill on January 12th, 2007 8:37 am

    http://provocativechurch.blogspot.com/2007/01/ive-been-rebuked_12.html

  2. Cory Miller on January 12th, 2007 9:30 am

    Bill, I just commented on your blog. One thing I failed to do was simply email you and ask (which I did with the other blogger and he pulled it down).

    As I said on your blog, I appreciate your graciousness! And I’m going to link to your blog in my sidebar. :-)

    –Cory

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