What to do when someone plagiarizes your conent

[Ellen C Braun]

So, what do you do when someone plagiarizes your content?

I made a deal with the lady that wrote this for me: http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/selfesteem/

Then, I see this link in my inbound links within WP: http://eamonsjourney.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-to-boost-your-childs-self-esteem.html

It appears that this was done innocently, not be a dishonest marketer. I see this often.

I see this type of content-scraping VERY OFTEN. I haven't had time to deal with it, though- however, perhaps I should make time to address it........

What really BUGS ME is that I paid $1 or $2 for that istockphoto for my article, and he/she just grabbed it!

How would you handle it? It's nice to get inbound links, and good to know people appreciate my content, but plagiarism is bad!!

[wade_watson]

As far as the graphic snatching goes, you can fix that very easily. Just change the name of the image you host, both the file name and in the HTML of the post. The thief will have no image, then. Even better, come up with a new image and give it the name of the old one. Don't post it on your site, but just have it on your server. It might be a graphic of some text saying something like "this is a stolen image". You might even add a cartoon thief or something.

[wade_watson]

Even better, you could make the graphic say "this article was stolen by this website operator without permission from the author." That would get the point across.

[Ellen C Braun]

Really great ideas, Wade!

I just deleted it and renamed the image for myself. I don't want to be mean today!

[NicoleDean]

I'd replace the image with an advertisement. :)

Are your RSS feeds full content or only teasers?

[Ellen C Braun]

Hi Nicole- what a great idea:)

I never properly set up my RSS feeds (I imagine many in the parenting niche don't know how to set up a reader, like me!) so I'm thinking they'd be the full content- why?

[NicoleDean]

If you just have an excerpt, then if they are using a RSS scraper, they would only pull in part of your posts -- I think?

Someone with more info will hopefully step in, but I think that's how they do it...
N

[cindybidar]

These kinds of scrapers do only post a part of your article with a link back to your site to "read more." I think that's how they keep from getting nailed for copyright infringement. What I don't understand though, is what good it does them to send a reader off site.

[Ellen C Braun]

How can you tell if my stuff has been SCRAPED by a bot or was just copied by a naive blogger?

[cindybidar]

Good question. I just assumed they're all scraped. It never occurred to me that someone would copy and paste.

[Ellen C Braun]

Good question. I just assumed they're all scraped. It never occurred to me that someone would copy and paste.

And I assumed it was innocent- I must be terribly naive. What kind of person has a personal blog about their journey with autism and scrapes content?:confused:

[wade_watson]

Yes, you're a little naive, Ellen. If you look around that site, you'll see that it sells ads. It could be operated by a marketer. I've read threads at Warrior Forum by people who do this. There are WordPress plugins that will pull an RSS feed (complete with image addresses) and place them into a blog where it looks just like it was theirs. There are ways to pull a full article even if your feed isn't set up that way. Using a post emailing plugin, they can feed a Blogger site like that. Sometimes they use a single non-public WP install to feed several other blog sites. Some will set up several sites like that in a week. But, yes, it is content scraping. A lot of people don't realize or care that RSS feeds are intended for end readers and generally require permission to publish publicly.

I just checked a bit and found a couple of other lifted articles, but some of the content may be original, so they might not be just scaping content for that site.

[Ellen C Braun]

Should I try to track down the host and contact them? What would you do?

Thanks!

[Ellen C Braun]

on second thought, How can I replace the image with an affiliate banner which links to my aff link? It's just a jpg image that was scraped!

[wade_watson]

Yes, if they ever look at their past entries, they should see your graphic. You can say anything you want to them or their readers in it. BTW, there are ways to set up your blog so that images can't be used on other servers. It involves a .htaccess entry. There are also WP plugins that can do it. Check out these if you wish:

How to deter thieves from stealing your images and server bandwidth (http://www.davidairey.com/stop-image-theft-hotlinking-htaccess/)

WordPress Automatic Image Hotlink Protection (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-automatic-image-hotlink-protection/) (WP Plugin)

PictPocket (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/pictpocket/) (WP Plugin)

[cindybidar]

I just came across this great post from @Remarkablogger on this very issue, and thought I would share his perspective on scraped content.

http://remarkablogger.com/2008/01/21/sometimes-scrapers-are-funny/

[Kayla Fay]

If someone is linking to your image, isn't that a backlink? If so, why isn't that good?

[wade_watson]

If someone uses your images directly I don't believe it's a backlink. You are just serving the image, which means they are drawing off your paid server space. It's like when you host an image on your blog at Photobucket.

That said, I suppose if someone scrapes your content, but leaves in your internal links, those would be backlinks, I suppose. So if you think your stuff is getting lifted, make sure and link to plenty of internal pages.

[Tiffani]

This thread was brought to my attention today. I immediately e-mailed Ellen at 12p today the following e-mail:

"Ellen,

I read this post and was really disheartened by it. http://www.selfstartersweeklytips.com/members/showthread.php?t=3049

1) it defames the blog you linked to. You will note upon clicking this link: xxx There is no image used in this post. So to claim that the poster stole an image was not fair.
2) plagiarism is when someone takes your whole and complete content and claims it as their own. This poster did not claim it as their own, but offered a teaser to their readers and linked to your full article giving you increased exposure to all that blogger's followers/readers. When clicked on the full link to read the full content, the image used popped up on your page. This is NOT plagiarism.
3) the cost of the image of $2 from iStock vs the cost of the additional exposure to you and your services..the cost to have someone spread the good word about you would be far more than $2 especially when reaching an entire community that you may never have tapped into with that article??
4) so, perhaps this person was trying to scratch your back, do a good deed, give you increased exposure for free, put you up on a pedestal for the day on their blog...and then, in return, they get defamed in a post on another site? as a plagiarizer? as a thief?

Is this what your Raising Small Souls is all about? Is this what you are really about?

Because I was that poster...and really would have preferred you contacted me instead of defaming me and my blog which is accessible to many more readers than just your forum. That post reached thousands of my readers and contacts...perhaps you got some new sign ups as a result...??

If you continue to remain offended, please let me know..."


Very upset by this, I sent another e-mail at 12:46pm:

"Ellen,

I researched this a bit further..and confirmed that as long as full credit is given to the original source as I had done, it is not considered plagiarism.

Here is what I am willing to do..

1) send me your paypal address, I will send you $10 to cover the cost of the image used AND for your use in the acquisition of future images.
2) I will remove this post from the blog if you wish, please advise.
3) send me your button, and I will post your button on my blog for free for 3 months

At the end of three months, I will remove the button.
If you so desire,
feel free to remove me from your e-mail list xxxx@msn.com

I ask that you remove that thread claiming that I am thief...defamation of one's character is far worse than the potential unsolicited exposure that I generated for you."

It is now 2:15pm and I have spent the entire afternoon looking for the e-mail that I must have requested permission to share content. I post articles from a variety of e-newsletters with permission and I have found those e-mails but unfortunately could not find the correspondence between Ellen and I. I became a subscriber of Ellen's newsletter in July, 2009 so the search is extending to archives.

I have seen myself called a content scraper, thief, plagiarizer, marketing scam since I sell ads on my site...and more.

"Why would one want to post articles that take the readers away from the author's site?" Because this blog is a resource blog...my goal is not to steal or scam or any other horrific topic of discussion but to pass on awesome resources to my readership, the autism community. No where did I claim that this article was mine.

After I sent the first e-mail, I visited the past post..back in November. I looked at the html coding because I did not see an image. I noted that I did use the image from her post...BUT, when the link was clicked to read the the entire article...the images were credited to the author.

Another thing, you can "share" anything on facebook. If you or I am browsing the web, find a great article and want to share it on our profile, we can. A teaser is included. An image from the site is included. A link to the article is included.

So, based on this thread and discussion, I guess Facebook is also a plagiarizing thief who violates copy right laws on a daily basis.

You want to know HOW I learned about this post? Through my analytics program. I browse to see who are my referring sites. Not to then blast them for sharing anything I had posted, but to thank them for liking my content so much that they wanted to share...and then see if there is a way we can work together in a collaborative fashion.

Not this...this is not what I expected.

I am on an undying quest to find that e-mail. I do recall my friend who introduced me to Ellen's newsletter by sharing an issue with me...I think I will contact her. Six months have passed since I subscribed..that is a lot of archived e-mails that my Outlook has to weed through. See attached image.

The purpose of e-mail marketing is the viral nature of it. You send to 100 people, they send to their friends and the word gets out. The advantage of RSS feeds is to stay in the loop about content going out to the web. Online marketing is viral in nature and anything that is posted on it is designed to spread like wild fire...is that not why you are marketing online? Do you not want my nearly 1000 facebook contacts, 200 + twitter followers, 800 blog subscribers, autism feed readers, blog readers across the world to see what you are posting on your website and then like it and share it with their friends? If not, then don't post it.

It is not like I copied, pasted and said I wrote this. It linked back to the true author...taking the reader away from my site and onto Ellen's...what do I have to gain for this? Nothing but being defamed.

Not one piece of this would hold water under copy right violation, however, consider your liability before defaming one's character publicly.

Overall, this particular post in question only had 19 unique views and 17 of them came from this forum. So I did not even gain increased readership on that post.

I think that I am being more than reasonable by offering what I have offered. I will continue to try and find the original e-mail...my sincerest apologies for offending...and I sincerely hope that you understand my truest of intentions.

Tiffani

[wade_watson]

Tiffani, I'm not sure how you came into this, but I've got some news for you. That post at that link has changed since Ellen first posted the link this thread. The only reason I suggested she modify her images is because I went to that page, saw an image, right-clicked on that image and checked the image properties. That image was hosted at Ellen's site. I saw that clearly and was not mistaken. If you are the operator of the site, you would know this, of course. If not, you've been misled. There's obviously something fishy going on here.

Wade Watson

[Lynn Terry]

Hey Tiffani & Ellen,

This is a really tough topic. The post in reference is missing now, and I missed seeing it when the thread first began, so I can't really weigh in on right vs wrong in this particular case.

I get a lot of blogs fully copy my posts from my feed but I just don't worry with it - I also don't approve the trackbacks. Legit blog posts featuring my posts - I do.

Tiffani, Ellen noted in her original post in this thread that she felt it was innocent and simply wanted to know what to do about it, if anything. This is a very productive discussion and a great topic - as a lot of people are in this situation, on both sides of the fence.

[Tiffani]

Thank you for looking over the thread Lynn. I have republished the post so you may view it. I had deleted it this morning as the post is getting a lot of hits from this thread. I do not mind the increased visits to my blog, however, they are seeing my blog in a negative light. I am not interested in negative exposure.

Yes, indeed this is productive discussion and can be had without pointing to my blog.

You will note that there is no image. As indicated in my previous thread post, I had visited the link in question. There was no image visible, however, after I had e-mailed Ellen twice..I went back in, looked over the html coding and noted that there was indeed coding linking to a picture from her post. I removed said coding because it was being suggested in this thread that the image be replaced with "this person is a thief".

This was a blog post that in essence featured Ellen's post. I have discussed this with several of my followers. They had indicated that they really liked Ellen's site and they enjoyed the post so much that they subscribed to her newsletter!

Yes, Lynn, Ellen did indicate initially in her original post that she felt it may be innocent...however, in subsequent posts, she went on to say, "what kind of person is this..." portraying me in a negative light.

At the very least, I would like the reference to my blog removed. Feel free to continue the discussion but not at my expense.

I have not heard back from Ellen...but I will pay her as indicated in my previous post and honor my other offers.

I would like your insight on the original post as soon as possible, because until this thread removes the link in question, I will be removing the said post from my blog.

Tiffani

[jkgourmet]

Maybe I don't 'get' this whole thing, but couldn't it all have been avoided AND been advantageous to both blog owners if Tiffani had simply asked permission from Ellen to use her post PRIOR to putting it up on her blog (giving a link back, course)?

[Tiffani]

Absolutely!! And if I could find that e-mail...if there is one...I would feel a lot better. I have permissions of many others that I am finding, but of course, I cannot find this one.

My apologies for this. As stated previously, I have proposed many offers to make it up to her.

Tiffani

[lindastacy]

Just a couple thoughts...

It's a holiday weekend so don't be discouraged by lack of response to your email. I'm sure Ellen will reply when she's back online.

I think this is one of those "things" that took on a life of its own far from what both people involved intended. How about taking a deep breath, agreeing to leave the post with an added note saying something like "I came across this great post by Ellen at....," and moving on to talk about your common interests in parenting. Perhaps you won't become the best of friends, but you can let bygones be bygones and learn something from the whole thing.

And maybe you'll even stick around Tiffani. Even though it may not feel like it to you right now, this is a great, giving community.

[Ellen C Braun]

Yes, I changed the name on my server, so the image is no longer being pulled onto the plagiarized blog.

[Ellen C Braun]

Hello Tiffani,

I just read your comments today- I am sorry, I must have skipped "page 2" of this thread.

Please be advised that I am not in any way defaming you here.

I really did assume that the link was innocent, without malicious intentions:)

And, as noted by Wade, I changed the name of the image on my server so that the image on your server disappeared.

I am all for posting links and snippets and giving out good resources.

But, it appeared that you had copied about 75% of my article.

The reason this concerns me is the following: Google values unique content, so I've worked very hard to write and/or acquire valuable, unique content for my site. When I see an article lifted and 75% of it repeated in another place (ie- Tiffani's blog) it makes me wonder why I bothered- I may as well create a content site based upon ezinearticles stuff, if what I write still won't remain unique- from an SEO perspective, getting good Google rankings.

I'm not sure, personally- how much is a "snippet"?

A paragraph? A sentence? An image plus a few sentences? I'm simply unsure of what the "right" thing in this industry is- and I value more experienced people weighing in on this important issue.

Tiffani, if you want the link to your blog removed, so that you and your site stay out of this discussion, I think that is fair- but the discussion itself is valuable insofar that many people will be able to learn from it.

[Tiffani]

Ellen,

I would be greatly appreciative if you removed my link from your initial post. Thank you.

I would be more than willing to correspond further with you, off thread and via e-mail.

To clarify, I did not take 75% of your post. I took the first three short paragraphs out of nine but, I capped it at with a feeder..."These self parenting behaviors are as follows>>>" The first three, 1-2 sentence paragraphs captured interest...but to get the context of the article, one would have to click the link to read the true meat and potatoes of your post. In addition, they would have the opportunity to then view your video on your post.

This scenario is a catch 22. I understand the SEO component and original content. But I also understand the value of traditional marketing which is based on word of mouth. I have over a decade of successful marketing experience..online and offline.

Long time and great marketing experts like Jay Conrad Levinson will tell you that the traditional word of mouth marketing is still the very best there is...whether it is online or offline.

Moving forward...I will resolve this issue...and simply barter or charge to share people's information to my specific nitch readership. Or, I will create a form to gain permission so that can be hard filed..and accessed with ease.

For discussion sake, I guess one has to weigh the values...reaching a large base of consumers they otherwise would not reach, getting a 2% ROI so to speak by gaining a handful of newsletter subscribers of which you can continue to market to, or increasing your ranking on the search engine pages. Both are important, but I believe that what is most important is the traditional relationship network marketing of "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" of which seems to really get lost with the craze of SEO.

Ask yourself, who would you most likely do business with? The person who made it to #10 in the search engines or the the person that someone you respect recommended? I would choose the latter.

I am not new to marketing...nor am I a spring chicken. I have been in healthcare for nearly 20 years. The bulk of them in administration and marketing. To demonstrate a few scenarios: I worked for an assisted living. I took the role of administrator with only a 40% occupancy. Corporate wanted at least 80%. In 6 months, I got them to 100% occupancy with a waiting list. And SEO had nothing to do with it. It was all about relationships, building them...word of mouth referrals. I moved on..into adult medical day care. I tripled their census in 1 year...same process.

Relationship building, networking and the VALUE of word of mouth is getting lost in the online world...and it needs to be at the forefront. The internet is giving us a greater opportunity to connect with more people. We cannot befriend all of them...but we can scratch each others backs...feed each other...share each others good word.

Yes, I shared 7 sentences of your article with my readers along with a link to your article. I honestly cannot recall if I asked permission or not as I cannot locate an e-mail, leading me to believe that in fact I did not garner permission. BUT, if we look at it in the context of networking and word of mouth marketing, in the past, in traditional marketing, someone would have actually thanked me for sharing their good word...this is getting lost and mislabeled as theft. I find it all very sad.

If you would like to contact me, I shared my e-mail with you in an e-mail to your newsletter@raisingsmallsouls.com I would be more than willing to discuss with your further.

On a personal note...to answer your question about what kind of person I am...I am a mother to 4 boys. One in pre-med at college, another in highschool, a preschooler who is homeschooled due to his special needs and another even younger in preschool. I run a blog to share the success of my journey thru my son's autism in an effort to reach the families out there who are looking for answers as they embark on their quest or find themselves stuck in the mud of their journey. And yes, I sell advertising on this blog...to raise money to cover the outlandish medical costs of recovering my son. I am a registered nurse of 13 years and have a compassionate heart at the core. I have been published many times in national nursing journals and I work part time for a published author and doctor as her general manager specifically overseeing her marketing. I have no desire or disrespect to writers to consider the act of plagiarism. And I have no time to have malice in my heart...that is the kind of person I am.

[Ellen C Braun]

Hi Tiffani,

Thank you for this post.

You sent an email to a box that is monitored by my va, who has been away for the holidays. I'll send you a personal email shortly!

Best,

ECB