Plagiarism is wrong. We all know it.

But, are honest bloggers inadvertently stealing and sharing copyrighted images?

Today’s Lesson

Before joining Pinterest, one of the issues I read about was: are images being uploaded to Pinterest illegally?

Questioning this is photographer and blogger, Elizabeth Halford, who wrote an article titled Will Pinterest Be Sued by Photographers Like Napster was Sued by Musicians? Both her post and the comments raise some interesting points.

ReadWriteWeb published How Pinterest Uses Your Content Without Violating Copyright Laws.

Although it appears Pinterest may be protected, the way I see it is the same may not apply to those who upload images.

Pinterest stresses the importance of linking to the original source of a photo, however when we “repin” a photo or content, unless we follow all of the links, we have no way of knowing if we’re breaking copyright law, nor do we know if the “original” photo is indeed the work of the person whose site it was found on, nor do we always know if the creator of the original image wants their image(s) shared. Add to that how different countries have different laws regarding copyright. Confusing, hey?

But it’s not just Pinterest we need to be concerned with, it’s also the images we upload to our blogs, Facebook, Google +, or any social networking site.

Copyright law may come into play.

As Mike Goad shared, in part, on his well researched site, Copy Right. Copy Sense.,

…As original, creative text flows from the pencil or pen, or as it is pounded into the paper with an old-fashioned typewriter, the copyright protection for those words begins.

For other types of work, the medium in which the work is fixed is different. Movies are fixed in the film, videos in the tape, paintings “in” the canvas and so on.

The key is that to be copyrightable a work must be in a form that can be copied.

Wikimedia includes publications on copyright, as well.

Although some items can not be copyrighted, many are indeed covered by copyright. Wikimedia includes a long list which includes:

1. Photos of people – sometimes copyright applies
2. Screenshots
3. Architecture
4. CD and book covers
5. [Some] clothing
6. Comics
7. Logos
8. [Some] maps
9. Toys
10. Videos

Wikimdeia also includes links to bad sources, as well as free sources.

For bloggers, or anyone who uploads photos online, it’s hard to know if we’re doing the right thing.

Some will assume just because a photo is not watermarked, it can be freely used. As Mike shares, that’s not the case.

Absence of copyright notice is no longer a reliable indicator of whether a work is protected.

In life, we often hear, “ignorance is bliss”.

With regard to copyright, it’s not.

There could be repercussions.

Today’s Assignment

Where do you get the images for your blog posts?

Do you worry about the copyright of these images?

Care to share?

Other great links on copyright include:

Legal Pitfalls in Taking or Using Photographs of Copyright Material, Trademarks and People,
by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Legal Guide for Bloggers
at Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

For some blogs, it can take months before someone comments. For others, a matter of days.

It’s when we feel what we’re sharing isn’t being read, we think of giving up.

After all, blogging is supposed to be interactive.

Today’s Lesson

I feel fortunate that I receive the amount of comments I do. Comments inspire me to continue on. Comments inspire new posts. And via comments I get to meet other bloggers.

But it wasn’t always that way. My audience (or lack thereof) remained silent for quite some time.

I’d publish posts, but no one seemed to care.

But I didn’t give up.

What worked for me were five things.

1. I visited other blogs and left comments.

Not every blogger reciprocated with comments on my blog, but some did, as did some of their readers. HINT: Comment on new or smaller blogs. Generally, A-list bloggers do not reciprocate comments.

2. I linked to other blogs, but I did it a little different.

I set up a series which I named, “New Blog Of The Week” (NBOTW) and hunted for new bloggers (usually under four months old). I used Tuesday as my NBOTW day and would write a post showcasing their blog, including excerpts from three of their posts/pages and included links to them.

This was a slow process, but over time, I began to build my readership, as well as my blog community.

I’ve discontinued this series, however, the list of 90 blogs remains here.

3. Another important aspect to receiving comments, ASK questions.

Even if you feel your post is complete, it doesn’t hurt to ask your readers, “Did I forget anything?’, “What are your thoughts on this topic?”, or ____fill in the blank___.

Give readers a reason to comment.

4. I answered the comments I received.

Although I occasionally miss comments which show up on older posts, my goal is answer all comments I receive on this blog.

Unfortunately, due to the amount of spam I receive, I closed the comments on posts older than 90 days.

5. I asked a comment expert for additional advice.

Liz Strauss, of Successful and Outstanding Bloggers is known for the huge amount of comments she has received over the years so naturally she was the one I approached for advice.

In a two part interview, I asked Liz, How to Maximize Blog Comments and How To Get Readers To Join Your Community.

The information Liz shared is priceless.

For some bloggers, comments aren’t important, but for others, they become the real reason to continue on.

Today’s Assignment

What technique(s) do/did you use to entice your readers to comment?

Care to share?

What attracts one person to blogging often differs from that which attracts the next.

Not only are we attracted to blogging for different reasons, we also differ in what we blog about (our niche).

Today’s Lesson

When I started blogging, I was not interested in having a blog about blogging. Instead, I saw myself blogging about that which I had learned over the years; sharing hints and tips and general life observations.

With my Observation Mountain blog, I did that, however after writing close to 200 posts, I began to run out of things to share.

In the meantime I was using this blog to document my blogging journey, as well as for sharing what I observed about blogging. Since I normally question things in life, and wonder if there’s a better way to accomplish “xyz”, this blog slowly grew into what it is today – my observations about blogging (lessons), followed by questions (assignments).

By reading your comments (answers to the questions), not only do I gain a different perspective to all aspects of blogging, but for those who read the comments, they do too.

When I reflect back on those first months of blogging, I never thought I would enjoy blogging about blogging. So, in a sense, it was this topic which picked me, instead of the other way around.

What about you?

Today’s Assignment

How did you decide what to blog about?

Have your choice of topics changed over time?

Care to share?

The book, “The Flinch”,written by author and blogger, Julien Smith is a free download from Amazon.

To complete the assignment, I am passing it onto YOU.

Today’s Lesson

My blogger friend Davina told me about this book and when she forwarded the link to me, I downloaded it immediately. Within the first few sentences, I was hooked.

I knew “the flinch” played a major part in my life and wanted to learn more.

The first words which resonated with me are in the introduction,

This is a book about being a champion, and what it takes to get there. It’s about decisions, and how to know when you’re making the right ones. It’s also about you: the current, present you; the potential, future you; and the one, single difference between them.

It’s about an instinct “the flinch” and why mastering it is vital.

This book is about how to stop flinching. It’s about facing pain.

Now you might be asking, “What does this have to do with blogging?”.

Let me share a few more paragraphs,

Forget secondhand learning. It leaves no scars. It doesn’t provide the basic understanding that sits in the body as well as in the brain. There’s no trace of its passing. It might as well have been a dream.

Firsthand knowledge, however, is visceral, painful, and necessary. It uses the conscious and the unconscious to process the lesson, and it uses all your senses. When you fall down, your whole motor system is involved. You can’t learn this from books. It just doesn’t work, because you didn’t really fall. You need to feel it in your gut – and on your scraped hands and shins – for the lesson to take effect.

But if you’re surrounded by padding, scar-free learning is all you have left. It defines who you are. It limits you, but those limits aren’t actually yours – they’re the limits of the men and women who came before you.

When I read those words, I was reminded of how easy it is to learn blogging from others. How we can avoid making the same mistakes they did, and how we can possibly advance faster in the blogosphere if we follow the lead of fellow bloggers.

But, is that REALLY beneficial? Is it REALLY helpful for a blogger to NOT go through some of the pains associated with trial and error?

I think it’s one thing to learn how other bloggers succeeded, what steps they use(d) to promote their blog, what they think of different blogging issues and to even hear about the mistakes they made, but that’s their blogging journey. Not ours.

To copy what others do (or have done) “may” work for us, however not learning from our own mistakes, could be detrimental to our authenticity.

It could also make us lose sight of other possibilities.

That’s not something I want.

What about you?

Today’s Assignment

How do you prefer to learn blogging?

Trough trial and error, including by making mistakes?

Or would you rather fast track your blog and avoid the pitfalls?

Care to share?

In the real world we see fake Rolex’s and other knock-offs. There are also fake breasts, fingernails, hair, eye lashes, tattoos, fake foods engineered to (sort of) taste like the real thing, fake weather conditions including snow and the list goes on.

Online and in print media we see fake in the form of air brushing or Photoshopping.

On social networking sites, pedophiles take on a fake identity to scam young children.

Today’s Lesson

On blogs we see fake, too. It may come in the form of plagiarized content or stolen photos.

We see evidence of fake in product reviews; reviews which make products and/or services sound magical. You know the ones; if we buy the product or service it can (possibly) make us rich, skinny, popular, etc…

For us bloggers, doubt may set in when we see an affiliate link.

Sadly, what some bloggers are truthfully sharing can be labeled as fake, too.

Although it’s normal to ask, “Is this person telling the truth?”, or, “Are they only interested scamming us out of our hard earned money?”, skepticism doesn’t stop there.

We also see it in comments.

On my How to Remove Coffee and Tea Stains From Carafes, Pitchers and Thermos Bottles post, published on my Observation Mountain blog, several of the comments verify this.

Some who commented said, in part,

Was a skeptic like some of the rest…

Ok…I read all the comments and said to myself “yeah, right!”. I just came back from the kitchen…I tried it and OMG!!! One of the first tips I’ve found that REALLY works!!!!!

The first time I read the doubting words, I was somewhat surprised. I knew I told the truth and knew what I shared worked. That said, it pleased me to hear what I had shared was beneficial.

So it makes me wonder, how many people spend time online but doubt the validity of what they read?

How many bloggers bend the truth to earn a buck, or to appear to be an expert, or …?

How many blog posts are written for search engines instead of for the readers?

How do honest bloggers feel when others are skeptical about what they post?

Today’s Assignment

When you read blogs, are you skeptical of what the blog author posted?

Has anyone ever questioned the validity of your words?

Care to share?