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Feb 11 2008
Small Thievery with a High Cost – Who Was Your Muse?
We are not creators. Everything we do or say has roots somewhere else. There was always something before: something to inspire our actions. The ancients called the “muses” to guide their paths, the artists looked for inspiration in nature or dreams. There is only one real creator in life and that is God – and you don’t need to be a believer to acknowledge the veracity of my affirmations now.
The Web is no different from the real world. We get inspired by what happens around us online. Often is hard to identify the original source of an idea. To paraphrase Lavoiser’s words… “On the Web nothing is created, nothing is lost, all is transformed.”
There are times when we write things that take a long time. We research, we balance information, we create screenshots, and we link to the sources to let people know what inspired our actions – it is the fair thing to do.
On the other hand, we are involved in a highly competitive race where the prizes are called traffic, popularity, users and revenue. Is acknowledging the source a danger for our goals?
Do we honestly fear that linking back to the page that inspired a blog entry means sending traffic to a competitor? Is denying the source the best way to go – especially when the transgression is so obvious that it can almost be defined as a “copycat?”
Suppose that the copycat didn’t know what he/she was doing. Suppose that they wake up one morning with this “brilliant blogging idea” which just happened to be yours first, and what is even worse, suppose that these people are your online friends. You know… those kinds of contacts you are ready to help anytime, any way – your StumbleUpon friends, your blogging friends, those you trust and often look up to. This is not a hypothetical question, but a fact of web life, almost as bad as Liz described with her “Stay Out of my Life” scenario.
Do you recognize yourself the sources of your insight? Are we all not part of a greater hub of truth and knowledge? If we do not recognize these things, then how can we identify that none paramount essence that is the thesis of our being – ourselves? Simply put, do you recognize anyone in this entry? Does this portray something that happened to you – share your thoughts.
It should be considered an unspoken Golden Rule to link to the source that provided your inspiration for anything you write.
Rarely has an idea never been thought of before in some form or another. Give credit where credit is due.
And if that doesn’t work for you, don’t forget about Karma … it always come back to you in the manner you give it out
Deborah | Feb 12, 2008 | Reply
An offspring of the creator is a creator.To deny that is to live in denial. every thought of yours, therefore is creative. you have created the life you presently live and are therefore responsible for it as it is. Every thought you have creates the object of its desire.—Doug Rosbury
Doug Rosbury | Feb 12, 2008 | Reply
I’ve seen it happen to others and I’ve had even worst happen to me! Its strange that some can overlook care, compassion, friendship and respect while trying to be the next millionaire on the net.. BUT we can make a choice as “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong”. – No, I didn’t invent that, I think Mahatma Gandhi said it
Pearl | Feb 12, 2008 | Reply
Thanks guys! I know that this type thing has been a thorn in everyone’s side…..I know it will neve stop too. I only brought it to light because of the acute pain of seeing it happen obviously.
Always,
Phil
Phil Butler | Feb 13, 2008 | Reply
What an interesting observation, Doug. So that means that any son of a painter is a painter, any son of a doctor is a doctor… wow. Amazing.
mig | Feb 13, 2008 | Reply
I am not sure anyone who neglects to quote a source on an ongoing basis is going to succeed, which is one consolation.
Linking to a source is not only the ethical way to go it can also be beneficial. So many people I link to come on by to read my blog and are likely to comment too. It is a way of developing blogging contacts.
I made a decision a while ago to blog for readers and not for Google and concern myself less with the number of links I post and more with recognizing others. It is too early to tell if my pagerank is going to be affected but other indicators are proving very positive.
Saying that I have a sneaking feeling I may have got an idea for a post from someone and I have not thanked the person whose idea it was. Thanks Mig, I think?
Sueblimely | Feb 15, 2008 | Reply