security measures

So, you may have noticed my new addition to the sidebar, a label warning against blog plagiarism. Recently I read, in my own blog lurking, that a few of my fav blogs have been copied word for word and used in conjunction with spam to sell anything from viagra to um, well, let's just say Bad Things. The accused have used photos and complete text, changing only a name or place. Reportedly, most of the copying was done by people elsewhere, in every language from spanish to japanese, but sadly some was done right here in the US of A by bored housewives looking for a better life than they have. They used the life trials of these ligitimate bloggers to jazz up their own stories and to gain accolades from their readership: "You have such a way with words! You should be published!"

It's such a shame to hear of this because a blog is supposed to be a place where people can communicate and share little snippets of their lives, and sometimes just to vent about whatever is going on. The realization that people with such impure motives can ruin such a good thing is saddening. I personally use this blog to keep our out-of-town family and friends in touch with our lives, as well as to post previews for a few of my photography clients. I of course do all this with permission from the family members in question as a security measure to protect all involved. And I'm happy to announce that as of yet I have not been copied or plagiarized in any way! I guess that's the benefit of being a small-beans operation and not having a huge readership. If at anytime I felt that problems were arising from my use of this blog I would go private immediately and that would be the end of it. But as of now I'm thankful I don't have to do that.

All of this is to say that I'm thankful for a place to post about our goings-on and thankful that I can keep up with others in the blogging world. And I added that label to hopefully deter any copy-cats in the future. I still believe imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but I'd rather you at least give me credit for what I've done and not say it's yours. I'll do the same where I find inspiration. Honor System, I thank you!

eta: if you read this and are curious how I checked into the situation, I went to www.copyscape.com and ran a check of both my blog and my website. There was no obligation to do the basic check, and since I didn't have any hits I didn't pay to go forward with the search of who is using/where it's being used..