Seeing Double

I've just seen a mirror image of something, and I have a question for you business owners, bloggers, and readers out there...

A Google alert just revealed this to me: A site I just discovered , http://hrantiques.com, has several of my posts on it. In their entirety. Not a link, not a mention, but posts that I wrote on my own blogs - text, images, all of it - on their blog. Then in the sidebar, they list me as a 'Contributor'. Twice, for the two blogs of mine that they are pilfering to get content for their own.

I'm mad as a wet hen!

Need I say that I work really hard to discover, research, create, and write content for my blogs to inspire, empower, and educate people who take the time to read them? It's important to me NOT to copy someone else's work - if I use their photo, I credit them. If I think what they have to say on their site is important, I link to them. I try to use my own photos as much as I can, and to utilize content that is something I have personally experienced, seen, created, etc. more often than not. And I'm so not a proponent of filling a post with images snagged from magazines and other blogs and saying 'Isn't this DREAMY?' and also not crediting them. sigh. I think of that as lazy blogging. Again, I work hard on this stuff.

As I told the unidentified blog owners in a comment (which is 'awaiting moderation' and most certainly will never appear on their blog) if they would have asked me to contribute to their blog 'about antiques', I would have said yes. I also reminded them that I own my content and images and they are in dangerous territory here. Following RSS feeds, finding interesting stories, and sharing them via a linkback is fine. Reposting the whole thing? SO rude.

I think this is unacceptable behavior. What do you think? Before you answer, think of it this way: It's your online marketing collateral, or your web content. Or your etsy page. NOW tell me how you feel.......

3 comments:

  1. This has happened to quite a few blogs lately that I've been following. It's just plain dishonest......I wonder how many of the "contributors" know that they're contributing?

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  2. Ugh! It's ugly. That's what I think about it! Just yesterday, a family friend commented on my blog that it, "looks like a lot of work!" IT IS! It takes so much time and energy and creativity. I definitely appreciate that your content is original.

    God will get them...that is what I have to say. I'd be mad too.

    : )

    Julie M.

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  3. Follow this up as far as you can. What they are doing is despicable.

    Jen

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