Be Original! STOP COPYING!

I created this image a few weeks ago, as I watched a very honorable and well-known artist/designer attacked and lambasted for standing up for herself and her company against copycats. I saw the whole thing unfold, from beginning to end. It was a smear campaign of epic proportions, and took place all over social media.

Click through to read more about this issue and why we all need to STOP it...

CYBER Theft: Cracking the Case!

If you haven't been robbed in one way or another by cyber thieves yet, 

consider yourself lucky - and in the minority. It's happened to me multiple times, 

and I hear about it happening to others every day. Here is one such story:

Original Jewelry Designs by Gretchen Johnson Shaumann of Mimi-Toria's Designs
(She has some GREAT display ideas, doesn't she?!)
IMAGE: property of Gretchen Schaumann / Mimi Toria's Designs 2011
All Rights Reserved . used with permission

Last month, Gretchen, a friend on facebook, posted this question on her wall:

It has been brought to my attention that a blogger in the UK has basically stolen 13 pages off of my blog!

I've written, photographed, edited, designed the jewelry on it, as well as edited the photos, etc. This literally involves 1,000's of combined hours of my time. There are no other designers under the JEWELRY heading other than mine.

I do have a copyright statement on my blog, etc.

What would you do? How would you handle it if it were your blog? Would it bother you? Would you be flattered? Or would you insist it all be removed at once?

Just pretty much blows me away that someone would do this first off...

She received dozens of comments - most of them to the tune of 'WHAAAAAAA? Why would someone do this?!' Many people just don't realize the extent to which this happens, especially in the creative world.

I commented on her post and shared that my experience with it was that the offender was simply channeling traffic to his own blog, where he was making money through ad clicks. I also gave her the link to my blog, and told her about the resources I have posted on my right sidebar for 'Content Theft'.

I learned a lot when my own design blog content was scraped by the unscrupulous Danish man whats-his-name a few years back. I yelled and screamed at the wrong person (the template designer... who responded by posting on his blog. I am STILL getting irate emails from techies coming from his post, so may I just say ONE MORE TIME "I am SORRY, Andreas! I still had a lot to learn at that point!") I posted resources on my own blog sidebar, in hopes that they would help others who find themselves in this less than appealing position. There are a lot of links ;0)

My friend checked out my links, did some recon, wrote some complaints, took action, and eventually got satisfaction. I received this from her today:

Hi Deb!
I just wanted to update you that my issue in the UK with the blogging 2 years of my content that was stolen, has been resolved. It was removed, and a nasty cinderella/wicked stepmother cartoon was put in place of it, as well as a lot of other vulgar stuff.

I don't understand people.... They steal, and then get mad when caught...???

Anyways, just wanted to be sure to THANK YOU for your valuable help and encouragement you shared with me. I ended up emailing GOOGLE first as it was their AD SENSE program that this person was selling using my content. I didn't hear anything from them, and than recently went on again to check and it was removed.

Then this weird cartoon about the wicked step Mom cutting off Cinderella, etc. was on their wall. People are so strange... Thanks again!

 I love to hear that the good guys win once in awhile! And I thought that the Google Ad Sense avenue to approaching this mess was a GREAT solution, so I wanted to share it with you. If you have tips to share in regard to protecting online content, please share in the comments below...

Make sure you visit Gretchen Johnson Schaumann at Mimi-Toria's Designs, to see her beautiful vintage jewelry designs... and her great ORIGINAL blog content. ;0)

Enough is Enough!

sigh. Haulin' out the soapbox again, girls...

This post originally appeared on my personal blog last winter. But since the subject is such a hot-button issue and affects so many design professionals, I decided to post it here on my Retail Design Blog. I'm placing it in a high-priority spot here because I think people need to hear more about WHY this is so important. OK, on with the post:

____________________________________________________________________________

I just heard from a friend today that her fabulous business idea is being copied. By someone she has gone out of her way to help with their business.

Today I also read a blog post by an artist who was announcing that her own design has been picked up by a major chain. When I saw her design, I realized that another person, whom I know of, has been copying it and selling it as her own recently.

Last night, I read another blog post by an artist who was ripped off by the company she had licensed her art to. This woman has been through a nightmare - and it ain't over yet.

And last week, on Facebook and Twitter, I read that two friends' product designs are being ripped off - one domestically, one in Europe.

I've had my own run-ins with this over the past year - from having my design blog 'scraped' to make someone else money from ad revenues {generated from the content I wrote that he posted on his blog} to having my product designs for Retreat oogled at shows, 'covertly' photographed {um, yes, I saw you do it} OR had my photos snagged from my blogs, and then seen my products reproduced and presented as someone else's 'original design'. I even had my Facebook Fans & Friends falsely lured to another Page by someone using my name - and I wasn't the only one these particular people targeted. Oh, yeah, then there was the client/frenemy who took all my submitted design ideas and told her coworkers and the corporation who employed her that they were HER ideas. {Ahem.}

There's even a blog devoted entirely to link ups where people can show off the things they have copied after seeing them somewhere else. ??

{Warning: Rant Ahead}

I'm done, girls. Sick and tired and DONE with these people. 

I am tired of people thinking it's ok to copy, borrow, lift, reproduce, 'appropriate', steal, and whatever else you want to call it. IT'S NOT OK!!!! Immitation is NOT flattering, it's not 'inspired', it's certainly not nice, and it's most definitely not LEGAL.

BTW, I'm not talking about Debbie Sue who reads a blog and sees a cute thing and decides to make it for herself. Creating is often inspired or jump-started by something we see - we start there and it evolves into something reflecting our own style. I'm referring to the deliberate taking of an original, unique product/idea/service and reproducing it for sale as your own design.

What ever happened to manners? To ethics? Morals? Doing business based on the skills and talents that you possess - not by stealing ideas and product designs from other people? I am tired of people taking advantage of other people. They've been getting away with murder, we've paid the price, and it's time to put a stop to it, for God's sake!

Owning a business is HARD WORK, my friends. It never ends. But all that hard work and late nights and no vacations and sometimes no pay for yourself is worth it when you come up with a great product or service, and people want what you have.

Unfortunately, some of those people who want what you have are untalented and underhanded, and simply steal it from you. They start a duplicate business, or they lift your design and start selling it as their own. And usually, they manage to market it to the very people who were actually looking for YOUR product or service, so the impact doubles. These are hacks, theives, slackers who want the buck without the work, the fame without paying the dues, and the limelight no matter how they get it. It's disgusting. It's wrong. And it's spreading like a freakin' epidemic - H1N1 has nuthin' on creative & intellectual property theft.

Here's what I'd really like to see:

A watchdog organization for creatives, designers and artisans that will publicize the illegal activities that these unscrupulous people have been undertaking. Something along the lines of 'the 3/50 Project' - but instead of promoting a 'shop local campaign', this organization will promote a cooperation amongst creative businesses to stop the rampant theft going on. Something like 'Blog With Integrity' except on a larger scale - not just blogs, but web sites, B&M's, shows, etsy, ebay, twitter, facebook, everything. Something with viral visibility, worldwide distribution, and a spitfire spokesperson like Cinda Baxter who will grow this thing fast. I ALSO want Wonder Woman and her rope of truth - 'cause they all deny it when they get caught.

I don't know how to do that. I'm trying to make a living running not one but two businesses, and I am not as proficient at getting the word out about 'causes' as I'd like to be. But I am compelled to do something about this mess, so I am going to do some research to find out what is already out there.

My question to you all is this: What can we do?  

I know there is something we can do. I know the power of a group is far more moving than the ire of one person. I know we can move mountains and change the landscape of business if we stand up to this.

Any ideas, brainstorms, or fingers pointed in the right direction will be gratefully accepted! Leave me a comment below, send me an email, hit me on Facebook ... just let me know what you think about this. Have you been a victim? Do you know of a growing movement against intellectual & creative property theft? Let's get together on this issue and make a change for the better. Climb up here on the soapbox with me....

I've added a few links over in my right sidebar - these are other professionals who share their opinions on the creative copyright issue. Check 'em out! And many thanks to Cinda Baxter of the 3/50 Project for linking to my original post in support. Rock ON, Sistah!

NEW INFO January 2011: 

Please visit the newly created web site, blog, & facebook Page 

Be Your Original Best 

to join with creative designers & artists 

in the effort to promote a 'copycat free' artistic industry.

Image Credit: photo used by permission from design*sponge Biz Women Series 

{I wrote a blog post for them and have permission to use it!}

myOWs (no, I don't need a bandage!)

(Image property of & copyright myOWs.com; used here only for promotion of myOWs)


Today I received a hot tip in an email from my friend Randy (thanks, Ran!) about a new web tool on the horizon. 'myOWs' is a web service for helping creatives to protect the copyright on their original works.

'myOWs' is an acronym for 'my Original Works', and the site was set to launch in August of this year. Developing a new concept often takes longer than expected, and the service rollout is still  on the drawing board. However, it's set to be the next big thing for creative artists of many mediums, and I'm on board to support it wholeheartedly!

I've added the site link to my right sidebar, along with other tools to help you with copyright and online content theft issues. I'll pass along news about the launch as soon as I hear something.

Check out this Interview with Max Guedy, founder of this incredible concept, on Frisk Design's site to learn more about myOWs and how it can help YOU protect your creative property.... and thanks, Max, for sending me this COOOOL 3-D image of your logo! (He said I could be the first one to share it!!!)

Craig Ferguson read this post and sent a comment in, along with a link to his interview with Max. Thanks,  Craig! The more we all spread the word, the more we people we can help Max help!

Help Is On the Way!

Take a look over there on the top of my right sidebar... you'll see a new link list titled 'Dealing With Online Content Theft: Tips, Links, Resources, and Words of Wisdom'. I've added the resources I've discovered while on this strange and enlightening journey lately, in hopes that if YOU have the certain displeasure of being a victim of online content theft, you will have somewhere to go to assist you as you start taking action. If you know of other resources, please leave a comment here and I will gladly add them.

I appreciate all of the links, information, and assistance that my dear readers and friends have offered over this past month. It's been hell. I've experienced every emotion possible, compounded with looking like a huge idiot on my very own blog. But, again, I'm human. I fired first and asked questions later - and I've learned from it. Hopefully, so have you.

Please educate yourselves by reading through all of the materials offered - yes, including all of the links contained on the Google search page! - so that you are prepared to defend your intellectual and creative property. Because it WILL happen to you at some point. Yes, it will.

Seriously, if you still don't see how this is problematic for anyone with their business presence online - whether it's a Facebook page or a blog or a web site or an ad - let me put it to you this way:

Sitting back and letting online content theft happen without taking action is just like sitting behind your cash register and letting people walk into your store, pick up things they like, walk out without paying for them, and then put them up for sale in their stores.

We all have to act. We all have to stand up and protect what is our property. Just because it exists in text and images, instead of 3-D merchandise, does not mean it is not valuable and considered 'inventory' or 'assets'. It costs us money that we can't recoup.

The words 'Inform. Educate. Empower.' are in my mission statement for a reason!

The Face of A Thief?

Do you know this man? This picture appears on his Facebook listing - but I'd bet it's not really him! He's probably stolen the photo just as he has everything else he puts up online. (Funny that he didn't find a more handsome guy to impersonate....) He is cowering behind his computer screen and stealing property that belongs to other people to make a profit. I did a Google Search on Mr. Hans Peter Jeschke, and found out some interesting info... one thing is that he owns many, many web domains and spam sites. Another is that he's selling a link building service. Check it out: http://jeschke.com/link-building-service.html

So not only is he getting paid for Google ads on his site, generated by stolen content, but he's being paid from $9.90 to $14.90 per link by hapless and greedy idiots who think he'll drive traffic to their sites with his links. So THEY can make money from Google ads. I love how he says he has 'collected' his web site and blog links himself. That makes it sound SO much nicer and friendlier than 'I have a long list of blogs and web sites whose content I am stealing and whose links I am selling you without their knowledge or permission', doesn't it?

This guy is a piece of work, as an old friend of mine used to say.

Thank you, Andreas, for the heads-up on this. I'll send off another DMCA notice.

All content in this post is original to Debi Ward Kennedy/DWK/DebiWardKennedy.com and DecoDivaDebi.blogspot. As such is protected by Copyright. Reproduction or rebroadcast of any content in whole or part without express written permission is prohibited. Content copyright 2009 DWK; All Rights Reserved

HE'S BACK AT IT AGAIN

Hans Peter Jeschke put his site back up, (apparently he took it down before, not his web host) and it now includes all of my posts which appear below talking about this very situation. How ridiculously STUPID is that? Interestingly enough, I can only access one page. I can't access older posts or sidebar archives. But it's still loading my newest posts. And others'.

To quote Julia Roberts in 'Pretty Woman': "Big Mistake. HUGE."

This is not over. Not by a long shot.

All content in this post is original to Debi Ward Kennedy/DWK/DebiWardKennedy.com and DecoDivaDebi.blogspot. As such is protected by Copyright. Reproduction or rebroadcast of any content in whole or part without express written permission is prohibited. Content copyright 2009 DWK; All Rights Reserved

Squeaky Wheel

This morning, I received a comment from a reader telling me to check out the offending web site. It's been taken down. Not sure if it's been removed by the owner or by the web host in response to my filed complaint, but it's down. 'The squeaky wheel gets the oil' indeed.

For now, this hot mess has exhausted me and I'm taking some time off the computer. I'll be checking email and comments, but no new posts for a bit. Sometime in the next few weeks, the info about internet content theft resources will post here. Once that's up, I really hope to not cover this subject again!

and now we return to this episode of 'How the Blog Burns'....

To Recap:
For all of the people who have read the first and second posts in this blog soap opera and then neglected to read the third, may I ask that you please stop sending me comments until you catch up with where things stand now - including my public session of 'eating crow'? Scroll down a bit and read 'em ALL. In the meantime, Lemme’ ‘splain. No, it takes too long. Lemme’ sum up: (Thank you, Inigo Montoya*)…

Andreas is listed on the offending site as ‘Designed by Andreas Viklund’, with a link to his site. It does not say ‘Template Designed by…’ therefore my impression was that the SITE was designed by him. I myself have designed blog sites and set them up for clients. I am responsible for how I set them up, and if I had set them up to pull RSS feeds and post them as content, then I would indeed be responsible for any claims of theft of content. So would the owner, but I would be implicated and morally responsible. This is what my impression of the situation was.

He was also the sole person with a working link on that site, with no other contact info available. This is why I suggested to Andreas that he have that notation amended to read ‘TEMPLATE Designed by Andreas Viklund’ - because, of his own admission and that of other designers on his site, this is a misconception that happens quite often. I’m not the first person to make the incorrect assumption that the ‘designer’ is involved with the site itself. And now that he knows that this site is a problem, he's likely to get at least one more victimized person who reacts as I did.

As a patient and professional creative person and businessman, Andreas took time out of his life to respond to me and to educate me about the situation. And while I read some sarcasm into his first response, I was wrong in doing so. He did not become rude nor did he admit wrongdoing. He simply explained why he was not involved in the situation. It took the poor man two lengthy emails to get that fact through to me in my highly agitated state. As soon as light dawned on my marble head, I thanked him, apologized both privately and publicly, let everyone know what was happening with the situation, and began directing my actions toward the web site owner.

If you are coming here via the conversation links from Andreas’ site or haven’t read that post, please catch up. If you are a tech designer God who wants to rip me a new one for my lack of knowledge of web protocol - save it. I’ve heard it from oh so many of your contemporaries in the past few days. And to counteract your comments: I’m not an idiot, I behaved like one. I’m not a moron. I’m feeling decidedly foolish right now, a bit embarrassed, and that’s not fun, but the name calling is not necessary and makes you look pretty ridiculous yourself. I’m not unprofessional, I acted unprofessionally. I have tried to the best of my ability to repair the damage my words may have done to Andreas – if I still look dumb, fine. People make MISTAKES.

As I said to Andreas, I’m pretty sure he (and perhaps many of you) view me as a knee-jerk reacting hotheaded creative (and add ‘woman’ in a derogative tone to that, for the many men who have sent me such undelightful comments) but then you are entitled to your opinion. I was hotheaded, I did react before researching, and I was aggressive. I don’t apologize for the aggressive part. Nor for being a woman. (Note please, all you tech Gods on high horses, that my original comments to Andreas attack him for his actions – I did not accuse him of being a horrible person and call him names. Let's talk professionalism now....) A reader on my Facebook page said ‘Your reaction was not out of line. The issue was a serious concern. As it played out we all learned something. I think that is a valuable lesson to all of us. There is nothing wrong in that what so ever. Thank you, Deb, for putting yourself out there. We are all the better for it.’ She was right in one definite sense – my reaction was not out of line, it was just mis-directed.

The comment means a lot to me and also makes me laugh. ‘Yep’, I responded, ‘that’s me – just puttin’ myself out here to take the lumps for the good of all concerned!’. I DID put myself out there by sharing all of this here. I did that to inform & educate – which are both elements of my mission statement and this blog – even tho it hasn’t exactly reflected well on me. I hope those of you reading this DID learn something from this situation. If you are faced with something similar (which I would only wish on my worst enemy) I hope you have an easier time of it because of what I’ve experienced & shared here.

All of the resources that I’ve discovered and that kind people like Andreas and Randy and Monica have shared with me are going to be compiled and posted about soon. I think I’ll even add them in a new sidebar box… that way, if you are ever the victim of online theft, you’ll know where to start. And that’s what got me in the first place – I am a victim of theft. So are the other photographers, artists, and writers that Hans Peter Jeschke (owner of the web site) is stealing content from. I rose up to protect myself, and others. And ‘aimed in the wrong direction’, as Andreas said (not sarcastically!).

I've not had any response from Hans Peter Jeschke, the owner/administrative & technical contact for the offending web site. Legal proceedings have begun from my end and I'll keep ya' posted. In the meantime, I'm on my soapbox posting here on my blog about this issue so that my posts will pop up on his site! And if they don't, well, then I"ll know that it's not an automated RSS feed doing this but a MANUAL choosing, copying, and posting of my content on his site. (Smart, eh?)

Thank you for following along. And now, if you'd like to send me your comments, please do.

*Inigo Montoya quote from 'The Princess Bride' film, Act III Communications, 1987. Info from IMDB

....and more..... with apologies......

More from Andreas...
____________________________________________________________________________________________
On Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 10:12 AM, Andreas Viklund wrote:
Hello again!

I could answer in the same aggresive spirit, but I won't. I am a bit too friendly to do that. I'll give you one more chance, in all kindness, to understand what you are doing wrong here. Here are the URLs you should see first:

http://andreasviklund.com/general/on-the-move/
(here is the one and single comment you have posted on my site - and my replies.)

http://andreasviklund.com/contact/read-this-first/
(here is a page explaining why questions, comments and inquiries about any other site than andreasviklund.com should NOT be sent to me - not even if I am credited as the original designer of a site - as well as a short explanation of the concept of website templates that you need to understand to avoid wasting an awful amount of energy on something that will not take you anywhere.)

The short and very simple point is that I am a website template designer. You can see the original XHTML/CSS-based website template named "andreas09" here:

http://andreasviklund.com/templates/andreas09/

That template, which can be freely downloaded by anyone, has been downloaded in hundreds of thousands of copies. It has been ported by other designers into themes for numerous content management systems (including WordPress, Drupal, blogspot, Etomite and many others). These themes are also freely available to anyone who wants to use the designs through a simple download. Most ported versions keep my name in the footer, crediting me as the original designer of the layout.

What you have seen on the spam blog you have found to use your content, is a WordPress (www.wordpress.org) theme called WP-Andreas09 - a theme created by Ainslie Johnson based on my original Andreas09 template. You can find the WP-Andreas09 theme for WordPress here:

http://webgazette.co.uk/wordpress-themes/wp-andreas09/

That theme is currently used on a lot of websites and blogs all over the world. A Google.com search for "andreas09 by andreasviklund" gave me millions of hits. The spam blog you have found is one of those blogs. There are many others (as well as spam blogs that use other designers themes and templates). Not one of those millions of blogs and websites are run, managed or even supported by me. I run andreasviklund.com only, and I am not in any way affiliated with the spam blog you have found. I have no contact information (I couldn't possibly have that) for the blog owner, and there is nothing I can do to help you in your fight - other than telling you to make sure that you aim at the correct target. In this case, that would be GoDaddy if GoDaddy is the host of the spam blog. Targeting me, andreasviklund.com, Ainslie Johnson, WordPress or anything or anyone else than the actual spam blog is not just wrong, it is a waste of time, money and energy.

The only thing I have done to get involved in your situation, is that I have designed the original CSS template, which someone else (in this case Ainslie) built upon and created a WordPress theme from. That theme was then downloaded by an unknown person, who applied it on his/her blog. What this means in reality is that the blog owner could have used any of the tens of thousands of available WordPress themes that can be freely downloaded. If the blog owner would have used a theme by another designer, you would have seen another name in the theme design credits. And with your way of reasoning, you would have ended up being angry on a completely different person - who would in return have given you the same answer as I did: "I am not the right person to contact".

Of course, I can't stop you from trying to take legal action against me. But it would be a bad idea, since any legal representative that would get involved would make sure to do their research - and they would write me off in a minute. And you would still end up having to apologize for forcing me to spend my time on handling a situation which I am not in any way involved in.

During the four years that I have worked as a professional website template designer, I have seen many misunderstandings like this happen. I have been threatened, yelled at and verbally attacked many times. In every single situation, I have been able to get my point through sooner or later, and got the apology I have deserved. In several cases, I have considered legal counter-action to defend my reputation and business. So far, it has not been needed. I hope it won't be needed in this case either. As said, I am a friendly person - often too friendly...

Now, I have spent working time on explaining things that you should have figured out before even considering to accuse me of content theft. I am happy to do that to avoid further misunderstandings. But I don't want to continue discussing a situation which is none of my business. I am providing you with all the information you need to understand what you did wrong, what "aim at the right direction" means, why I can happily wish you the best of luck with resolving your situation - and why I deserve an apology. I won't discuss this topic further, so I hope that you understand my point and can move on to spend your energy on finding the real spam blogger and content thief, and get his/her blog closed down through the blogs hosting company. And, of course, stop attacking website template designers - because that is generally not a friendly thing to do!

If this information doesn't sort out your misunderstanding and you make any kind of move to put my name, website, profession or templates in the dirt, I will post all correspondence on my blog to make sure that both visitors and template users can see the facts that you have so far missed. Please don't push this that far, I'd rather spend my time on building more website templates for the world to use. :)

Best regards,

--Andreas Viklund, andreasviklund.com
________________________________________________________________
My email response WITH APOLOGY:

OK, Andreas, I give you credit for maintaining a somewhat level tone in this latest email. Your first one was rather sarcastic.
In all fairness, you can certainly understand WHY I am aggressively pursuing this, yes? You would do the same if your web template designs were being used by the same person on a regular basis, helping them make money, without proper credit to you. Of course you would. I am a friendly person too, and I love helping people make connections to others who can help them build better businesses. It's a large part of why I have a blog. But this kind of underhanded behavior gets my hackles up - I have to protect my business and my reputation. You landed in my 'sights' because of the link to you as being involved with this website.

I have read your responses, and I thank you for your concise explanations and the links to further info that you provided in them and in your email. After reading them all, I see your well-made point about the limits of your responsibility here. Unless you are responsible for creating the settings that use RSS feeds to upload content to the hrantiques.com site, you are apparently not responsible for this situation. I will post this response to you on my blog, my Facebook page, and as a comment on your own site.

In addition, I offer you my most sincere apology for jumping on the first name found on the offending site - your name - and accusing you of wrongdoing. Again, if you had nothing to do with the programming of settings for this blog, then you are not responsible for the theft of content. I apologize for any ill will that I or others have expressed against you because of this situation. I will post this response to you on my blog, my Facebook page, and as a comment on your own site to ensure that anyone who has read my previous statements regarding this situation sees that I am recanting my accusation and hoping for absolution for it. But oh, believe me, I am still all over this situation.

I know that keeping track of the many uses of your templates is impossible, but now that you know this particular one is putting you out there as the single available contact for it, you may just want to have that link and your name removed. It may prevent you being contacted by other writers whose content is being stolen. (Although I sincerely suspect that that site is about to be shut down.) When faced with this kind of heinous offense against them, many of us creatives whose very livelihood is threatened act first and think later. I am sure, as a designer, you understand this. I was thinking when I wrote the comments to you and on my blog, but needed to do further research before sending them. This is a mistake that many others may make when seeing your name associated with a site that has no other visible contact information.

I have obtained the information on the registered owner of that site, and am pursuing action against them. In the case that you wish to do so as well, here it is:

www.hrantiques.com
IP 70.32.68.86
created 19 sept 07
expires 19 Sept 10
Hosted by MediaTemple.net

Registered Owner:
hr GMT Inc.
601 Cleveland Street Suite 950
Clearwater, Florida 33755

727.443.4800
727.443.2200 fax

Administrative and Technical Contact:
Hans Peter Jeschke
hp@hrgmt.com

Dear Mr. Hans Peter is going to get an earful from me, let me tell you....

Again, Andreas, I thank you for your professional conduct in your last reply, for your patience, and for allowing me to see the entire story. I hope that my apology is sufficient to end this communication between us, even though I am quite sure that you regard me as a hot headed artist at this point. ;) It's ok, I can deal with that. Passion drives creativity.
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Off to post on Facebook and send emails to Hans Peter......

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.......