Comments on: A Tale of Two C…ontents

By: Valeria Maltoni

Valeria Maltoni — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:42:50 +0000

@Nick – thank you for stopping by. Content is very important to differentiate yourself, even in a crowded space.
@Jeffrey – that is fascinating. I didn’t know people would use the voice overs of others. Early in my career, I recorded about 200 hours of voice overs for a non profit medical center as a very nominal fee (very) and never even signed a release form Good thoughts on motivation.

By: Jeffrey Kafer

Jeffrey Kafer — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:20:14 +0000

Plagiarism extends beyond just writing, although it isn’t called the same thing in my world. As a voice over artist, I need to make sure that my auditions aren’t being used without being paid for. I can watermark them by either changing the copy a little (like a phone number) or putting a sound in that renders it useless.
I’ve found that a well-worded blog post can do wonders for sullying a company’s online reputation. And it often leads to a correction in the action that put it there.

By: Nick Stamoulis

Nick Stamoulis — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:58:47 +0000

I think many people don’t realize sometimes how important copy really is. It is the major factor that allows customers to react and actually perform on action on your website.

By: Valeria Maltoni

Valeria Maltoni — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:11:54 +0000

@Peter – amazingly, the examples you provided are very close to each other. The funny thing is when mainstream media companies(I’m thinking of AP) put the walls up on their content… why not extend the same courtesy to others? I raised the question on Twitter a couple of months ago and the responses were pretty consistent with our reactions here. Does it start in school? Do people do it because they see others do it? My thinking is that L&S missed an opportunity and lost credibility with their inaction. Imagine if they are teaching companies about participation! Oy.
@Brent – the thing that most impressed me about this whole situation has been your professional demeanor. I can tell you that my Italian nature would have had the best of me. That was probably the main reason why to this day I remain puzzled as to why someone from L&S would not have reached out to you with an apology. You did the right thing, they need to learn about the right thing to do.

By: Brent Leary

Brent Leary — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:26:05 +0000

Valeria thanks so much for bringing light to this area of content attribution, and specifically to my situation.
There are plenty of people like me that have found themselves in this predicament, and I am so greatful to people like you who have rallied to my defense. It just goes to show that social web community will not tolerate this kind of activity. They will not let it be swept under the rug.
Content is the lifeblood of the web, and we should celebrate the good works of others, not diminish it in with the actions you so beautifully illustrated in your post.
Thanks again Valeria!

By: Peter Kim

Peter Kim — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:29:59 +0000

Hi Valeria – I think you uncover the root cause of the problem in your next to last paragraph. It’s Brent vs. L&S. A person vs. people hiding behind a corporate brand.
Here’s a similar situation where source (Robert Paterson, @robpatrob) http://bit.ly/uWt34 and derivative work (The Economist, @theeconomist) are too close for comfort http://bit.ly/FxUfW .
When my own content has been plagiarized in the past, here are some of the crazy excuses I’ve heard:
- It was the ghostwriter’s fault
- My colleague didn’t tell me it was copied
- I was going to write the same thing anyway
- A lot of people are linking to it, so it’s public domain now
I had a great breakfast conversation with a former colleague where we discussed copyright and fair use. In a nutshell, content should never be cut-and-paste without direct consent; even a link and citation of the source isn’t enough.
In Brent’s case, one course of action would be for L&S to send an apology and clarification to everyone who received their letter. Do you think that’s a possibility?
Unfortunately, it’s much too easy to break windows in internet neighborhoods.