9 posts tagged “writing”

I’ve seen a lot of bloggers fall in love with another blogger’s list and then reproduce most or the entire thing on their blog. STOP IT!

The intention behind copying and pasting such lists on another blog is usually done out of support and caring. They want to help the original blogger spread their helpful list around. They also want to store this list on their blog for their own reference, and hopefully help their readers by supplying the list. It’s usually done without the intension of causing harm, but it is harmful.

Do not copy and paste another blogger’s list because it is a violation of their copyright. If you don’t have permission, you have violated their copyright and the DMCA laws. This could result in a request from the author to remove the content, and/or more penalties against your blog.

Do not copy and paste another blogger’s list because a link is usually sufficient. And your blog readers will love you for the recommendation, coming back for more recommendations like this.

Do not copy and paste another blogger’s list because it creates trackbacks to all links in the list, which confuses readers and bloggers, who may mistake your post as the source of the list and not the original author. This hurts the original author and loses them the attention and acclaim they deserve for the hard work in putting together the list in the first place. You certainly didn’t put any effort into your copy and paste, did you? Let credit go to the deserving.

Do not copy and paste another blogger’s list because the trackback links it creates could generate a negative response to your blog from other bloggers who know you are copying the original content and violating the original author’s copyright. This doesn’t help your online reputation much.

Do not copy and paste another blogger’s list because Google checks other blogs as well as your own for duplicate content and you’ve just duplicated someone’s content. Your blog could be penalized in page ranking as a potential splog and scraper.

Do not copy and paste another blogger’s list because because your readers aren’t stupid. They know you’ve copied this, making it appear as your own when it’s not, whether the intention to give credit back is clear or not. Show respect to other bloggers, and in turn, your readers will respect you. No one likes a cheat.

Do not copy and paste another blogger’s list because it’s not a compliment. It’s not a nice thing to do. It doesn’t help the blogger. And it doesn’t help your readers to know that you are copying other people’s content and using it instead of recommending it.

Be careful with what you copy from other blogs and resources. You maybe restricted by many copyright web standards and policies which state, like my copyright policy, that fair use is restricted to 10% of the post content, or approximately 400 words. Some bloggers have stated that this means you can use the lessor of the two amounts, or the maximum of the two numbers without permission. Either way, copying the whole thing can bring a wrath of trouble you don’t need.

Blog fair and you will be rewarded by other bloggers and your readers.

Related Articles

• What Do You Do When Someone Steals Your Content
• Finding Stolen Content and Copyright Infringements
• The Growing Trends in Content Theft
• Understanding GPL and Copyright in WordPress Community Podcast
• Copyright Law Tips from Daily Blog Tips
• Brag On: Jonathan Bailey Now Offers Plagiarism Advice on the Blog Herald
• Podcast Release WordPress Plugin Helps You Get Permission
• Modern Crusader: Plagiarism Today with Jonathan Bailey
• Can The DMCA Be Used Against You If Someone Doesn’t Like What You Blog?
• WordPress Plugins Battling Evil
• Applaud Those Who Warn You: Your Blog’s Content Is Being Stolen

Site Search Tags: blog writing, copyright, copyright protection, intellectual property, copying, copycat, plagiarism, content theft, copy lists, lists, blog lists, copying lists, how not to blog, how to blog
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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.

If you think that your mouse doesn’t matter when searching the web and blogging, think again.

I have bragged about my Internet savvy mouse in my series, Web Browser Guide for Bloggers, in Web Browser Guide: Button, Keyboard, and Mouse Shortcuts, and now I’m trying to function without my mouse and I’m going crazy.

I’ve been traveling a lot recently, switching between cars, houses, hotels, two trailers, and a motor home, and I’ve lost my mouse.

Actually, I have my mouse. It’s the Bluetooth USB device that’s missing.

I use the Logitech Revolution series mouse, a wireless, rechargeable unit with powerful finger and thumb buttons and a multi-speed scrolling wheel and button. It moves like silk under my hand and in an instant I can control what I click, when I click, and how I select. I’m in love.

It has a small rechargeable base and connects to my laptop via the Bluetooth USB device. I lost it, found it, and then put it somewhere safe, and now I can’t find that safe place as I’ve shifted from location to location.

I can’t get the darn thing to work with my two other Bluetooth adapters yet, so it must be a proprietary connection. ARGH!

But that’s not the point. I will turn up, sooner or later. The point is how dependent I am upon a good browsing and blogging mouse.

I’m using a small portable laptop mouse from Targus, which I bought for use on airplanes since I have to turn off all wireless devices in flight on US airlines (not on some international flights, though). It connects via wire to a USB connection so I have to learn to struggle with a string off my mouse again.

While optical, it isn’t very sensitive. I will click my Write Post editor and instead of setting the cursor in place, it will select a whole word, two words, or parts of words, or the whole damn sentence. If I’m not fast enough to catch it, I will start typing, deleting the selecting words instead of inserting my text in between them. ARGH!

I’ll click a link to copy it and then move to paste it into my post to find that the selection jumped and instead of the link, I’ll paste in some words from the post I want to link to. I have to remove those and then go back and do it again.

Without a back and forward thumb button, I’m constantly swinging my arm around as I move to the back and forward buttons on the browser. The scroll wheel is a ball and it scrolls one line at a time, making speed scrolling impossible. I then have to hunt for the narrow scroll bars on the browser to move up and down a web page. ARGH!

I use the scroll wheel button (center button) to open links in new tabs as I read through referring articles. The scroll ball is so flaky, it moves as I click and who knows what I’m opening or clicking on when I use it. I’ve opened up some weird stuff, or thought the click had worked to find out later that it didn’t. ARGH!

My fingers hurt and are cramped from the tiny size. My wrist and elbow hurt from the added work and exertion. And it takes 5 times longer to do anything that it would if I had my damn mouse.

Have you become dependent upon your mouse? Or do you even have a web savvy power mouse to help you blog? If you don’t, you don’t know what joy you are missing!

Having the right tool for the right job is critical to doing the job well. And if you are blogging without a good web-friendly mouse, you might not be doing your job as well and efficiently as you think.

Updated: I found the little sucker, the small USB Bluetooth thing. I swear I’m going to clip a mouse trap to it. But at least I’m back to my power mouse browsing after two weeks of agony.

Site Search Tags: blogging tips, blog writing, blog writing tips, writing tips, blog mouse, logitech mouse, wireless mouse, lost mouse, logitech revolution, web-savvy mouse, internet-savvy mouse, internet mouse, web mouse, blogging tools, blog tools, how to blog
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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.

I was recently asked to explain my Weekly Digest post I release every Friday and what the benefits are of this weekly post.

While I rarely publish more than one post a day on my blog, I also guest blog and blog regularly for other blogs, along with offering programs and talks here and there around the world on blogging and related subjects. People have been asking me for a calendar or way to easily keep track of what I’m doing without being inundated with too much information. The weekly digest is a way to streamline and condense all that information into one blog post.

In general, a weekly digest of your blog activities is not for everyone. It is great for someone with a busy public schedule, teaching workshops, classes, or public speaking. It is also good for people with more than one blog who want their readers to stay up to date on all their blogs’ activities and posts. It is also a good way of summarizing a very busy blog posting schedule, allowing readers to see one blog post with everything you’ve published this week instead of seeing everything you published throughout the week.

It’s also a good marketing tool for promoting your blog, its contents, and yourself and your activities. Once a week, people see a one post summary of what’s going on so they can keep up with you on a regular basis instead of hit and miss on your blog.

A weekly digest also does one more thing. It helps identify the blogger behind the blog. Your weekly digest can be a simple list of what you’ve blogged about over the past week, and it can also let people know the stories behind the blog posts and the reactions to those published posts, as well as a little more about you.

If you are working on building a blog identity, this is a great way to bringing all your blog’s activities together in one place to showcase who you are and what you blog about.
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A Content Theft Tale by Jonathan Bailey on the Blog Herald is a brilliant read for those concerned about content theft.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Over here at the Blog Herald, my latest post about the twenty best free anti-plagiarism tools was going over very well. With hundreds of views and half a dozen trackbacks, it was rapidly gaining traction among its readers.

However, one of the trackbacks was not what it seemed. Elsewhere on the Web, a Brazilian blog had not merely linked to the original post, but rather, had copied the entire thing.

…As the case went on, it became an interesting microcosm for plagiarism and content theft issues on the Web involving different ideologies about copyright, international laws and a surprise hosting discovery that, theoretically, should bring the incident to an abrupt ending.

While this is a common occurrence in my blogging and writing world, and I’m spending more time every week combating content theft, I am frequently running into a brick wall in my research to shut down a splog and copyright theft.

Typically, a kind email or comment does the job if the blog honestly didn’t understand copyrights and Fair Use. It takes a moment and I use a prewritten form letter I can quickly copy and paste into a comment or email.

However, as Jonathan found out, the discovery that a blog is hosted on an international web host which doesn’t have the equivalent of the DMCA or copyright enforcement makes stopping the reluctant content thieves much harder.

What Jonathan discovered, after a little more research, was the following:

But before going down that path, I decided to give researching the host a second try, this time using my favorite networking tools site Domain Tools. What I discovered is that Clubeweb, at least in regards to this site, was not the host but merely a reseller. The server actually resided in the United States, under the watch of a company called Softlayer. Since the server is on American soil, American laws apply. As such, we were now free to file a DMCA takedown notice.

YEAH! Brick wall broken down!

I use Domain Tools and DNS Stuff to track down contact information and now I can pay closer attention to host resellers, tracking down the real host rather than the reseller. This may lead to a more copyright friendly web host that will work with you to help you stop the content thief.

Related Articles

• What Do You Do When Someone Steals Your Content
• Finding Stolen Content and Copyright Infringements
• The Growing Trends in Content Theft
• Understanding GPL and Copyright in WordPress Community Podcast
• Copyright Law Tips from Daily Blog Tips
• Brag On: Jonathan Bailey Now Offers Plagiarism Advice on the Blog Herald
• Podcast Release WordPress Plugin Helps You Get Permission
• Modern Crusader: Plagiarism Today with Jonathan Bailey
• Can The DMCA Be Used Against You If Someone Doesn’t Like What You Blog?
• WordPress Plugins Battling Evil
• Applaud Those Who Warn You: Your Blog’s Content Is Being Stolen

Site Search Tags: blog writing, copyright, copyright protection, intellectual property, copying, copycat, plagiarism, content theft, copy lists, lists, blog lists, copying lists, how not to blog, how to blog
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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.

For those who want to share WordPress tips on their blog, or with me to recommend to my readers and WordPress fans, I’ve written Tips For Writing Good WordPress Tips on the Blog Herald that will help.

I outline the specific criteria that goes through my head as I evaluate which posts on WordPress tips, techniques, advice, and how tos to recommend here and on the Blog Herald WordPress Wednesday News.

If you have written a WordPress tip you would like me to share, contact me directly via email not through my contact page or a blog post. That way I will respond nicely instead of telling the world your post doesn’t past my muster test.

Or I might like to say some really nice things to you privately.

Site Search Tags: blogging tips, wordpress tips, writing wordpress tips, writing tips, how to write tips, how to write wordpress tips, wordpress help, blog herald
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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.

There has recently been some confusion over the issue and types of WordPress blogs. Here is a brief summary to help you understand which is which, what you can do with each, to help you choose your ideal WordPress blog system.
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Everybody has a story. About their life. About their work. About how they got their current job. About how they want out of their current job. About their parents. About their childhood. About their schools. About…well, everything.

This week’s blog challenge is to blog your blog’s story.

What is the story behind your blog?

I want to know the story behind why you decided to blog. What made you believe you had something to blog about? How did you pick your first blog and why did you settle on the blog you have now? What inspires you, motivates you to keep blogging? What’s your blog about and why did you choose the topic?

This is one of many blogging challenges I offer weekly to help kick your blogging ass. For more challenges, see the Blog Challenge category.

Site Search Tags: blog challenge, blogging challenge, what is your blog story, blog story, story behind your blog, why blog, why do you blog, blog writing, blog development, bloggers, tell your story
Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network
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My friend, Greg Balanko-Dickson, has decided to jump off the risk cliff out of his comfort zone and you all get the benefit.

You may be familiar with Greg as he is an occasional guest blogger on this blog. He’s brought you the wonderful articles such as Business Blogging Strategy: Build Trust and Rapport, Relationship Geeks Building a Relationship 2.0 Network, When was the last time you read your own blog?, Prevent Blog Pollution, True Confessions of Early Adopter Turned Blogger, and Writing a Blog and Engaging Readers.

In “My Business Transformation Project: Taking My Own Advice“, he’s announced a major project that will benefit all bloggers who want to turn their blog into a business. He’s taking on a book project on writing a business plan to develop your business model.

A business model is the way a company plans to generate revenue and make a profit from operations. A business model includes the components and functions of the business, as well as the revenues it generates and the expenses it incurs. For example:

A restaurant’s business model is to make money by cooking and serving food to hungry customers. MacDonald’s cooks and serves food to hungry people, so does Wendy’s and so does the local Steak House - what they serve and how they serve it is very different - it is their ‘business model’ that differentiates them and makes them competitive and appealing to a certain market segment.

A web site’s business model might not be quite so clear, as there are many ways in which they can generate revenue. For example, some make money (or try to) by providing free information or service and then selling advertising to other companies who want to reach the people using the free service or information. Then there are those who choose to sell a product or service directly to customer they reach on-line.

Why is a business model important?

Your business model defines the style, the way you plan to deliver your goods and services, and sets a standard. It becomes a touchstone, a benchmark, a way to differentiate yourself from others serving the same market.

A business model defines how you plan to compete, it communicates how you create additional ‘value’, and becomes the magnet that draws customers whose needs are in alignment with your business model.

The process of building your business model will help you identify new opportunities, learn more about your business, and become the competition - the guy to beat.

In the process I am creating you will likely discover something that you can use to completely transform your business. You will figure out how to breakthrough major obstacles, discover a unique way of delivering value to the market - all which will lead you to increased sales and profits.

A business plan and model helps to define your blog, blog purpose, blog intent, blog brand, and identity. It helps guide you through the choices and options in how to generate income for your blog, as well as developing indirect sources such as consulting or workshops, or even products.

Without a business plan, trust me, you’re flying blind, floundering around trying this and that and poking at possibilities instead of focusing on what works and tossing the rest.

Greg is asking for your help, too.

In a nutshell, he knows this is information that is important to you. He’s been a business coach for many years, author of two books helping businesses get and stay on the right track towards building their business, and what comes out of his head and into his blog is important. I know what he has to share is important, the reason I love having his blog here and share his insights on business and blogging with you.

In that vein, he is offering a few people access to his blog/wiki he will be working on to write his next book. From this, he will be publicly posting some of the material and would like to offer you access to the private material in exchange for help publicizing the public material. He wants to rely totally upon word-of-mouth advertising to get the news out about his project. What better way than through the best word-of-mouth marketing out there: blogs.

If you are considering monetizing your blog or use your blog as part of your business and you are still floundering with the concept of a business plan, I highly recommend you take him up on his offer.

Site Search Tags: business model, greg balanko-dickson, business plan, blog model, blog plan, blog planning, blog business, business blog, monetization, blog purpose, blog brand
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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.

Smashing Magazine offers “Copyright Explained: I May Copy It, Right?”, a mind staggering collection of more than you could ever imagine or want to know on copyrights, especially as it pertains to bloggers.

I’m honored that they included my article, What Do You Do When Someone Steals Your Content, in their list. They’ve also included many articles I’ve long recommended for copyright information and myth busting truths.

Well done!

Site Search Tags: copyright, copyright myths, copyright explained, copyright violation, copyright infringement, content theft, copyright policies, understanding copyright, content license, stealing content, fair use, creative commons, what do you do when someone steals your content, stolen content
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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.