Nasty Email From Fellow Blogger?!? Blogging Etiquette?

by SeanyG
17 replies
Hey guys,

I run a blog within a small niche.

Blogging is new for me and I thought it was okay to take posts from other blogs?

I have taken two posts from another blog within my niche and I just got a nasty email:

"The content on this page has been taken without authorization from Dj blog.com

Please remove this article immediately as it is violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act."


Do I just need to quote the source? What is the right thing to do here?

Thanks!

~Sean
#blogger #blogging #email #etiquette #fellow #nasty
  • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
    Where did you get the notion that you're allowed to "take posts from other blogs?"

    There are some feeds you can draw content from, but just going and copying stuff is likely to get you in trouble. Other people don't work so you can profit from their efforts.

    And no, it doesn't matter if you link back to them, give them credit, or whatever. If you don't have permission to use it, don't use it.


    Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author R Hagel
    Hi Sean,

    You must ask for permission from a blog owner before reprinting a post. Even if you get permission, you'll need to acknowledge the original author and (usually) provide their byline/link. Ask the author what they prefer.

    Otherwise, just provide your own short summary and link to the post to comment on it (i.e., don't reprint it, just summarize it in a few sentences and provide a link to the original post).

    Cheers,
    Becky
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  • Profile picture of the author yourreviewer
    Seany, I am sorry to say this, but you should be knowing the answer to this question. It's common sense, isn't it? If someone were to come to your blog and use your content on their blogs, wouldn't that piss you off? You must consider yourself lucky that you just got a warning email, you could have been sued.
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  • Profile picture of the author Glenn Leader
    Sorry Sean,

    You're very in the wrong here. You have no rights what so ever to
    steal the hard work of somebody else. I would have reacted in the
    exact same as the original author did.

    HTH

    Glenn
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  • Profile picture of the author scattermouse
    There's nothing wrong with talking about other people's blogs, as long as you don't outright steal their post.

    So if you say

    "I came across this great blog post today about... Check it out here"

    Then that's absolutely fine, and other bloggers will like you for it.

    If you just steal their content, you won't be popular, and you will get in trouble.
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  • Profile picture of the author hipnol
    Its not right you copied the content. You are allowed to take a small extract of upto say some 150 to 200 characters or little more, but you need to link the original author's page from which you took it. It is not right that you copied the content without attributing.
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  • Profile picture of the author SeanyG
    Lesson learned!
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  • Profile picture of the author Black Hat Cat
    Banned
    You can however quote part of their content and then comment on it, ask others what they think about it, etc, but just swiping the whole thing is a no no.
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  • Profile picture of the author dsmpublishing
    Whatever you do you must ask permission - if your looking for content for your blogs go to article directories like ezinearticles.com or articlesbase.com and re-use the article and include the source back to them as this is what you should do.

    If you really like someones blog post contact them and ask them if you can use it and if you can will they provide you with a link at the bottom so they will be credited.

    i hope this clears it up for you and please dont copy without referencing or asking permission as you could run the risk of having your blog shut down or being sued.

    kind regards


    sam
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    • Profile picture of the author netkid
      Sean,

      If you want to start to become a great blogger, make it your "mission" to just write your own content. You have a brain and it must contain so many valuable experiences and information that you share with your niche. Become the "expert," not the "copycat" and you will go far....

      regards,

      Bruce
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      • Profile picture of the author SeanyG
        Great advice. Thanks!

        Originally Posted by netkid View Post

        Sean,

        If you want to start to become a great blogger, make it your "mission" to just write your own content. You have a brain and it must contain so many valuable experiences and information that you share with your niche. Become the "expert," not the "copycat" and you will go far....

        regards,

        Bruce
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  • Profile picture of the author wbakhos
    Seany...

    Your actually better off writing about that post or commenting on it and then doing a trackback to their blog.

    That way you'll get a good link on their blog and hopefully gain some traffic from their blog. Plus instead of the other blogger getting angry, they will appreciate your referel.
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    • Profile picture of the author SeanyG
      I'll start doing this. Thanks!

      Originally Posted by wbakhos View Post

      Seany...

      Your actually better off writing about that post or commenting on it and then doing a trackback to their blog.

      That way you'll get a good link on their blog and hopefully gain some traffic from their blog. Plus instead of the other blogger getting angry, they will appreciate your referel.
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  • Profile picture of the author marmo
    If I ever see a really good article I sometimes will email them asking if I can repost it with full credit to them with a do-follow link back to them ( not a junky rel=nofollow link ) which often works for me if my site is well ranked and has decent traffic.

    Simply stealing content gets you a bad rep very fast in the blogging world , even more so in tighter niche's ( smaller niches ).

    I would try to make it right with the original content owner.
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  • Profile picture of the author Aronya
    Just out of curiosity, I'm wondering if everyone feels the same way about ripping & sharing music or graphic/photographic images. Or software.

    IMHO, there is no difference, but I find it to be common that someone who is not a photographer, for example, sees nothing wrong with scanning a professional's photo & sending it out to family and friends.
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  • Profile picture of the author valerieSONORA
    He was a newbie, he didn't know, he learned his lesson.

    Like everyone else said, no way, you can't just take someone else's blog post and put it on your own blog. Bloggers see that as stealing.

    You can ask someone for permission and give them a back link and credit of course. Some will say yes for the exposure and back links. You just have to write your own posts or hire someone to do it for you. There are RSS feeds and news sources you can put on your blog that isn't considered stealing.

    I don't wanna repeat what everyone else said so I'm finished
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