Recent events of almost comic proportions left me wondering: is it really acceptable to copy content from a blog without crediting the blogger?
Because a Philippine senator and his staff who did just that apparently thought so. And they’re not apologizing for it.
I’m a blogger in addition to being a news writer-slash-editor and I naturally find it disturbing that people who plagiarize in the guise of research could not even come up with a decent apology after they were caught with their hand inside the cookie jar. This goes to show just what they think of blogs and bloggers.
If someone as high ranking as a senator and his cadre of highly educated underlings hold bloggers in low regard, I wonder how many out there also share the same sentiment? That because it’s just a blog, it’s totally okay to pillage from it and use its content for their own purposes. No need for proper accreditation. It’s just a blog, and she’s just a blogger.
Just a blog. Just a blogger.
Wouldn’t you agree that senators and other government officials would really benefit from hiring bloggers or social media enthusiasts in their staff. In this day and age where one can quickly look and sound like a fool at the click of a button, a social media expert in their payroll would save them from future online and offline embarrassment.
9 Responses to Just a blog. Just a blogger.
It’s not so much for the words but another blogger I know of has had her artwork copied and reproduced without her permission but she’s finding it very hard to get people to stop because she’s a individual artist and she’s in Australia and the work has been reproduced in Singapore or somewhere. It’s a real shame that people are like that.
I bought a diary from a company here in the UK and thought they were reputable but I found out about a month or so into using the diary that the design had actually been lifted and adapted from a website.
You have to risk putting your ideas out there to be noticed but at the same time is it worth the risk when you know your ideas might be adopted without your permission??
I haven’t heard of an individual or a company that was actually prosecuted for plagiarizing, and I think the lack of real punishment for stealing content and artwork online only encourages plagiarism. Yes, a real shame indeed.
I’ve asked myself the same question since I started blogging. Is it worth the risk? Should I find out that my content have been copied in another site without my knowledge, how would I deal with it? I still struggle to find an answer. But on the other hand, despite being very aware of the risks, how could I let it stop me from blogging? It’s like being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
(Hannie, aren’t you my Big Blogger? *smile*)
I am indeed your Big Blogger *big smile!*
I figured that I’d swing past and comment on your blog while I was having a nosey earlier lol.
This is one that I watched blow up in the national press (two years ago!!! Woah I swear it wasn’t that long ago lol) Hidden Eloise and the Telegraph (national paper here in the UK).
The problem for little Indie designers like this is that they don’t have the legal power to take on large brands when their designs are “adopted” (I don’t like using stolen when you’re not entirely sure what’s happening lol) but at the same time they don’t want to be doormats and just have that large brand walk all over them.
I followed your links, and WOW. That’s just like a David-and-Goliath situation right there. I guess so far, that’s the most the Davids in this world can do- work up a storm on the internet and force the Goliath to acknowledge the issue, then sit back and hope for the best. At MOST you’ll get an apology but that rarely ever happens. (Thanks Big Blogger!!)
As a blogger I was personally deeply offended by the very words that Sotto’s party/staff used when they were caught red-handed about this plagiarism issue. “Just a blog. Just a blogger.” depicts the mentality that they’re viewing the blogger’s work/words as mediocre because it isn’t copyrighted. There’s really no concrete laws about plagiarism within the blogging community or the world wide per se so I’ve somehow accepted that my thoughts and written posts will always be susceptible to unlawful copying once I put it out there for everybody to read. I expect it from normal people but from a politician who pays (God knows how much) his staff to do the dirty work for him? The staff should have been fired/suspended/reprimanded pronto. And definitely a sincere apology from the Senator and/or his staff could have also made a difference
Yes, the plain arrogance in their “apology” is what just gets me. They cannot be bothered with a simple sorry. At the very least, common courtesy dictates that you inform the person/blogger that you’re going to “borrow” verbatim a couple of phrases from her blog post for a speech. They lifted it word for word. They didn’t even bother to paraphrase!
The so-called apology was such a pathetic act and didn’t do anything to control the damage it made on our reputation as a country. I’m somehow glad that the blogger was not racist or anything and did not generalize our race as copycats. I remember the speech MVP (I work for his company btw
) gave during the commencement exercise of AdMU which turned out to be paraphrased quotes and sentences from famous people’s work (most notably JK Rowling & Obama’s), it should have been a learning experience to people who let their staff write speeches for them. But no, Sotto just have to do it again 
I remember the MVP fiasco, but he was man enough and humble enough to issue a public apology about it, despite the fact that he didn’t prepare the “collaged” speech. The senator in question should have learned from that, right? (which MVP company? Or you’re not allowed to divulge that? Hehe)
I was wondering why don’t people apologize ‘after they were caught with their hand inside the cookie jar’. I think it’s nothing but self-defense