Need Advice

Hi everyone,

This is a multi themed request.

I started a search engine marketing blog
the url is www.sem-surgeon.com

A. Am I covering my butt when reposting articles as long as credit is given??

B. How do I make money with this thing?

Please take a look and let me know your thoughts.

Clint

Don't ask us if you are covering your butt... responsiblity is on you to either get permission or search the source website or publication DAMN GOOD to be sure that a copyright notice is not in place. Then you run the risk of a copyright notice being posted after you use their stuff.

Write your own and it will be unique and you can sleep at night. If you just repost somebody else's stuff you will compete with the plethora of people who were too lazy to write original content. Original content is such an advantage.

First, the tone of your response is somewhat odd.

Secondly, as a writer for seochat.com
it seems a bit unprofessional.

Care to explain to me how I managed to make you somewhat irate it seems??

For future reference if you had started your reply thusly:

Dear Clint, I like the idea but think you could blah blah blah and should blah blah blah as opposed to your tact which was Don't ask us

See in my eyes this sends two messages:

A. Don't ask in a forum...isn't this where users are supposed to ask for advice?...this seems almost like the contradiction when one uses the term military intelligence..

B Also what happens when you do that is, you automaically put the other person on the defensive, as some of us do not like the connotation of being told what to do....being adults and hopefully of sound mind and capable of knowing right from wrong.

Have yourself a better evening....my sleep is quite content.

Clint

Hmm, since this is not a Site Review, we are likely to react only on the words you feed us. AIH: "covering your butt" implies that you did something shady and want to hide it so you won't get caught.

About question B:
a blog is a Y.A.website, and they make money using ads, sold links and sold "stuff". Your stuff could consist of well-written, original articles, like Egol clearly and concisely pointed out...

You cannot post someone elses work without expressed permission.
It does not matter if you give credit or not, you need written permission from the author before using it.
How do you know that the author is ok with it being reproduced?

If you post his work, and trip a duplicate content penalty, he is gonna be really pissed. Typically dup content penalties only effect and filter out the copy that was put up last. But..... I have heard many stories where the original author's site has been filtered.
Nasty stuff.


I would have thought that if you have a se marketing blog, you would know the answer to that question already.?

I'm sorry if you didn't like the tone of my response. Here's a better explanation which I hope that you read from the perspective of a person who writes lots of content for his website. I'll follow it with a reply from your perspective...



My perspective as a writer....

No, giving credit is not adequate. You are using my content without my express permission. I didn't write that article for your use. I wrote it for my own use. You are breaking copyright guidelines by using it without permission. You are stealing my property.

How would you like it if you spent years building a website and paid others to write for you and then someone just takes your content and reposts it. If you are making money from this website you are making money with my property and I would not feel a bit hesitant to take vigorous action against you.

If you contact me first and for an article I might gladly give you permission to use it... or more likely a different article that will give good information to your website visitors and a link to my website where additional information can be obtained. That will be win-win.. you get an article and I get traffic. I write to earn traffic and the money that I can make from it. Credit isn't the reason behind my work.


Your perspective (and my advice to you)...

If many people post the same article they will share the search engine traffic that the keywords and other content would generate. The goal of your website is traffic, you will get more from something unique that something of similar content that is posted many times across the web. Search engines don't want to index the same article again and again so some of them will compete very poorly.

If you write original content you will have a chance to capture all of that traffic - especially if you do a good job of SEO. So the benefits of authorship are great and that reward belongs to you. If you are trying to monetize that traffic then that is part of your reward.

You can monetize the website by posting advertising such as adsense and promoting merchandise that is related to your content such as subscriptions to tools and paid content. You might also promote products of general interst such as insurance, music etc... but plan to experiment a lot to see what sells as many of them will not perform.

In close... I regret that my first post didn't go into enough detail and include a little more information from your perspective. The tone was rather mild compared to how I feel when I see my content and artwork posted on website that belongs to someone else.

I am sure you are not going to steal anybody's material. But, just in case, I agree with Egol. I have had people steal my copyrighted material and have gone after them with a vengeance. If anyone is going to steal material from others, they should try to find a way to filter who the owners are. This, primarily because if they steal my material I will come after them. I am sure there are others out there just like me that will make their life miserable (I am positive Egol is one). But, as stated before, I am sure you are not contemplating stealing other peoples intellectual property.

Not really.



So is plagiarism - the only one that can authorize 'use' is the owner.



I think that is self-evident... I mean if "you wrote something" and I found a way to make money on what you wrote - your response would be...?



I thought it rated up there with:

How can I steal something, get away with it, and then make money on it!

The answers are you don't, you don't, you don't.

And that should be obvious.

Fathom... you still da man!

Can't Egol respond on his own???

Hi there,

Stealing? You might want to look at the definition of "theft".....

You had Egol tell you in the beginning that it would be stealing. Then you had two others tell you it would be stealing. Now... you want Egol to come back again and confirm to you it would be stealing? It would be stealing... what is it about that statement that you do not understand?
Edit: Good article on intellectual property theft: http://students.ed.uiuc.edu/dieken/eps313/theft.htm

Hi there

Seems there is some confusion as to what copyright infringement is so I will put it to rest for all of you.

Please read down to section #107 below so you can see where the copyright law allows for reposting of original works.
WHAT IS COPYRIGHT?

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works. Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following: (this is where the copyright protection is given)


In addition, certain authors of works of visual art have the rights of attribution and integrity as described in section 106A of the 1976 Copyright Act. For further information, request Circular 40, “Copyright Registration for Works of the Visual Arts.”

It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights provided by the copyright law to the owner of copyright. These rights, however, are not unlimited in scope. Sections 107 through 121 of the 1976 Copyright Act establish limitations on these rights. In some cases, these limitations are specified exemptions from copyright liability. One major limitation is the doctrine of "fair use," which is given a statutory basis in section 107 of the 1976 Copyright Act


§ 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use38

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include —(This is where the copyright protection is taken away)


(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

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Hope that helps clear up my intent.

Clint

So you are claiming you are stealing content purely for educational purposes? Meanwhile the site in question is filled with ads and other revenue generators.

I don't understand what your last post is supposed to prove?

do unto others, as you would have others do unto you