I SAW RED when I discovered strange unsavory sites feeding (perhaps data scraping) on my copyrighted material. It’s nice to share my family friendly work and thoughts with people who stop by and I love being a B.C. blogger. However, there are risks to being on the worldwide web from other sources that lurk in the shadows. As I try to resolve these issues, I know other well-intended bloggers are also vulnerable to thieving feeds and frustrated at having to muddle through the black hole of electronic and barely existing support systems when something goes wrong. I wish I had Penelope’s magic umbrella so I could simply say Poof and suddenly appear only in the places I am happy to be. I’d much rather be hooked onto something leafy than creepy. On the bright side, my online exposure has caused me to learn some new words. Here is just one of many articles about the term data scraping.
Interesting post, and disturbing, since I hate to think of anyone stealing your unique material. You write in such a distinctive and personal style - it just couldn't belong to anyone else. Your post also triggered some curiousity about my blog. How did you find out that "creepy" information? I haven't copyrighted, since my photography and writing are definitely amateur. On the other hand, the least I would want someone to do, if they use my material, is acknowledge where it came from.
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel Penelope. I went through something similar and it took me banging my head against the Google wall for months before anything got fixed. It makes me very cautious about how I set things up. You have a really nice site and I hope things work out sooner rather than later. I like the colors of the art and pictures and your attitude in general. Much luck!
ReplyDeleteRobin, really appreciated you "flying by" to share.:) I had a feeling I wasn’t the only one with similar experiences.
ReplyDeleteCarol, to answer your questions: I googled my blog name and for once went beyond the first page of the list. That’s how I discovered my title was part of descriptions for strange sites completely unfamiliar to me. I then realized my content was being used there without my knowledge or permission. That is illegal whether your work is “officially” copyrighted or not. I will resolve the issue. But since you were wondering about your site, I quickly checked and could not find anything of concern. It wouldn’t hurt for all bloggers to look for themselves every once in a while. Blogging is a balancing act. Obviously, bloggers want their efforts viewed by as many people as possible. However, there should be a way to be “out there” without people stealing reams of content and inferring the author supports inappropriate and/or advertising sites he/she wants nothing to do with.
Thanks so much for that info, and for checking out the situation with my blog. Really kind of you, and great advice!
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