Plagiarism is a topic that comes up repeatedly here on ActiveRain, and rightly so. With so many new members unfamiliar with proper Netiquette and acceptable publishing practices, it's a good thing to rehash such things regularly.
Just recently, a self-proclaimed 'social media manager' wrote an article that was posted on a popular business social network, BizNik. The article initially was well-received, garnering numerous positive comments.
Unfortunately, it was later determined that this article had been swiped (copied & pasted) almost verbatim from another member's blog. The site management decided to keep the article live as an example of what NOT to do.
Here is an excerpt of the article:
Social Media Marketing - Why it might not be working for you!
Editor's Note: This article was plagiarized. We have decided to keep the article up for a period of time as it relates to the importance of original content.
Social media marketing and social networking are superb marketing tools…if they’re used right, use them wrong and they can be a waste of time.
The culprit of the stolen content made a vain attempt at apologizing to the original author, but personally, I found it to be somewhat disingenuous and lacking in owning up to her culpability. Here is her apology:
Update from article poster: "The article that I posted here is regrettably not my own work. Part of my research involves pulling information from the Internet to use as reference material to assist me in my work. I downloaded portions of the article written by this author over a year ago. Recently, I was looking through my files and came across this information with the intent of incorporating some of the subject matter into an original piece of work. Unfortunately, I relied on her content to the extent that is was plagiaristic. It was never my intent to plagiarize, but I clearly used poor judgment in my posting of her original ideas. I offer my humblest apologies to the entire Biznik community."
A question that I have is this, "What percentage of a swiped articles does it take to be simply 'plagiaristic' versus full-blown plagiarism?
Here are some really helpful resources on plagiarism:
What is Plagiarism? How to Avoid Plagiarism How to Properly Credit Sources
Kopy Kat Killers: The Perils of Plagiarism on Our Platform Plagiarism for Dummies
It's rather sad that someone who claims to be 'Virtually Savvy' would knowingly resort to such tactics. On a humorous note, perhaps another reason needs to be added to the list of 'Why Social Media Isn't Working for You' - 'You steal other peoples content!'
I find Reason #12 especially comical:
You’re not being authentic.
Authenticity and transparency are two of the key attributes for a solid social media/social networking connection. Try and portray yourself as someone you’re not, and you’ll get called on it.
I guess someone got 'called on it!'....
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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional with Windermere Real Estate, providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SoundBiteBLog, and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com
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