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Localism: Some questions to ponder

By
Real Estate Agent with KW North Sound 103527

Ever since I read that images can be uploaded directly to Localism.com I have been getting started so i could gain a few points and create more content that is attached to my name but as I was doing that a few questions popped in my mind.

1. What is the danger of duplicate content? I was looking over the article of mine and thought what Google's perception of seeing the same article in two different places might be. Could there possibly be some sort of penalty? Not sure but I do remember reading an article my Mary McKnight saying she posts the same article in multiple places with no fear of a penalty.

2. How well protected are the pictures? If users are giving permission to the ActiveRain group to use our pictures will this pictures show up else where on the net without credit given to the authors? I don't know if this will happen or saying it is happening just a thought that popped into my brain.

3. Is ActiveRain going to be monitoring image copyrights like they do article submissions? My perception is that they will because from what I know of them they are pretty hard-core about copyright infringers. After going through some of the pictures in WA I noticed that a few looked like they were taken from other websites or someone has an agreement with a company to use pictures. That would be kind of messed up if people where using a legitimate account to post pictures to another account (not sure that makes any sense) for points.

Related Post: Use of Images in ActiveRain

I think that is all but for now I am going to go through my pictures and see what I can come up with for the different cities we serve. Local content is the best content :)

Chris Griffith
Downing-Frye Realty, Bonita Springs, FL - Bonita Springs, FL
Bonita Springs Listing Specialist - Agent

I know photos were <harvested> from City-data.com  I recognized a picture from "Docs Beach House" that I uploaded.

 

 

Dec 30, 2006 11:30 AM
Matt Heaton
Timu Corp - CEO, ActiveRain - Co-founder - Bothell, WA

Just removed all the "test" images that we had there, which did come from city-data.

1. There shouldn't be duplicate content issues, we are actually hiding a lot of content from Localism from search engines and then experimenting to see if any of it will cause an issue.  Google actually released a FAQ on duplicate content a few days ago and said syndication of articles won't cause issues if they link back to the original article, which all the ones on Localism do. 

2. Technically you are just giving permission for the images to be used on Localism.  Got to get the full disclaimer online.  But like any content posted on the Internet, it very often get hijacked.

3. If we see major copyright violations or they are brought to our attention we try to do something about it.  But it's impossible for us to monitor all the content and images.  It's up to our members, we're just supplying the platform to content to be shown not the content itself.

Dec 30, 2006 01:22 PM
Toby Barnett
KW North Sound - Marysville, WA
Toby Barnett

Good morning Matt and Chris, thanks for the clarification :) have a great weekend!

Dec 31, 2006 03:41 AM
John Rogers
Century 21 APD - El Paso, TX
I was wondering about the dual content thing myself.
Dec 31, 2006 04:14 AM
Matt Heaton
Timu Corp - CEO, ActiveRain - Co-founder - Bothell, WA

One of the best things to do with images if your really worried is to add a copyright on the image itself like Rudy Mayer did.  Though you might want to do it a little smaller.

Example: http://localism.com/show_photo/10818

 

Dec 31, 2006 08:02 AM
Toby Barnett
KW North Sound - Marysville, WA
Toby Barnett
Now that is a great idea!! Thanks Matt!!
Dec 31, 2006 10:44 AM
Jacqulyn Richey
Prominent Realty Group - Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas Real Estate
Yeah, that's kind of obnoxious but I can't blame him. Some people think that if its posted on the internet, its free to everyone to use. Maybe a more subtle watermark would be best. You could use a tag line like image provided by ..... Just a thought. -Charles
Jan 02, 2007 07:23 AM
Anonymous
Anonymous

Hi everyone,  I started an early hibernation this year and have been on a blogging Hiatus since Thanksgiving.  Nearly 1 month and my mouth just dropped when I saw everything those active rain guys are up to.  Thought I was the only one who couldn't sleep!!

 To dovetail on this question...if ActiveRain members post data on Active rain, and they also use that data on their own blog does that have SEO implications?

Jan 02, 2007 07:37 PM
#8
John Occhi
AZ Veteran Notary Services - Marana, AZ
Mobile Notary Public/Certified Loan Signing Agent

I have just created a new "group" on ActiveRain for anyone who is interested in Localism.  I have called the group Localism Beta for lack of a better term.

I have seen a number of different blog posts on the topic recently, including yours and yet there is no central place to locate articles that are written on such an important topic.

I would like to invite you to join the group and the edit your post and include the group as part of the distribution for others to easily find.  I would then encourage you to look and see what others have posted on the topic and share your thoughts and insights.  I am sure most of what we will see is support for the site as well as a tip or technique to best leverage it's potential to our benefit.

I am also certain that there will be some lively debate over the direction that Localism should go.  Now, I do not know what the ultimate business plan is and how much tweaking management will do on behalf of the users who have their own ideas on the site and how much is already set in stone - but certainly a debate is good for all.

So please, post your article and join us.

Now Have a Blessed Day,

John Occhi. Hemet CA REALTOR®
www.JohnOcchi.Com

PS - All who read this post are more than welcome to join as well.  Please get involved and learn how to make this your most valuable internet resource

Jan 13, 2007 04:16 PM