Content Theft And More With Jonathan Bailey
This weeks edition of BloggerTalks focuses on content theft with Jonathan Bailey of PlagiarismToday. We also talk blogging and the opportunities that have opened up for Jonathan thanks to the medium. Asides from maintaining his own blog, Jonathan is a co-host on the WordPress Podcast which is produced by Charles Stricklin. Last but not least, Jonathan also produces his own podcast, Copyright 2.0.
What is it about Plagiarism that has driven you to create an entire blog focused around the subject?
It started out as a deeply personal battle, people plagiarizing and misusing my own work. When I first started thinking about blogging in this field, I wasn’t trying to create my own, but find someone else who had one so that I could follow it and keep up with changes in the area. Sadly, no such blog existed, so I decided to create it.
Since then the thank you letters an the questions I’ve gotten have really made it worthwhile, when I talk with writers and artists that have been plagiarized, I always see myself as I was when I first discovered it and am glad that I can be there to help them, even if it is just in a small way.
Plagiarism seems to be one of those aspects of blogging that just seems part of the process. Can the war against Plagiarism be won or do you think bloggers will always have to contend with the issue?
I don’t think the “war against plagiarism” can be won any more than the war against crime. That doesn’t mean it is a futile effort, hundreds of thousands of men and women every day put on blue uniforms to fight crime knowing that there will always be criminals.
The point of dealing with plagiarism is not to eliminate the problem altogether, but mitigate its impact and deal with the cases that put the blogger, artist, etc. most at risk. We won’t be able to stop every plagiarist, but we can limit the damage it causes and we can harm the economics of plagiarism by increasing the risk. These are small, but important victories.
Well, considering I have your brain to pick, what are some tips, tricks or suggestions to mitigate content theft.
The first tip is to simply be aware of the probability that it will happen. Though it sounds silly, the most common response I get is people telling me that they can’t believe anyone would plagiarize their work.
Second, actively search for and look for your work. If you are a blogger, use digital fingerprints to track how your RSS feed is used, if you create more static content, use Google Alerts or other tools to track where your work appears. Even if you have no interest in fighting plagiarism, this can help you track your audience.
Beyond that, learn the laws that are applicable here, including the fundamentals of copyright law and the DMCA. Obtain a good DMCA stock letter and learn how to use it well. It only take a little bit of time to understand the important parts of the law but can save headaches.
Finally, learn to pick your battles. License your work fairly, I tend to favor Creative Commons, and target only the true bad guys, it saves you time and lets you keep that important moral high ground.
Based on you being a co-host for the popular WordPress podcast hosted by Charles Stricklin, you are obviously a big fan of WordPress. Why have you chosen to stick with WordPress vs the myriad of publishing platforms that exist on the web today?
A big part of it is familiarity. I admit that. I know WordPress well, I know the plugins and I know the tools. Simple questions such as “How do I defend against a Digg effect?” are already answered for me.
However, the more important reason is that WordPress has the features I need and seems to be constantly improving, despite a few minor gripes with it, it is by far the most feature-complete publishing platform for what I want to do and is also the easiest to use and maintain. It’s the combination of simplicity, power and extensibility that keep me coming back to it time and again.
Bloggers come from all walks of life. They are big, small, and everywhere in between. Has their ever been a ‘fascinating’ moment for you with regards to blogging?
I suppose one of the strangest moments for me was shortly after I started consulting. I took a trip out to San Francisco to meet with a then-new client. When I showed up at their offices for the big presentation, I noticed that everyone was interested in and eager to talk with me. I was a bit confused but I found out that my blog had been required reading for almost everyone there and that my writing had had a huge influence on what they were doing.
It made me take a step back and realize exactly how far we can sometimes reach out without even realizing it.
Can you describe for us what it’s like to write for a site such as the BlogHerald? I like to think of the site as the all stars of blogging under one roof.
Being asked to write for it was definitely one of the greatest honors I’ve received since I started blogging, it was one of those moments where you realize that you’ve achieved something of importance while blogging.
As far as what it is like to write for them, it is hard to say. I decided that they brought me on because they liked what I did on PT and elsewhere so I try hard to not change it too much, just add broader topics and shift the focus to make it a bit more broad.
Even though it can be intimidating to try and speak to such a large audience, I try to put that out of my mind as much as possible (other than when deciding on topics) and do what I’ve always done.
Can you describe some of the opportunities that have opened up for you that can be directly or indirectly attributed to blogging?
I now work full time as a copyright/plagiarism consultant. I never expected that to happen when I started the site but I learned over time that there were people that had use for someone like me and were willing to pay. I was as stunned as anyone.
So the greatest opportunity I suppose is the chance to make a living at it, which I’ve been doing now for well over a year (after another year of being part-time).
Other than that, I would say that the travel has been the best. I just got back from the Netherlands and before that was in England. I’ve also been all over the U.S. for this job and these are all opportunities I don’t think I’d have had without blogging.
I would say that, overall, it has been a very enriching force in my life and I am very glad that I decided to give it a try.
Ok Jonathan, time for the flagship question! What do you think is the future of blogging?
I definitely see the future of blogging as being more multi-media. I know I personally have been dipping my toes more in audio and video over the past year and plan to increase those efforts after the beginning of the year in a major way. This is partly due to the YouTube revolution but, more importantly, due to the declining barriers of entry into these media, especially in terms of skill required.
Other than that, the future of blogging is going to be about growth in all directions. We’re going to see more of the ridiculous and silly, but also more of the serious. More and more great minds are going to get involved with blogging and more and more of the dialog about our society is going to take place on the Web, away from TV and newspapers.
I’m not one that thinks mainstream media is doomed, it will always have a place, but its role as an influencer of policy and of people will wane some as it moves more toward being a straightforward news source.
The real question though is will this idea of blogging as a profession become more common and that is a tough one. Most pro bloggers, like myself, do so indirectly from their activities, the advertising revenue simply is not there for 99% of bloggers unless you do something unethical.
I see nothing wrong with blogging as an amateur activity and most great bloggers are amateurs, but as with anything the more time and energy one can afford to put into their work, the better the product and, at some point, that is going to require funding.
If blogger business models can be hammered out, the sky is literally the limit for what blogging can do.
This Interview was published on November 26, 2008 at 6:12 pm • Did you like it? Subscribe!
Submit to Reddit or StumbleUpon or Digg • Del.icio.us
What do you think?