Something to Think About

I found this cartoon a couple of weeks ago and used it as part of a Friday post.  I mostly have fun on my blog on Friday becasue it makes me happy.  I don’t really have a reason for having fun the other six days but I can make one up if needed.

Lets imagine that is is possible to become well known in some circles becasue of a blog.  Let me tell you a few of the things that might happen next.  Not sure how I know this but lets assume that I do and take it from there.

One thing that happens is that people, I think they are people, plagiarize entire blog posts, and put them on web sites that advertise their goods and services or on sites that just sell ads.  They use my content to make money, which is just wrong, even if they do give a link back.  I know this is a common problem but it seems to be getting worse.

I send out cease and desist emails, with a warning, giving them two to four hours to remove the material, depending upon what kind of a mood I am in, and inform them that if it isn’t gone, I will be taking screen shots and writing a post about it.  My reasoning is that if they are using my name and content to sell products to the real estate community I can just as easily use my name and content to make them look really bad. So far my tactics are working, the posts are quickly removed, which is good becasue I don’t always keep my word on the two to four hour thing.  Unfortunately I keep finding my content on  web sites and I am looking for a better solution so people get the message, leave my content alone.

The other thing that happens is my name and face are used to sell products, services or even for recruiting.  They don’t ask my permission and I end up endorsing things that I would never endorse or recommend.  I do not own most of the material being used this way and have not yet figured out how to get my name off the sites.  I used to just leave it be but have decided that I don’t want my name associated in any way with anything that I don’t agree with. Personal choice, nothing more, but I made it and I don’t think I will be changing my mind any time soon.

One company has decided to take responsibility for my successes and use them for advertising, which I find facinating because they have never asked me or even talked to me for that matter, and have nothing to do with any successes that I have had.  I find myself out there on one of the worst examples of a blog that I have ever seen, endorsing blogging. I am also promoting products and services on the site that I think are close to craptastic, but who knows they might work for some.

My face is posted on websites and blogs against my wishes.  If anyone wants to have their face plastered all over the internet my advice is to ask people not to take pictures and ask that they not be posted on the internet.  Asking people not to take picutres just about guarantees that anyone with a camera and internet access will take your picture and post it.  The worse the picture is, the more places it will be posted.   

My face does belong to me and I choose not to use it for marketing for obvious reasons, that I won’t share, becasue I am not talking about it publicly.    The face belongs to me but the photos were taken by others and do not belong to me.  I don’t have any control over how or where they are used, or what they are used for.  I never understood that by starting a blog or getting a real estate license I was giving the world my permission to use my picture.

If anyone wants to use my name or face to endorse a product, which of course they don’t, they could contact me, and who knows, for a small fee I might just go along with it.  I think I will include this post with my next cease and desist email, along with a price list.  I am also considering skipping the cease and desist part and just taking the screen shots and writing the posts, or maybe I should just send a bill and let them keep going.

This entire post is of course hypothetical, but it does show that I have a vivid imagination and can at least imagine what it must be like to be a well known blogger, in some circles. 

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.