should blogging be a mere rehash?
May 15th 2007 04:01
thnks to universitylibraries.com for the image
sometimes information is simply that, information and it cannot be given to a viewer other than in the correct answer form. it might be para-phrased, but in essence it is virtually the same information. conversely something could be critically written, in which case the reader has to approach the information with how the information is being presented as opposed to what the information actually is. in both cases the information is there to inform, potentially giving the outcome where the reader should walk away engaged with their new knowledge.
however is it correct blogging etiquette to simply find an article somewhere else on the net and then rehash it on your blog? i find sometimes it might be hard to keep coming up with articles that are composed of fresh and new ideas, and it would be all too easy to go and find an article and then re-write it, however this is not my approach. this leads me to question if this is an approach that is used, has the idea of a blog been fulfilled?
there are some that say the beauty of writing is to merely put words down to be read by others. however with all of these blogs emerging all over the internet, how many times can the same information be written to satisfy the personal cravings of the author? does the information progress any, that is does the information evolve to say something different that the reader hadn't thought of or read before? or is it merely the same words in a different configuration?
by becoming a blogger, i revel in the fact that there is no editor for my writings and i am left to my own devices to edit the information as i see fit. i also think that the audience takes an active role in deciding when the information is incorrect, thereby making me completely responsible for what i write. or can it be looked at from another point of view?
blogging relies on the idea of 'the network' more than any other form of communication. so is it ok to rehash information for the benefit of your specific readers? by bringing this information to your site and then sending it out to your readers, the blogger is engaging their audience with this information that they may not have come across otherwise. one would presume that this is a positive form of informing and entertaining, thereby deeming this practice acceptable.
are we all just wiggy wikis?
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Comment by StephenP
Nice thought provoking post, and I ten to agree with your thoughts about posting links / articles by other writers. I have had my articles used without my permission on other internet sites, and I was less than impressed (and curiously flattered) by stumbling upon my work unauthorised elsewhere.
But, please don't confuse copyright with an author who happens to write for a handful of sites - I know myself, that my match reports for the NRL are utilised on my NRL News blog, my other co-owned site - Football United, and I also complete match reports for the Gold Coast Titans website.
I post the same report on all three sites, so I know how easy it is too stumble across sites that have the same articles loaded. While my work isn't brilliant or earth shattering in content, I just wanted to put forward an alternative viewpoint to the one that you have outlined above.
Cheers mate,
StephenP
Comment by Ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
I agree it`s kinda the unwritten law amongst writers not to poach other people`s material isn`t it? Pretty much shows a lack of ability to copy and paste someone elses work.... and seeing as writing is... well writing... one would wonder why you would bother to take an interest in something that obviously doesn`t interest you.
ash
Comment by Jonathon
Anthroblogogy
thanks for your comments and that is an interesting view point that you raise also, but i feel i must ask you how many times do you need to post the same information? i understand that you write for 3 different websites so would it be possible to post once then link to that post, or would your sites just look funny if there was a heading and then a hyper link? however as it is your article you are free to do whatever you wish with it.
i am completely open to others using my material for their own, but i take a creative commons license approach to it in that it must differ from the original work (it must have progressed into something else) and it must be referenced to my original piece. now you may say i'm a dreamer, but i also understand that doesn't always happen like that - but that is the chance you take whenever you make your material public. i can understand your emotion of
isn't impersonation the greatest form of flattery?
Comment by Jonathon
Anthroblogogy
that's so funny! great minds and all that....
yes, i feel the beauty of writing is to take something and advance it into something else. so as you say what is the point of writing something that you obviously have no interest in to begin with. but where is the line between using the information as a launching pad/information source for others, and blatantly ripping off others' work?or is that something that is in the interpreter's eye?
Comment by Mrs M
Mum's Word
I agree with Ash.
I've referenced lots of articles and I usually include a link back to the original article. Just good manners really.
Love & stuff
Mrs M
Comment by Wendi
It's one thing to re-write facts to suit your own needs, such as producing an article based on a desire to learn something specific or form an opinion about an experience. But it's another thing entirely to snag material from wherever and slap it up on your blog for the sake of ratings and votes. To me, that's a sign of creative laziness. If you want the ratings and votes, if you want comments and feedback, if you want people to engage with you, then be real and write real.
People are going to share topics, but what's important, I think, is to put your own unique flare to a piece. Dig deeper, do the homework, spend some time on it, chew it up, swallow it down, and then spit it back out with your own flavor. Then it's a unique approach to an over-populated subject. Give it a twist, ya know?
The problem is that the people who need this kind of post the most are going to be the ones who let it slip by un-noticed. Well, either that or you'll find copies of it mass-produced all over the web in other people's blogs.*
Great post.
W
Comment by Jonathon
Anthroblogogy
you're one of the good guys - not ripping off others, referencing where it is needed, but most of all writing original quality content. i always know when i read one of your pieces that it is a one off and is about something that is relevant to your writing style. it is just 'good manners' to not rip others off, but i think more important to write something that is from you - the self appointed author. thanks for stopping by.
Comment by Jonathon
Anthroblogogy
yes the desire for ratings and votes is something that is ever present on the orble network, and some times it is hard to distinguish if it is 'real' content or simply a rehash. but it is as you say, the more popular blogs/entries are the ones that are coming from an original point of view.
i think it is important to reference from where you started the initial discussion, but i don't want to read something that i could easily read on another blog or website. so it is crucial that the article goes somewhere new or 'has your own flavor' as you say. critical writing/reading always excites me more than the daily grind. thank you for your comments, they advance the discussion further.
Comment by David
sometimes information is simply that, information and it cannot be given to a viewer other than in the correct answer form. it might be para-phrased, but in essence it is virtually the same information. conversely something could be critically written, in which case the reader has to approach the information with how the information is being presented as opposed to what the information actually is. in both cases the information is there to inform, potentially giving the outcome where the reader should walk away engaged with their new knowledge.
however is it correct blogging etiquette to simply find an article somewhere else on the net and then rehash it on your blog? i find sometimes it might be hard to keep coming up with articles that are composed of fresh and new ideas, and it would be all too easy to go and find an article and then re-write it, however this is not my approach. this leads me to question if this is an approach that is used, has the idea of a blog been fulfilled?
there are some that say the beauty of writing is to merely put words down to be read by others. however with all of these blogs emerging all over the internet, how many times can the same information be written to satisfy the personal cravings of the author? does the information progress any, that is does the information evolve to say something different that the reader hadn't thought of or read before? or is it merely the same words in a different configuration?
by becoming a blogger, i revel in the fact that there is no editor for my writings and i am left to my own devices to edit the information as i see fit. i also think that the audience takes an active role in deciding when the information is incorrect, thereby making me completely responsible for what i write. or can it be looked at from another point of view?
blogging relies on the idea of 'the network' more than any other form of communication. so is it ok to rehash information for the benefit of your specific readers? by bringing this information to your site and then sending it out to your readers, the blogger is engaging their audience with this information that they may not have come across otherwise. one would presume that this is a positive form of informing and entertaining, thereby deeming this practice acceptable.
are we all just wiggy wikis?
Comment by Lilla
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
Great minds think alike, whilst greater ones oversee...
Small things please small minds, whilst smaller ones look on...
For me it depends on the blog. If it is a newsy-type blog, like my Envirowarrior, then it is more in the journalistic realms of 'news,' rather than personal journal entry, often to represent that medium of writing for those who are looking for methodology. For this reason I would object strongly to having an editor 'change' my entries... becuase I use this blog to write opinions I cannot write in the real world.
This would be very true of the other posts too, as they are about me personal experience and on (Dream INterpretations) a result of years of documentation and research.
In part, the answer to your question, must depend on what type of information the reader wants to read, no?
~oOo~
What about synchronicity? : I am reminded of the two scientists across the globe who came up with the same discovery at the same time, oblivious of each other... and remember that the courts often have to settle this out, especially within the scientific, fashion and music industries ... fortunately on Orble, money isn't a problem requiring the law to intervene. *chuckle*
We all live in the same world and hear the same news, in a world where (thanks to technology) consciousness is growing to new lows of disconnection, collectively ... new areas of corruption being accessed every day...
~oOo~
A friend will always mirror a friend, because that is what a friend is...
How many times I have thought of posting something, only to be distracted from my computer by the real world ... to return and find that (blow me down) someone else has posted exactly the same stuff I wanted to talk about... once, Ash even posted the exact same picture I had just printed out and pinned to the wall for a new poem!
Cut and Pasted?
I don't think so...
In a broader context, when posts like this, ask these deep probing questions, we will all come to a conclusion in time and that will spark new words ... but they will all have been generated from the same post ... from a group already connected by esoteric threads, long before orble came along...perhaps explaining why it came along?
..most of us are all knocking-off in one way or another, aren't we?
So, does it becomes a matter of degrees (or votes)?
A Great Post btw... it has made me think and now I shall probably write one that reflects my discoveries from thinking about it - which will probably be a rehash of this one, in my own words? *lol* But I will attempt to include more of my own sentiments ... because when I'm not leaning towards the left with anarchistic tendencies, I tend to see both sides of any issue clearly and sometimes I just hate the backlash impartiality brings, like I have time for it... *chuckle*
/seriously/ a great thought and one that has deepened my awareness of what I am reading...and writing.
thanks...
Lilla ...
Comment by Carbon8or
Climate Red
randomthoughts
Phil's Wellness Tips
My view is there is a balance between a re-hash and simply directing your readers to an Article that you like and feel is informative/relevant and want to point it out to them as well as give your opinion. There is so much information to trawl through every day that I like this form of filtering and enjoy beind pointed in the right direction.
I do agree that there is massive re-hash going on, do you think that a lot of BLoggers feel the pressure to produce volumes of work to generate income? and possibly this pressure causes more re-hash than is necessary..... I don't know how you stop this.....all Bloggers need to get a bang for their buck so probably post in more that one place....
Comment by Jonathon
Anthroblogogy
Comment by Jonathon
Anthroblogogy
again you have dissected my every word and taken it to places that i clearly didn't go near. i am most pleased that it stirred on some critical thinking for you.
yes i agree that the style of the blog/information determines how the facts are presented. science for example can only describe the correctness in, well, the correct way. an opinion blog on the other hand has no right or wrong so it can be as free as it needs to be. but i think they all have to adhere to a certain amount of rules, or constrictions.
similar to a soccer game. the game wouldn't be worth watching if the players could do what they wanted. instead they must not use their hands, are separated into two clear teams, are attempting to get the ball through a designated area, and doesn't involve the crowd watching (except for cheering!). with this set of 'constrictions', everyone is on a level playing field and then we see who the better players are.
blogging however doesn't have a referee (editor) so we are left to our own devices, and unfortunately not everyone respects a level playing field. synchronicity - i am a bit skeptical but agree that it does happen. thank you for your thought provoking comment, a ripper as always.
Comment by Jonathon
Anthroblogogy
excellent name and welcome to the world of blog, pleased to have you around.
you are bang on with your comment. it does feel that people are trying to throw out articles to keep the money machine turning, which is really adding to the rhizomic appearance of the internet and its information. perhaps that is the difference between a hack and a problogger (whatever that title means?) i don't want to be the one (and i couldn't be anyway) to be saying there are rules on how to blog, but there are clear cut ways of doing it. i do agree with pointing someone in the correct direction if it advances your story, and isn't that better than writing it again anyway? a basic principal of hypertextual theory really.
Comment by David