Plagiarism Alert - Accidental or Deliberate?
Requests for Site Reviews
Every day in WA there's a request from at least a couple of members asking for feedback on a post/page or entire site.
Like others I often click on the supplied link and have a look.
'Duplicate Content?
Recently I've been looking at quite a few Affiliate Bootcamp sites and I noticed the other day when I was looking at one site that the wording was very similar to something I'd already read. At first I dismissed it. I was tired and thought perhaps I'd imagined it. After all - a lot of members have written Wealthy Affiliate reviews which this was.
However, a couple of days later someone else put in a request and when I looked at their site I remembered that I had checked it before and there was the first content I'd seen which was almost identical in nature.
Now I have no idea whose site came first but certainly one had been influenced by the other. Whether this was deliberate or accidental I have no idea.
Become your own Plagiarism Checker
All I would say is that all of us need to become our own plagiarism checkers, so we're certain that the content we use on our sites is ours and if we do use content from others we acknowledge it. Always check through any new content to ensure that you haven't been unduly influenced by the content and style of someone else's site.
Find the full-sized infographic here
Recent Comments
93
When I was working on my WA site I was afraid I wasn't unique enough. I was putting in what I was learning from the lessons but with so many doing the same thing I wondering if mine was unique enough.
I remember when I was taking online classes for college a student was just taking information straight from the resource library and pasting it to his report. Needless to say he was no longer in that college after that.
I think a lot of people worry as you have done Darlene - but I think if you just write from what you have learned you have nothing to worry about. It does happen though when people spend a lot of time looking at other people's sites trying to find the secret to what works best and then they go away and write something nearly identical.
I've read some of your stuff - you have no worries.
Never have done it, and never will. Was taught by the best not to do this ( you were one of the teachers)
That being said, you are spot on Beverley. Excellent post.
Of course you wouldn't. You've always written great original stuff which your readers want. - but then you took the time to learn how. I think some people are in too much hurry. Thanks Shawn
So true about being in a hurry. No race here. The longer you work it, the better it gets. :)
This is important point that Beverly made. I have noticed the same thing she did while researching web for my own education.
People are trying to create content for their articles and temptation is very high to save time and money, especially with people that really have no passion for something, but have created online presence with their websites just in order to make money.
If you really like your niche and do your research and due diligence, you will be able to create content on your own, slowly but surely. Trust me, you will feel better that way. This will help in a long run.
People that just copy somebody's work will not get rankings with search engines anyway for duplicate content (SE now instantly when there is a copy) and will never be able to build their online business successfully. Stop hurting yourself and get to work and build your websites naturally, using your own passion and your own words! It is sometimes hard but only at that point, you will feel that you are doing it the right way and eventually it will pay off.
Peter
Thanks Peter for taking the time to write such a comprehensive reply. You're so right to emphasis that it's damaging to your website to copy material and that in time it's quite possible to build your own body of work.
Good to be reminded of this. It's one of the reasons I avoid the Rapid Writer. As for plagiarism itself, when everyone speaks the same language, there is bound to be some repetition. The dividing line I think is drawn when someone picks a bit of someone else's piece and passes it off as their own. Now that is not only plagiarism, but purely wrong. It is much easier with the age of technology to nip, copy and paste-but as time goes by, surely easier to track as well.
Actually, if you run things through a plagiarism checker as I do daily - there's actually a lot less repetition than you think and if we all just write our own content, then our individual styles will prevent any accusations of plagiarism.
I think it's difficult to be original because so many of us are doing reviews of WA but we should each still look for that unique look from our own perspective. My niche is Baby Boomers and I suspect I haven't focused on them as much as I could have. May need to do a bit of a re-write. Thanks for bringing this forward.
I agree Rick - it is. I also think it's difficult because so many people are sharing their sites (which is a good thing) and writing on similar topics but I am definitely beginning to see a trend where people are being too 'influenced' by the work of others.
Bravo, Beverley! Where is the dividing line between plagiarism and getting a whole bunch of pre-written PLR articles and putting in your name as the author? :) george
That's an interesting question. If you buy PLR articles you are granted permission to do what you like with them- so although you could land up with duplicate content - it wouldn't be plagiarised.
p.s. Nice to see you and know you're safe and well.
Hey Beverly,
Great post!
People have to realize that it doesn't benefit them in any way to use content that others have already published. If I proclaimed to write a book that was copied word-for-word from say, War and Peace but changed the title, I am quite certain there would be a fair number of people that would figure out the counterfeit. And I am even more certain that they'd call me on it too, as you called others in your post here.
And what would I have accomplished in creating this counterfeit? Well, I'd upset a lot of people and lose a whole bunch of credibility. It's no different with content on a website. That is no way to build a successful business.
Thanks for sharing,
Jim
What would you suggest about images? A lot of the time wikimedia does not have images relating to a niche. Of course just Google'n a word and taking an image would fall under this category.
Any thoughts?
Hey Jaron,
There are ways to find images that you can legally use. Kyle has a training module on how to go about it.
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/how-to-find-add-images-to-your-website
Best Regards,
Jim
You might also find this useful- there are lots of different places listedhttps://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/where-to-find-images-for-your-website
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Very good point Beverly people should think and write for thereselfs
Thanks Tommy