I’ve probably stolen from you. Definitely, in fact. You left it lying around, and I slipped it into a mental pocket. That’s what social media can do. Takes away your ability for original thought.
I’m not saying I’m a plagiarist, in the cut-and-paste manner, but rather that your thoughts, your writings, your links, your experiences all feed into mine. The wealth of information online means that there’s a subtle assimilation process going on. You read. You think. You click. Before you know it, your mind has stored a couple of points.
I wouldn’t try to pass somebody else’s work as my own- that’s just tacky. But sometimes, I’ll sit, thinking about how to kick off a post, and a word will slip into my head. Perhaps an image. It would be too dull for words to acknowledge every thought process. For example:
Well, Neen was online this morning and she was reading Tertia, who later tweeted something about sleep, and somebody else commented that they like to count winegums in bed, and then I remembered an article I’d read about sweets- not winegums, but who cares- Smarties, that’s it, and how they are using new types of food colouring because the old type is harmful, but there will be no more blue smarties, which is a pity: my younger brother loved those. Guess I’ll blog about how we shared things, or not, when I was a kid…
You see, it could get tedious. The whole point of reading your stuff, commenting, following links means an acknowledged share and interest in what we are doing. Of course, if I quote you I’ll say so. If you get paid for something I wrote, I’d get angry about it (fortunately: no likelihood of that!). Oops. I admit I trawl google images and never acknowledge the source...
But a good way of acknowledging those whose comments, words, writing and links get you going is to let others know about them. I’m not very good at remembering sources, but I’ll go with just passing it on…
Here are a couple of funny/poignant ones…
Crotchety Old Man Yells At Cars http://crotchety-old-man-yells-at-cars.blogspot.com/
I’m not saying I’m a plagiarist, in the cut-and-paste manner, but rather that your thoughts, your writings, your links, your experiences all feed into mine. The wealth of information online means that there’s a subtle assimilation process going on. You read. You think. You click. Before you know it, your mind has stored a couple of points.
I wouldn’t try to pass somebody else’s work as my own- that’s just tacky. But sometimes, I’ll sit, thinking about how to kick off a post, and a word will slip into my head. Perhaps an image. It would be too dull for words to acknowledge every thought process. For example:
Well, Neen was online this morning and she was reading Tertia, who later tweeted something about sleep, and somebody else commented that they like to count winegums in bed, and then I remembered an article I’d read about sweets- not winegums, but who cares- Smarties, that’s it, and how they are using new types of food colouring because the old type is harmful, but there will be no more blue smarties, which is a pity: my younger brother loved those. Guess I’ll blog about how we shared things, or not, when I was a kid…
You see, it could get tedious. The whole point of reading your stuff, commenting, following links means an acknowledged share and interest in what we are doing. Of course, if I quote you I’ll say so. If you get paid for something I wrote, I’d get angry about it (fortunately: no likelihood of that!). Oops. I admit I trawl google images and never acknowledge the source...
But a good way of acknowledging those whose comments, words, writing and links get you going is to let others know about them. I’m not very good at remembering sources, but I’ll go with just passing it on…
Here are a couple of funny/poignant ones…
Crotchety Old Man Yells At Cars http://crotchety-old-man-yells-at-cars.blogspot.com/
The Screaming Me-Me!!! http://madmadmargo.blogspot.com/
So sad that you didn't mention me. So sad.
ReplyDeleteHa! I wrote exactly this same post yesterday.
ReplyDeleteHey - hang on a second...
@thenocturnalwench Eish, wag net so 'n rukkie, man, jy sal ook 'n kansie kry!
ReplyDelete@6000 Heheh- think I'll use that line...
Yes. What the wench said. In fact I consider myself privileged not to have made your list. Pffffa!
ReplyDeleteSWEET! I'M FAMOUS! How about you steal my blog for a day? Send me a list and I'll guest list you for the world to see (I don't have that many readers so my world is pretty small.)
ReplyDelete@SMP:There will be other lists, this was just a group of particular blogs I like, not meaning that I don't like others. Sheesh. Your blog is very naas too.
ReplyDelete@MDL: Ooh! Next stop... the world *laughs like a maniac* I'm only good at lists as a form of procrastination. I'll see if I can emulate your brilliance.
Actually, I'm not surprised you didn't include me on that list. That's for real bloggers, and such. Me, not the genuine article at all.
ReplyDeleteI love finding new links like this!
ReplyDeleteOh, and erm... *coff*... I've moved you yo my daily reads list. You have too much for me to play catch-up on once a week, and I love your writing!
ReplyDelete