I pulled this ad from a magazine. I believe in this quote….
sound mind. sound body.
I am struggling with something today….I need your advice. It’s with my mind and whether or not to give my energy to this…..
I have the best friends and readers and need my smart, wise and balanced friends to weigh in on what you think I should do.
I just found out that a competitor, fitness profession copied my post on cooking spray, word for word, copied and pasted as her own blog entry!!! She used her own pic, also stolen off the internet with no source, but she stole my work!!!
I AM PISSED!!!
What is the right thing to do?
- Do I email her and tell her I know and to take down all plagerized material…or else?
- Do I blog about her and tell the world about how unethical and immoral she is?
- Do I team up with the others that she has plagerized (she has copied the work of at least one famous competitor) and work with them?
I am mad. I want revenge. I think that’s human instinct.
But, should I confront? Should I leave it alone?
Is it wrong to give my energy to this? I believe in energy and not wasting it on things that are not benefitial.
I must also give a HUGE THANK YOU to my blog friend who found this out and let me know. I REALLY appreciate her letting me know and believe she DID THE RIGHT THING by letting me know. I can’t thank her enough!!!
What would you do? What do you think I should do? I’d love your advice!
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
I think it’s best to confront her privately first. Ask her to remove the post. You don’t want to be known as someone who bad mouths someone on the Internet. Even if what she did was wrong. I bet if you confront her she will be so embarrassed and will remove it. Sorry this happened to you. So frustrating.
I would confront her privately first and hope that she takes down the post once she sees that someone else has figured it out. Either way, karma is a beast, so she will get what is coming to her- but it’s not really up to you to give it to her, ya know?
Wow that’s awful. Definitely confront her privately first. If anyone elses’ work is plagiarized, let them know too! Make sure they’re informed. Of course give her the chance to change things, but if you aren’t satisfied with the outcome or she doesn’t show any remorse, I really don’t think it would be wrong to call her out publicly. I would be so upset too! You worked hard for that and she stole it. You have every right to be upset. It’s not a minor matter, plagiarism is a very serious matter. Maybe not right now in this situation, but it could get her in deep trouble one day. So sorry you have to deal with this
Awe dear, I can’t imagaine how that must feel. You work so hard on your material and then to have someone “take” it. I would definitely contact her privately. If she doesn’t respect your wishes, then I definitely think you should tell her that you might take another route. Stand strong for yourself! You deserve it!
That is a tough decision Tori. There are no “blog” police unfortunately. What we put out here is so easy to take; however, its wrong. I never noticed do you have a Terms of Use section here? I have one on my blog, not sure if it would really work or not. Not even sure where I’d go except court.
I guess I’m not really helping, but if you came up with something and someone has copied it I would confront them and then see what you can do about it.
Great quotation at the beginning–and that saying originated with the Romans! ‘Mens sana in corpore sano’ is the original.
Sorry about the plagiarism–that must be so frustrating, but–I hope that you can see it as a compliment, as least in part! I think that confronting the person and speaking to her in private is probably the best way to go. And keeping some perspective on it too: it feels very raw and hot when the knowledge has just reached you, but in the long run, it’s not important enough to stress yourself and hurt your adrenals over…
You know this has raised something I’ve been wondering a lot about lately as a blogger.
For example, lots of people (including really well known bloggers) post recipes and claim they are wholly theirs when in reality they look almost identical to those that exist in cooking books. Yet they brand them as theirs.
Is that permissible because it’s a recipe? Generally, I link back to the recipe my variation stemmed from . . . but am I the only one that thinks that’s the way things should be?
Then there are pictures – if you list the source (I usually only tend to “borrow” ad campaigns) is that okay? Or should all your pictures be original!?
I wish I had the answers to these questions. Because truth is I want to be the most responsible blogger possible.
As for your dilemma – I say write her an email. Word for word copying is not cool.
A lot of that particular blogger’s content is plagarized from lots of spots all over the ‘net. Just a simple google search shows that…which for her, cuts her credibility. Approach privately, take screen prints (just in case) and don’t let it get to you in the meantime. Consider it a compliment — it’s the imitation is the highest form of flattery!
And I may have left a comment or two over on her site about different posts that were copied and not cited properly. Just possibly.
I would definitely confront her. You wouldn’t want her to think it’s okay to do it again!
That sucks! I would be so pissed off! I think you should probably confront her first and see what she does and if she ignores you or doesn’t change her post I would try something more aggressive. I would also keep an eye on her blog to be sure she doesnt do it again!
You have to do something. Don’t let it go. It’s not okay. Start with the private message although it’s not like she did it by accident…
This is your business and your heart is in it. It’s important to protect it. Good luck with it!
Re: Toronto Girl West’s question about recipes… I’m pretty certain that with a recipe all you have to do is change one tiny thing. Even an amount of something to make it yours. Technicalities.
Re: Ela above… Love the Latin original quote.
I agree that sending her a private message is the smartest option. You work very hard on your posts and it is NOT ok for someone else to take it and try to pass it off as thier own work!! She needs to know that you did notice what she did and hopefully she is smart enough to stop. Please don’t let her get to you because the rest of us appreciate your posts and your knowldege!
so my initial thoughts were, tori, you are pregnant and hormonal and well, that is grounds for blowing things out of the water. THEN i went to “her” site (found it) and she didnt even bother to unbold the important key points or change the font…you dont lie when you say WORD FOR WORD. that makes me mad for you!! yes, be mad. that is your hard work and research. i’d contact her via private msg too and try to resolve it one on one. her credibility is down the drain and all of her work is probably that of others. ugh, what a phony! hang in there tori.
I would confront her, absolutely! I found her site and that is just freakin’ insane!! She needs to know that this is not acceptable!
Hey girl,
It’s only right that I tell you – EMPHASIZE ON RIGHT – why can’t everyone do what’s right y’know?!
You can try confronting her, a few ppl (including myself)have mentioned something on her Twitter. I posted a blog about it, she’s copied Pauline Nordin and I am sure numerous others.
Bottom line.
Professionals don’t do that crap. Children who want to get an A on an English paper do.
Liars and thieves don’t deserve sympathy… PERIOD. Don’t let it discourage you, there’s a REASON people read your blog..even if they DO copy it.
I would not write to her about plagiarizing you. While it’s true she did that, her conduct is actually far more serious than that. It’s a blatant violation of your copyright. Everything you put on your blog is protected by copyright, and she willfully violated those rights. At minimum, she should take it down.
I haven’t had a chance to reply back to everyone’s comments yet….but I will. I just have to say now….WOW! I have the smartest & wisest girlfriends!!! Thank you sooo much for your advice and for being so honest with me! You all are amazing women and I appreciate your opinions!!!
you should definitely email her and demand she take it down, as well as all other plagerized material. If not, you will pursue further legal action. She will hopefully abide by your request because it is morally right, but should see the legal right as well!!
Hi Tori. WOW…how much does that suck????? I’d email her and ask her to take it down. If she doesn’t, well, then you take HER down!!! Kidding about that, and joking aside, no doubt you’re choked…NOT ok to steal someone’s words and thoughts! NOT ok at all. Hopefully she removes the post once you contact her! Go get ‘er girl!!!!
Awesome! I say, REJOICE — your competitors look up to you!
Second, contact the site owner, being polite but asking them to give you credit for the work via a link. If they refuse then ask them to take it down. Oh and be sure to set deadlines, so you can move forward in the event of no response.
3rd, contact the web master and hosting company. Often times this is a third party business, who if reputable will be concerned about their brand image of supporting copyright thieves.
If that fails then you take all your documentation to Google, Yahooand Bing and ask them to remove the site for violations of DMCA. I’m pretty sure that when they receive a letter from Google and Bing they’ll take notice.
It’s good to be friends with a geek!
MB
Definitely confront her. I mean COME ON, that is against the law.
You ARE awesome so I see why she wants to BE you, but seriously? You’ve gotten a lot of great advice so you don’t need mine but seriously. SERIOUSLY, it needs to NOT happen again.
I think you should email her and be kind. Make her aware that you know, how you feel and ask why she did it. I would be careful with the words you choose and the tone. I believe in putting people in their place with kindness works…because it makes the other person feel worse since it’s coming from such a sweet person versus getting upset and telling them off. That usually adds fuel to the fire. This is just my opinion and what has worked for me in the past.
You are awesome…..and don’t forget karma!!!
*NIKKI*
Confront her!