Frustration?!…. Please let me know.
Please do me a favor, read this post and give me your opinion:
I need to do a little venting… Please bear in mind that I am due to have a baby within the week and so hormones may not be at completely stable levels and please be understanding- but I really need to make some things clear.
Let me give you the background to this little vent.
I was contacted yesterday, by what seems to me to be a gossip blog aimed at mom blogs. The person contacting me stated that she had received the assignment to write a post about my blogs because that they had received a single anonymous tip (with no proof) that I was copying other bloggers without permission and that they are upset about my featuring other blogger’s posts in full. (she- the lady who contacted me, is btw the author of a crafting blog that features other people’s posts too) Just so you know (including the anonymous tip) is only the third complaint I have ever received in the last 2 years out of 1,300 published posts. BUT I have received a LOT of thank you email for features.
So, I would like to address that accusation of blog copying openly- right now, right here, for all to discuss.
I have never featured a story without express or implied permission! EVER!
First:
Let me explain how I feature other bloggers so we can be perfectly clear:
- Email Submissions projects
- Party Highlights
- Requested permission to share great stories that I find.
If I feature an entire blog post in full on my blog it is with the author blogger’s consent either implied or express as stated about everywhere I can put it on my blog, from the be featured post, the contact post, every party link… and it should be sorta obvious from the posts we feature. But here is what I mean by implied or express:
- Express consent from emails asking me to feature their projects.
- Implied consent from bloggers linking to parties with rules clearly stating that by linking to the party they give me FULL permission to post the feature in full. (which I have not been doing lately BTW, since no one reads rules before participating, and somehow that is my fault?????)
Second:
The rules to be featured are listed in my “Be Featured” post, linked in my contact post and on every party I have. I have also started re-emphasizing the full feature policy in my reply emails to be sure people understand that is what they are agreeing to. Is it wrong that I expect people to:
- Please read the rules before participating in my blog, by party or email submissions.
- Contact me directly, if they have a problem with a feature of their work.
Third:
If you are frustrated by the “full” features, I would really appreciate you contacting me directly. Ask yourself these questions first:
- Did I read the rules completely, before submitting a project or joining the party?
- Is it my story that they featured? (if not- you can bet that I did not feature it without permission granted in which case you have no right to say anything- the blog author has granted their consent- it has nothing to do with you!)
Fourth:
You may be surprised to find out that I have had my share of frustration over other blogger’s featuring my projects without my consent, as it was not listed in any rules for participating in their linkys, etc . Or readers being inspired to try one of my projects (yea- isn’t that the point?), directly coping my projects, taking their own pictures along the way of the steps I showed them and then passing it off as their own idea- ugh, very frustrating!
BUT and this is a big BUT (no I’m not talking about the one I am sitting on!) I cannot take back the traffic they gave me from features or links. I cannot take credit for my blogs growing on my own. It is all about the blogging community. Once a new reader finds a blog from a link or whatnot and they join my blog, I cannot take that traffic back, I owe it to the blog who featured a project and gave a link and I am thankful they are helping me to build my blog. I may wish they didn’t feature it in 3 months, but guess what they did, I gained new readers from it and that is that.
I should mention that I am not talking about it being okay to copy a full post without permission and posting it on a blog, that is wrong, Let me make it clear that I have never done that. I won’t ever do that, and I would be thankful if people didn’t wrongfully accuse me of doing that. Thanks!
Venting session over.
Am I being melodramatic?
Am I being unreasonable?
Please let me know what you think.
AND if you have been featured and it was a positive experience, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU- I could use some support! Please leave a comment!
>I am always happy to be featured by you! I find it a privilege and not any infringement on my rights.
Love your sight.
>I love being featured. It makes me feel very proud and that all the hard work I do is appreciated by others. You featured me once and I felt so honored and appreciated it greatly. Keep doing what you do and don't let the few negatives out of thousands of positives get you down. Good luck with the baby!
>First things first. Remodelaholic has a lot of followers and you are going to be the object of jealousy. People get ugly when they envy. You run a very respectable blog site and your information is clear and concise. It was an honor to be featured on your blog. I had no problems with your terms for publishing my information. Secondly, blogs are made by people who want their information shared. If someone is posting a project or recipe they should expect that information to be used in any manner the reader deems appropriate. A fair reader will give credit to the original author, but bloggers must be realistic that this may not happen. If you (any blogger interested enough to read this) publish something on a blog, you must also be prepared for the possibility that your information may be plagiarized. I'm not sure you can even place a copywriter clause on it. It's a social network not a publishing network. Authors beware! Remodelaholic, you have a wonderful site and you are more than fair with crediting the original author and getting permission.
Let the haters have their 2 minutes of fame. It won't last! Keep your head up! Remodelaholic Rocks!
>You would think that someone would be thrilled to be featured on your blog under any circumstances. I wouldn't get too upset by one negative among so many positive. It's that person's issue, not yours. Good luck with the baby. That's what really matters.
>Don't let the negative comments get to you:)
>Cassity, I have always been super excited and beyond honored when you've featured my projects. I wish there was some way we {your followers} could give this person a piece of our minds in your defense. And if it makes you feel any better, you can feature me anytime you want :).
>I was TICKLED when you emailed me about my flooring tutorial. You also greatly increased my traffic for a few weeks as a result.
Every time I am here, I know where you got the information/posting/pictures/ideas. You've never misrepresented yourself. Just know that you have a faithful fan base who loves what you do… exactly the way you are doing it.
When you emailed me about my tutorial, you made it clear that I could pass if I wanted to. Of course, there's not a single reason I could fathom to make me pass on an opportunity to share something! That's why we're here.
>I can understand your frustration! But your rules are super clear and if people don't take the time to read them, that's their own problem. Clearly they don't understand that being featured or mentioned in any way on your blog is a huge bonus for their blog.
>Oh, my, I didn't realize blog world was like the real world! So sorry you have been accused- so unfair not to be able to confront that person directly and straighten out whatever the misunderstanding may be. (Assuming it's a misunderstanding and not some outright attempt to hurt your reputation.) Just realize you have a lot of supporters here who know the truth.
>I am only a very happy reader/follower. I don't think you are being overly melodramatic. I am outraged for you. I have never read a post that hasn't been acknowledged. If your blog following has increased it is only the measure of the excellent site you manage. Ignore this rubbish.
>Apparently the "wronged" one linked to your party for the exposure without reading the rules. Your rules are clear and you always give credit. I love all the ideas you feature — from others and your own, and I've never been confused which was which. When I was featured, I was thrilled and proudly grabbed your Featured on Remodelaholic button.
Enjoy that sweet baby!
Deb
>I love reading your blog and the other blogs you feature. As a new home owner – the more inspiration the better!
>Whoever contacted you is not being very professional. An anonymous tip? C'mon!!! Don't attack someone without giving them some facts. Anytime someone comes at me with an "anonymous anything" I realize that the messenger is usually the one with the problem. (speaking from working in public school for years)
I love your blog. It is the first one I check when I get online. I also enjoy the features you present. Whoever contacted you needs to straighten out her Jr. High attitude and just accept the fact that Remodelaholic is fabulous!!! She needs to quit ragging on your blog and concentrate on her own. You will find, the more success you have, the more people will be jealous of it. Just tell that old snit to back off!!!
>I am so sorry you're frustrated with these people who have NO right to say the things they're saying! You work really hard on having integrity with your posts, and that's why I love your blog(s)! Please know that for every ONE obnoxious person that has nothing better to do than pick on you, there are thousands more who support you and love you!! 🙂
>In my eyes it's someone that is jealous about your blog! Who else would would do that?? Tell them to stay away reading your blog and pick on someone else. Obviously they need to pick on someone.
>I am sorry to hear that you were on the bad end of a gossip blog. I think that you do a great job with posting relevant information. I love reading blogs about do it your self projects. We (My wife and I) gain tons of insights from these types of blogs. We bought our first house a little over a year ago and have completely remodeled it. Its been quite the process. I am thankful that people out there write about their experiences. We just started our own blog about our house and need a little help getting it off the ground. Read it if you want to and give us any helpful feedback.
Our site address is http://www.mychicshanty.com
Keep on writing and don't let this incident get you down.
Cheers,
Matt
>Somebody out there sounds a little jealous of your blog and the many followers you have – if so, shame on them. I love your blog so don't change a thing – and congrats on the baby.
Brenda
>You're not being melodramatic or unreasonable. Totally support you all the way.
And yes, I think people are GRATEFUL to be featured! I've been thrilled when my projects have been featured on other blogs! (Hope to be featured here someday, but haven't posted just the right project yet to submit! LOL!)
Sorry you have to deal with this when you're about to have a baby. No one needs that headache!
Warmly,
Andrea | HomageStyle.com
>You featured one of my projects and I was thrilled!
I'm sorry to hear about this. How ridiculous!!
Your blog is great and very inspirational. I visit it on a daily basis.
Best Wishes!!
>You gotta love the blog world, sometimes unfortunately there are some people who want to haul us all back to high school…or maybe middle school! Thankfully most bloggers aren't like that though, but you have every right to be upset if your integrity has been called in to question!
I was featured on your blog and it was done with my full consent and cooperation! I hadn't been blogging very long and I can't tell you how much I benefited from and thank you for the exposure it gave to my fledgling blog! Not to mention the fact that it made me feel good to know that someone else appreciated all of the hard work we put in to our renovations.
Those who know and have worked with you won't give this kind of idle gossip a second thought, so don't worry about it. I just wish I had as many hours in the day as some other people do to fly around to other blogs looking for ways to bring someone else down. Aren't we women supposed to support and help lift up one another, not find ways to be jealous or spiteful?
Keep on doin' what you're doin', you have bigger fish to fry in taking care of your beautiful family which will soon be one person bigger!
xo Kat