“Borrowing” Another Blog’s Name, Design And Even Content

What could be more personal than a weblog? Yes, there are some set-ups that give you generic templates. But the write also gets to choose a new, original name that sets his or her “brand” off from the others.

But there is a little known fact on the Internet, one that is something of an unmentionable issue: the are some cases of blogs’ design names and even content being ripped off.

And when the owners of the original blogs dare complain, they often get a big yawn or an indignant post appears. But the bottom line is: it is often a case of trying to cash in on the hard work or reputation of someone else who has worked hard to establish a “look” or a gathering spot for a certain perspective under an informal “brand name” (which could be a concept or their own name).

It’s like the medicines authorities occasionally clamp down on that seemingly look the same because the boxes say they are a certain brand but are not the real item.

The latest truly blatant case of this comes from Mark Daniels, who has a wonderful gem of a weblog called Better Living: Thoughts From Mark Daniels. He often deals with religious or ethical issues, but has written some reviews and political-centered posts and when he sends us a link we almost always use it. Mark is an ORIGINAL. This is HIS SITE HERE.

Or he WAS.

He recently learned of THIS SITE (the only time in this history of TMV that we ever will link to it) which as he notes in his post:

Somebody is running a thief blog, a site that leeches off of this site for its title, its look, and its copy.

The thief does attribute my posts to me. But usually only after duplicating 90-100% of the original post, so that it would be pointless for a reader to actually come to this site to read it. More than half of the posts on the thief blog come from this site. The balance are ripped off from other blogs.

Clearly, the person engaging in this thievery is hoping to use the rip-off blog to make money. Advertising is seen at the tops and prominently, on the sidebars of each page.

And the title is used through a kind of loophole: Mark’s is Better Living. The rip-off site is In Pursuit of Better Living.

And it certainly is “in pursuit.”

Some thoughts:

1. It’s ironic the owner of the site is lifting the look, part of the name and the content from Mark. His site deals with religious and ethical issues. This is sort of like mugging the Pope.

2. There are occasionally sites that have part of the name of an existing blog but they may not be blatant rip-offs. They have all original content that can’t be confused with the other one. It’s when the name of the blog or the way it refers to itself is a rip off of another blog that it suggests the blog is set up to capitalize on the efforts of others.

3. He isn’t the only blogwriter/owner who has faced this issue. (TMV has as well over the years.) The intent of some of is apparently to get an instant audience by using a name that is established or perhaps garner some extra hits when posts are indexed on Technorati. In some cases it could be genuine ignorance of another site by the same name: not every person who sets up a weblog has spent a lot of time online and knows about other weblogs. But if they’re informed that they’re intentionally or unintentionally copying another blog’s name, look or content and don’t do anything about it, they should be left unread, unlinked and unblogrolled.

4. Our policy and advice is: weblog owners and writers should never ever link to or blogroll those sites that try to rip off others. Will we see see InstaPundite with Glenn Reynolds’ lifted copy?? Will we see Covering Crooks and Liars with John Amato’s unique takes on events?? Will we see the Van Der Galien Bulletin with Michael van der Galien’s lifted analyses? Will Kinky’s House have Shaun Mullen’s column-like posts running without his permission?

The internet and this whole frontier of weblogs offers an array of possibilities for those who want to promote their ideas — or products. There are all kinds of designs, and there are pre-set designs. Just pick one that isn’t the same as someone else’s.

But if you “borrow” their name, you will LOSE readers and linkers. If you borrow their name AND look you will lose readers.

And most certainly if you borrow their NAME, their LOOK and the copy that they wrote and you not only do not have permission to use but when they tell you you do not have permission you keep on running it with a “so sue me” mentality, it’s clear you deserve to be shunned by original thinkers on the right, left and center, Republicans, independents and Democrats. And even unoriginal thinkers on right, left and center, Republicans, independents and Democrats.

Get an original idea, look and content. You can do it. Easily.

That will help you best promote your beliefs or products.

In this case, notoriety won’t do. Go in pursuit of originality.