How Do You Handle It When People Steal Your Content?

Having your content redistributed on the web is not a bad thing, necessarily. It can bring you additional visibility and drive additional traffic to your blog or website. But not all redistribution is good for you. I occasionally Google myself to see which of my sites, social media networks, and articles are working the hardest for me, and this time, I discovered someone who was broadcasting my blog feed into her own website without providing credit or a link back to the original post on my blog.

That's not good exposure. That's copyright theft.

I tried to contact her directly, but I would have had to create an account with the website she was using, which I did not want to do. Instead, I contacted the website directly and made it clear my articles were to be removed immediately as she was violating copyright.

To me, this is an issue worth pursuing. I work hard on everything I write, and if you're not going to give credit to the original author, you shouldn't have it on your site. Technically, she should not have been able to publish it without my permission at all, but I'll be addressing that with her as well and making modifications to my website to make our regulations concerning the use of our materials more clear.

Shadra Bruce
Writer~Editor~Translator
Social Media Trailblazer

website: Shadra L. Bruce, writer and editor  follow me @shadra
blog: IGotMomPower  follow @gotmompower