RSS
 

Archive for the ‘Blogiarism’ Category

Radio Firefox With Jason Schramm

27 Jan 2006

Jason, the guy with whom I did the Blogiarism series on this blog and on his, has his own radio show at the very funky radio station called “Radio Firefox”. In his show on January 25th, he referred to me, to this website and to our collaboration on the blog plagiarism topic, which Randy Charles Morin defined in this context for the first time and referred to it as ‘blogiarism’. The first two episodes of his show are up and ready for download.

In his podcasts of the radio show, Jason points out handy tools and Grease monkey scripts to get things done in Firefox. He also talks about recent search engine related news and about a lot of other things that cross his mind once the red light is flashing above his broadcasting booth.

The episode in which I’m featured was all about Government request for search engine data, Corporate bloggers, Plagiarizing blogs, Google, Google News, Disney/Pixar Deal, Firefox Extensions.

Radio Firefox is a tech-oriented radio show, with a companion website that has podcasts and excerpts from the shows.

Subscribe to the podcast : here

The show isn’t available on the airwaves in Europe, but the podcasts are. Tune in here to get some !

 

A Blogger’s Code

22 Jan 2006

Philipp pointed out 15 rules based on a press code, which should serve as a guideline throughout blogging. This blogger’s code is by no means obligatory, but it sure points out some serious issues. I know some people think bloggers and journalists shouldn’t be treated as being equal, but I think that sort of depends on what kind of news you are bringing and how serious you take yourself as a blogger. This list was reprinted with kind permission of Philipp Lenssen and fits in the frame Jason and I have been creating with our Blogiarism Interviews, a series in which we’ve interviewed 10 prominent bloggers about the code they follow when they’re linking to someone and about their vision on giving credit where it’s due.

  1. Respect for the truth, observance of human rights and accurate informing of blog visitors are the overriding principles of bloggers.
  2. The posting of specific news and information in text and photos must be carefully checked for accuracy in the light of existing circumstances. Its sense must not be distorted or falsified by editing, headlines or picture captions. Documents must be accurately reproduced. Unconfirmed reports, rumours or assumptions must be quoted as such. It must be clear, or made so, that symbolic photos are such.
  3. Posted news or assertions, particularly those related to persons, which turn out to be incorrect must be rectified promptly in an appropriate manner by the blog concerned.
  4. Dishonest methods must not be used to acquire person-related news, information or photos.
  5. Agreed confidentiality is to be observed as a fundamental principle.
  6. All those blogging shall preserve the standing and credibility of the blogspace at large, observe professional secrecy, use the right to refuse to give evidence, and not disclose the identity of informants without their express consent.
  7. The responsibility of bloggers towards the public requires that editorial blogging is not influenced by the private or business interests of third parties or by the personal commercial interests of bloggers. Bloggers must reject any attempts of this nature and make a clear distinction between editorial and commercial blog posts.
  8. Bloggers shall respect people’s private lives. If, however, the private behaviour of a person touches upon public interests, then it may be reported upon. Care must be taken to ensure that the personal rights of non-involved persons are not violated. Bloggers shall respect people’s right to self-determination on information about them and guarantee blogging data protection.
  9. It is contrary to blogging decorum to publish unfounded claims and accusations, particularly those that harm personal honor.
  10. Posting words and photos which could seriously offend the moral or religious feelings of a group of persons, in form or content, are irreconcilable with the responsibility of bloggers.
  11. Bloggers will refrain from inappropriately sensational portrayal of violence and brutality. The protection of young visitors is to be considered in blogging.
  12. No one may be discriminated against due to a handicap or their membership of a racial, ethnic, religious, social or national group.
  13. Blog posts on investigations, criminal court proceedings and other formal procedures must be free from prejudice. For this reason, before and during legal proceedings, all comment, both in reports and headlines, must avoid being one-sided or prejudicial. An accused person must not be described as guilty before final judgement has been passed. Court decisions should not be blogged on before they are announced unless there are serious reasons to justify such action.
  14. Blog posts on medical subjects should not be of an unnecessarily sensationalist nature that could raise unfounded fears or hopes among readers. Research findings that are still at an early stage should not be portrayed as conclusive or almost conclusive.
  15. The acceptance or granting of privileges of any kind which could influence the freedom of decision on the part of the blogger are irreconcilable with the prestige, independence and mission of blogspace at large. Anyone accepting bribes for the dissemination of blog posts acts in a dishonourable and unprofessional manner.
 

Robert Scoble On Linkage And Credits – Blogiarism Series

14 Jan 2006

Together with Jason Schramm from Shiwej, I’ve decided to start a guestblogging series which will run on both our blogs at about the same time.
Today (January 14th, 2006) is the tenth and last interview in this series, and to end in style we feature the famous Robert Scoble, Microsoft’s Tech Evangelist and Geek Blogger.

1. How did you get into blogging?

I was helping plan the 2000 CNET Builder.com Live! Conference and two of the speakers told me that we should think about blogging. They were Dave Winer, http://www.scripting.com, and Dori Smith, http://www.backupbrain.com. They didn’t convince me it was important enough for the conference to worry about (I could only find a couple hundred blogs back then) but they convinced me to write about my experiences behind the scenes.

2. What is your blog’s name, what is it about?

http://scobleizer.wordpress.com is just ‘the Scobleizer’ to most. Microsoft’s Geek Blogger to others. Anyway, it’s about the tech industry and what I am excited about. Often Tablet PCs, SmartPhones, Xbox 360s, and such.

3. Are there any policies you follow when reporting on an issue?

Be smart. I try to have my facts right, and if it’s something that could be explosive I get input from the people directly involved. Often, though, I’ll post something even before that just to show that I’ve seen the issue and I’m paying attention to it. I wrote a whole book, Naked Conversations, http://www.nakedconversations.com, along with Shel Israel, who was a PR guy in Silicon Valley, though, and it talks at length about policies and best practices.

4. What guidelines do you follow when linking to an outside source?

Link early and often. I link to everyone whether they are on our side or not.

5. Do you think you are trustworthy? Why do your readers trust you?

I try to be. Why do they trust me? I am not so arrogant as to believe that they do. A good reader will always get a few opinions on something and check it out for him or herself. That said, I’ve gotten a bit of readership because I’m not afraid to attack my own company when wrong, and praise a competitor when they do something great.

6. Do you think bloggers should be treated as journalists and be privy to the rights and protections that journalists enjoy?

That’s an interesting question. Should bloggers all get back stage passes to concerts? Some bloggers probably deserve that because they’ve gotten a large audience that cares about the band. But other bloggers shouldn’t. I hate entitlements. Just because you blog doesn’t mean you’re a full-fledged journalist who should get free passes to conferences. That said, I believe legal protections given to journalists should be given to bloggers. And, so should the legal consequences if a blogger slanders or libels someone.

Hope that helps!

linkingstartshere

Initiated together with Jason Schramm, this guest blogging series will continue to make people aware of the power of linking and the need to give credit to the people who earn it.
Together, we’re improving the Blogosphere, you can help too if you start linking here !
And be sure to check out Jason’s post here.

Note :

Jason and I are not related but have a common field. Jason writes for the BlogNewsChannel, and takes care of Apple Watch, very surprisingly the Apple section of Nathan’s network.
I sometimes write on Inside Google & Inside Microsoft.

 

Conclusive Link Dump, Dec. 29th

29 Dec 2005

Yeah. It’s the final link dump . It had to come this far some day. There’ll be no more linking posts on this blog this year. Here’s some stuff from the inbox :

Read :

* It was a year with both positives and negatives for RFID. (top stories)
* KB Cafe Blog Awards – Vote once in category nr. 32 for this blog :)
* Track Chitika Clicks with Google Analytics
* Real-time texting for deaf people
* No Room In MySpace For YouTube
* Movil.be Looking For A Sponsor
* Top 50 gadgets of the past 50 years
* Halfway Between Product Placement And A Commercial
* How Big A Problem Is Blog Plagiarism?
* Target Your Co-Workers With USB Air Darts

Do :

* Scott Blake’s Bar Code Art Clock
* Openomy organizes files and users online via tags
* Identify Syndicated Content, Use the Customizable Feed Icons

Download From Coolz0r :

(right-click, save as) [pdf, 611 kb, 53 pages]
* Advertising Age’s 19th Annual Global Marketing 2005. All Facts & Figures.

pray
Image from [here]

 

Chris Nolan On Linkage And Credits – Blogiarism Series

20 Dec 2005

Together with Jason Schramm from Shiwej, I’ve decided to start a guestblogging series which will run on both our blogs at about the same time.
Today (December 20th, 2005) is the ninth and second to last interview in this series, and we turned our ear to Chris Nolan, a website startup junkie from Toronto who’s currently in the running with two nominations for an award on Web 2.0 blog and SEO blog at the KBCafe Blog Awards.

1. How did you get into blogging?

Since pre netscape 1.0 days I’ve always had a personal website in one form or
another. Around 2002 I was updating it more regularly and didn’t want to lose my old content after I updated the main page so I started doing it ‘journal style’. I resisted at first to have it setup with RSS feeds and the rest, but after a disc crash in 2004 (ironic since I set things up so I wouldn’t lose changes) where I lost a couple of years worth of content I decided in my rebuild I’d include some regular blog features, and thus became a blogger by name. I think it wasn’t really until I went to my first blogger meetup, and met other bloggers that I truly identified myself as one though.

2. What is your blog’s name, what is it about?

Nothing too original, I just named it after myself (what is blogging if it isn’t tainted with bit of vanity?), I Am Chris Nolan.ca [rss]. By having such a generic name as well, it leaves me open to blog about whatever I feel like. I don’t feel compelled to stick to certain themes as really I just do it for myself, and if people happen to come by and read it and find something interesting for them, so be it (I have tag/category specific feeds too so people can subscribe to just what they like).  A bit of a wide summary of my typical posts could be described as a movie loving geek living in Toronto who comments and sometimes rants on aspects of technology and society as they cross his path.

I’ve also recently started up a blog @ http://Kekova.ca/ with my wife as we learn RubyOnRails together, and another one @ http://blog.kweschun.com/ called Kweschuns & Answers which is for a project I’m working on (shameless plug?).

3. Are there any policies you follow when reporting on an issue?

I don’t have any sort of formal document if that’s what you mean.’Reporting on an issue’ makes it sound all very formal as well, and I’ve tried at times to specifically keep my blogging informal. I just try to follow my own sense of what’s right and wrong.  Is this coming across as very egotistical?

4. What guidelines do you follow when linking to an outside source?

It is very rare when I make a post that doesn’t include at least one link to another source, and I often have many.   But again, I have no real policy on it.  Linkage for me is just such a built in thing that I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I think a lot of bloggers don’t really understand how the information is spread out behind the scenes in terms of what google and sites like Technorati do with the links, and some of the lack of linkage is more ignorance than evil.

If a link exists for what I’m talking about, I do my best to put it in.  I think we’re on a cusp of things where this will be made even easier to do by the different blogging softwares as well so that those that don’t take the extra time involved to mark up their posts can have it made easier on themselves.

5. Do you think you are trustworthy? Why do your readers trust you?

Of course *I* think I’m trustworthy, but does anyone not think that about themselves? Do my readers trust me? I guess I’ll have to ask them.  See that kweschun soon on my blog.

6. Do you think bloggers should be treated as journalists and be privy to the rights and protections that journalists enjoy?

This is something I’ve thought long and hard about and my opinion is still up in the air but definitely leaning towards no.

Trust in the main stream media is declining, but is 100 million voices in the dark the answer?  Maybe, maybe not.  If a blogger is to get the same rights and privileges as traditional journalists than they’d be expected to follow the same standards and code of ethics that traditional journalists do as well.  I don’t see that happening, nor do I completely agree that it should.  Where does one draw the line, and how does one communicate that line to such a diverse readership?

The age old problem of a journalist trying to appease their advertisers is now a problem for a certain class of blogger as well since they draw chucks of their revenue from advertising, perhaps that hassle alone is worth some of the journalist perks?  

If you haven’t read "What are Journalists for?" by Jay Rosen, it may be of interest to you.  Also "We the Media" by Dan Gillmor.  

That said, bloggers should be considered writers and their written word should be treated as such to round out the blogarism topic.  If somebody writes something that inspires or enrages you, write something about it on your blog and link back to the source!

Thank you, Miel and Jason for selecting me for your interview series.

linkingstartshere

Initiated together with Jason Schramm, this guest blogging series will continue to make people aware of the power of linking and the need to give credit to the people who earn it.
Together, we’re improving the Blogosphere, you can help too if you start linking here !
And be sure to check out Jason’s post here.

Note :

Jason and I are not related but have a common field. Jason writes for the BlogNewsChannel, and takes care of Apple Watch, very surprisingly the Apple section of Nathan’s network.
I sometimes write on Inside Google & Inside Microsoft.

 

Om Malik On Linkage And Credits – Blogiarism Series

11 Dec 2005

Together with Jason Schramm from Shiwej, I’ve decided to start a guestblogging series which will run on both our blogs at about the same time.
Today (December 11th, 2005) is installment number eight of the series and this time we turned to a blogging journalist who’s very well known in the blogosphere: Om Malik. Om writes mostly about the next generation of internet and he also has a weekly 20-minute podcast session with Niall about technology. Besides this he has a big archive of articles he wrote for the Business 2.0 website, where he is a senior writer.

1. How did you get into blogging?

I started blogging back in 2001, when I was working for Red Herring, a monthly business magazine. I got so much additional information on stories I wrote on a daily basis that I decided to share it with others. Of course, you know what they say…. out takes of movies are better than the movies themselves. same for me, I decided to publish my out takes.

2. What is your blog’s name, what is it about?

My blog is called, Gigaom.com /Om Malik on Broadband [rss]. I write mostly about the latest developments in the broadband world and how they impact the world of technology at large. It is an extension of my work for Business 2.0 magazine, where I write about the fast changing tech landscape and innovation.

3. Are there any policies you follow when reporting on an issue?

I follow the same policies as I do as a reporter. Three sources are a must, or otherwise the story is reported as a rumor. I never do single source posts, and have to confirm facts from diverse sources in order to put it on the site.

4. What guidelines do you follow when linking to an outside source?

I simply link to whom ever is the author of the story, and try and include folks who got me to the link in the first place.

5. Do you think you are trustworthy? Why do your readers trust you?

I think this is a question you need to ask the readers.

6. Do you think bloggers should be treated as journalists and be privy to the rights and protections that journalists enjoy?

Again, I am a journalist who blogs. So perhaps, I am not equipped to answer this question.

linkingstartshere

Initiated together with Jason Schramm, this guest blogging series will continue to make people aware of the power of linking and the need to give credit to the people who earn it.
Together, we’re improving the Blogosphere, you can help too if you start linking here !
And be sure to check out Jason’s post here.

Note :

Jason and I are not related but have a common field. Jason writes for the BlogNewsChannel, and takes care of Apple Watch, very surprisingly the Apple section of Nathan’s network.
I sometimes write on Inside Google & Inside Microsoft.

 

Marco W.J. Derksen on Linkage & Credits – Blogiarism Series

04 Dec 2005

Together with Jason Schramm from Shiwej, I’ve decided to start a guestblogging series which will run on both our blogs at about the same time.
Today (December 4th, 2005) is the seventh installment of the series and this time we go to the Netherlands to meet up with Marco W.J. Derksen founder, heart and soul of MarketingFacts, a notorious resource for all Dutch marketeers. Together with his army of bloggers, Marco tries to cover all important (interactive) marketing-related topics that are happening ‘now’, often scooping up the rest of his country.

1. How did you get into blogging?

It depends on what you call blogging. I started to maintain an online diary on a business-related topic back in 1997. It was a html-site that was updated almost every day. It was in november 2002 that I used for the first a real blogging tool with trackbacks, pings, rss-feeds and comment functionality. I started with a new job and was looking for a more convenient tool to maintain my websites. Until that time I didn’t know that I was blogging ;-)

2. What is your blog’s name, what is it about?

In november 2002 I started with Marketingfacts [rss], a Dutch blog about interactive marketing and new media. Over time, MarketingFacts expanded into a group blog. Traffic built to over 50.000 unique visitors and more than 200,000 page views per month.

3. Are there any policies you follow when reporting on an issue?

There are many marketing blogs in the Netherlands nowadays so I try to cover actual news and to be the first blog with scoops. To be the first I don’t always have the time to check the facts, for scoops especially, that is done afterwards (sometimes with consequences). For the remaining postings, I always check the facts. Issues have to be related to interactive marketing and/or new media.

4. What guidelines do you follow when linking to an outside source?

It is common practice to refer to both the original source and the source where I got it from. The postings are a mixture of content that is found elsewhere and personal opinions. Occasionaly we post related press releases as well.

5. Do you think you are trustworthy? Why do your readers trust you?

Marketingfacts is one of the leading marketing blogs in the Netherlands with traffic built to over 50.000 unique visitors and more than 200,000 page views per month. We have left the time behind us that we didn’t check the facts and the readers know that. And when we are wrong (we are still humans), our readers are the first to let us know in either the comments or by email.

6. Do you think bloggers should be treated as journalists and be privy to the rights and protections that journalists enjoy?

Marketingfacts is already treated as a serious publisher of marketing news by both the communication departments of companies, PR agencies and traditional publishers. This means we get the same press releases that are sent also to traditional magazines and get invitations to events just like the traditional journalists do. I don’t know if I want the same rights and protections that journalists enjoy as I’m not a journalist but a business blogger which means I have no educational background in journalism but in marketing.

linkingstartshere

Initiated together with Jason Schramm, this guest blogging series will continue to make people aware of the power of linking and the need to give credit to the people who earn it.
Together, we’re improving the Blogosphere, you can help too if you start linking here !
And be sure to check out Jason’s post here.

Note :

Jason and I are not related but have a common field. Jason writes for the BlogNewsChannel, and takes care of Apple Watch, very surprisingly the Apple section of Nathan’s network.
I sometimes write on Inside Google & Inside Microsoft.

 

Sivaraman Swaminathan on Linkage & Credits – Blogiarism Series

28 Nov 2005

Together with Jason Schramm from Shiwej, I’ve decided to start a guestblogging series which will run on both our blogs at about the same time.
Today (November 28th, 2005) is the sixth installment of the series and we’re travelling to another part of the world to let Sivaraman Swaminathan from Customer World vent his opinion on blogiarism. Swami lives in India and is Sr.Vice President of iContract, a one-to-one marketing services company. He has over 14 years of work experience in the 1-2-1 marketing field and he’s a member of the Institute of Direct Marketing in London.

1. How did you get into blogging?

I have always had a passion for reading and sharing. My friend, Nishad had
introduced me to bloglines. Having had a passion for writing, I found this to be
a useful and easy tool to share. That’s how I got into Blogging.

2. What is your blog’s name, what is it about?

My blog’s name is Customer World [rss]. It is everything to with
customers, technologies that affect customer experience and communication
tools that will enhance relevance, customization and personalization.

3. Are there any policies you follow when reporting on an issue?

I normally give credit to the source. I believe it is extremely important.

4. What guidelines do you follow when linking to an outside source?

I give credit and a direct link. Any article reference and words, I provide
a link so that my readers can have a access to the source. I think the key is
to have transparency and honesty. If sharing is true promise of blogs, then we
have to do it by giving credit where it is due.

5. Do you think you are trustworthy? Why do your readers trust you?

Yes. I would like to believe I am trustworthy because I follow some very strict practices of referencing my articles/posts.

The reason why they trust me, I guess, is the authenticity of the information being provided. And on top of it I have my comments and view of the topic. If you have a point of view on the topic and have a certain reputation that you carry, I think readers will trust you. I believe I am building-up towards that.

6. Do you think bloggers should be treated as journalists and be privy to the rights and protections that journalists enjoy?

Well protecting one’s idea or thought is a must. If you go back to traditional
papers and articles, they always give references. I think that is something
we must adopt. I don’t think we need to "exert" control but we need to"encourage" referencing.

linkingstartshere

Initiated together with Jason Schramm, this guest blogging series will continue to make people aware of the power of linking and the need to give credit to the people who earn it.
Together, we’re improving the Blogosphere, you can help too if you start linking here !
And be sure to check out Jason’s post here.

Note :

Jason and I are not related but have a common field. Jason writes for the BlogNewsChannel, and takes care of Apple Watch, very surprisingly the Apple section of Nathan’s network.
I sometimes write on Inside Google & Inside Microsoft.