Tag Archives: slow down

Accountability. Responsibility. Integrity. Why yes, this is a bit like the ABC After School Special edition of If Emily Posted.

FACT: Copyright online is copyright offline. Content creators own their work unless stated otherwise. It is their call as to who, what, when, where, why and how their work is reproduced.

Forgive the screeching vinyl of this broken record, but I urge everyone to write it on their heart, or a Sharpie on their hand, or a post it on their desktop: Giving credit isn’t getting permission.

NOT A FACT: If you put it on the internet you should expect people to take it.

If there weren’t laws that said something to the contrary, I’d say that this was simply my opinion. But it’s not. It’s the law. You should not expect things to be taken. The world can’t function that way.

Here’s my concern. I watch as bloggers work hard to create clever, engaging, informative content. I also watch as marketers and social media gurus teach people how to build their audience, reminding them that they need to be placing content on all platforms, all the time. Posting and pinning and updating with new visuals that create conversations on their Facebook Pages or gather Pinterest followers, and ultimately, lead to click throughs to their sites.

Who are people willing to hurt to get those clicks? Who are you willing to hurt by sharing content you don’t have the right to use?

We need a Slow Internet Movement. We need to slow down the speed at which we are sharing. If we aren’t considering who we might be hurting for the sake of a few clicks, this blogosphere is going to fold in on itself. We need new content and new ideas in order to grow. And yes, those take a bit of time to create.

I was talking to Charlie and Andy, the duo over at How To Be A Dad. They’ve been dealing with a lot of IP theft this week. They work hard to create their content. High quality, witty and smart stuff. And you may have seen it, even if you’ve never heard of their site. Because you could like a TV show like GUYS WITH KIDS, who posted one of Charlie and Andy’s pieces on their Facebook Page sans attribution. (They have since added a link, but that’s beside the point really. See that whole credit isn’t permission business.) Or you’ve been to NickMom.com, where both they and Type-A Mom, Kelby Carr, have been dealing with what I can only describe as content integrity issues. In the case of Charlie and Andy, NickMom.com has a cartoon that is incredibly similar to one of their own. With Kelby, they’re using her very widely known brand in a parody. Amy writes more about it, here. (I’ve reached out to NickMom.com for their side. I’ve yet to hear back, but will let you know.)

As Charlie says, “We rely on sharing and attribution to build our audience and social following. It’s the only way that we have a chance in hell to possibly eek out a living doing what we love. Sites like failblog, funnyjunk and others slap their own logo on the bottom of a photo or infographic, often covering up an author’s signature. That’s tantamount to taking a painting and slapping a sticker on the the artist’s name. Why shouldn’t an author or creative get credit?”

When I wrote about Why Every Social Media Manager Should Be Good. Period., it meant that searching an image for an original source should be a given before placing it on a social sharing site. It takes seconds to do. When creating content, all sites, but especially those connected to brands, need to do their homework. Charlie and Andy would have been happy to work with NickMom.com. They have the same audience. It would have been a great business move for both of them. NickMom.com is seeing now that it is far better to engage rather than enrage your audience.

RULE: If you aren’t creating original content, you must ask permission before using someone else’s.

I saw this on Charlie and Andy’s Facebook Page.

Look at how many LIKES this post got. This cyber village has its own neighborhood watch. I can’t tell you how many the people have told me they learned about the misuse of their content not via Google Alerts or searching but because someone else told them.

This community can only succeed when we stand together and call out this behavior. People work hard to create their content. And unless we put the brakes on here, people will not stop stealing. Because the business model is now one that says you can only succeed if you keep feeding the beast, and yet, it’s one impossible to satisfy. No one is capable of moving at the speed of social media. This model is broken.

Imitation as flattery no longer applies in the 21st century. Imitation has become a desperate attempt to keep up. And at what cost?

We need to slow down.

I’m about a week late in the commentary on the New York Times piece, The Busy Trap. Because I’ve been busy. Unapologetically so. Often in ways that makes me happy. Sometimes not so much.

Walking the balance beam between print and online work, I can describe two very different types of busy. I’m working hard to meld the two into something that tilts more towards the print model I know and love. It can be ridiculously busy but with more white space on the page. More room to scribble notes and thoughts and step away to let ideas develop. The web lacks that white space. There’s always another link to click, site to bookmark, info to tweet, post or pin. Not much room for stepping away.

I probably wouldn’t have written more on the subject (I have in the past) except I saw this piece written about in various places and it stuck in my head.

I thought about it as I was busy trying to deal with computer issues (cue frustration) that had developed into full-blown problems (cue panic attack). I spent hour upon hour getting chummy with Apple Care for a two and a half days. I survived. (Even if If Emily Posted didn’t make it Friday.)

The author had some great points to make although I don’t really like the idea of judging one type of busy as more valid than another. I don’t necessarily agree that “Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day.”

By nature I am a do-er - it’s genetic. I feel fulfilled when I fill my days with everything from deadlines to volunteer work. Feeling fulfilled is not a “hedge against emptiness.”

Right now, I consider free time a luxury I don’t have a ton of. Having to defend one’s busyness is a guilt trip that no one needs.

The question of what defines “busy” is difficult in an era when we’re expected to deliver at a pace that makes it difficult to disconnect. Unplugging is a luxury when you need to pay the bills. A luxury when work is unquestionably inconsistent and the supply far outweighs the demand in so many fields, not just creative ones.

It was drilled into my head early on that creatives are expendable. Faster, cheaper, better - while unrealistic - is often the expectation. So, you do the best you can. I had a good handle on this when my work was offline. Writing, editing and photo involved the web, but it didn’t move at the same pace.

I didn’t grow up with parents who worked nine to five, so I’ve never known better. Maybe I had a lousy model. Hollywood is notorious for long hours. Busy means you’re working. Not busy means you’re unemployed. A documentary called Who Needs Sleep? examining working hours in various industries was sparked by a Hollywood tragedy fifteen years ago. An assistant cameraman on the film Pleasantville died after falling asleep behind the wheel after a 19-hour workday. (The filmmakers also created the non-profit 12on/12off.)

Fifteen years ago, we were living in a dial-up world. We still used film in our cameras. Things moved at a different pace.

Social media has redefined “busy.”

For one piece like The Busy Trap, I read a dozen articles and posts by people working in social media trying to figure out the mystery as to how they can do it all.

I don’t know if it’s possible.

Kind of like the early days of Hollywood, there’s a lot of making it up as one goes in the blogosphere. A blogger is often writer, editor, photographer/stylist and publicist all in one. For those trying to make a living at it, blogging can be a full-time job times five, with some better equipped to handle the juggle than others. Those who are hugely successful at it have often delegated many of these tasks, or at the least, have help. Regardless, the hours are long.

I’ve been writing online far longer than I’ve blogged, and this site is a facet of what I do. It adds to my busyness. And I’m not going to feel guilty about that. Not at all.

 

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