Earlier today I wrote a post about using content theft to your advantage by internally linking your posts. The spam blogs will steal your articles, chances are they will leave your links up, and you will get search engine juice, whether or not you knew the article was taken.
That post was illegally copied, but because I believe in giving second chances (I should have mentioned that in some of my previous articles), I told them they could leave it up, but they could never copy another article without my permission. Later that day I found out another blog had similar issues with the same blog, but they took another stance. They decided to get the article removed right away.
Despite the fact the blog was a spam-blog, I still feel that giving everyone a second chance is the way to go. Of course there are some exceptions.
Many spam blogs will steal content without giving any sort of credit. I tend to be much harsher towards the ones that simply steal an article and claim it as their own. This blog actually gave credit, which is why I gave them a second chance.
When I found out another blog has similar issues, I quickly looked at their post and read it carefully. The splog used my post as an excuse for their own actions. I previously told them to leave the article up, but as soon as I found this out I requested a take down. The mere fact they used my post as an excuse for infringement was enough to make my opinion do a 180.
So, was my giving of a second chance fair? I still think so, although many people will disagree. I have learned to use other people’s negative actions to my advantage.
Instead of thinking “I gotta get the post taken down right now,” I think “Well, it’s one post, they gave me credit, I’ll warn them but let them leave it up, which will be give me search engine juice in the end.”
The real trick is finding the divider in the middle, between giving a second chance and being mean. For me it is whether or not they gave credit. If a blog takes one of my articles but gives credit and links back to me, I will warn them and keep a close watch on them. But I can become a real asshole if someone takes an article and gives no form of credit (or if it is someone who repeatedly steals from me).
However, it all falls apart if someone gives me credit and gets on my good side, but uses something I wrote as justification for their wrongful actions.
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