Blogging and the Associated Press - For the Associated Press
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The Associated Press isn’t really concerned about stopping plagiarism, because it plans on going after bloggers who are still linking back to their articles. True plagiarism occurs when NO CREDIT is given to the author. Linking back to an article is an informal way of attributing credit, and is a common practice in the Internet world. That’s why most sane webmasters won’t mind linked quotes, provided they are done within reason.
With that being said, what’s the real issue behind all of this? It can be summed up in one word: money. Once the new guidelines are set up, bloggers will have to pay to use quotes that are not within the AP’s "fair use" limit. The form for this payment can be found through this link .
Got a good look at the prices? If so, you’re probably astounded at what the AP plans on charging. The cheapest quote is $7.50… and that can only have a maximum of 25 words! Imagine if you wanted to quote 100 words on several blog posts. Active bloggers could end up paying hundreds if not thousands of dollars for quotes that should be free!
Even more disturbing is the fact that the AP has special "educational" pricing. Does this mean that the AP will go after students who didn’t pay for quotes used in their research papers? Hopefully not, but who knows how far some organizations will go.
Anyway, that’s the real deal in the situation, which is why these developments present many financial benefits for the AP. But this is assuming that: 1) bloggers are open to buying quotes and 2) the AP is able to take enough people to court to make a difference. And already, the AP is at a disadvantage when it comes to the first factor. Bloggers are incensed at what the organization has proposed… the last thing they want to do is give them more money. Plus, there are so many other sites they can quote from… sites that will subsequently receive a SEO boost if they are properly linked and credited.
Granted, the AP may not be concerned about SEO, but what would happen if thousands of bloggers at one time refused to link to them? Eventually, they would lose some of their reputation. This is the case even for professional journalists who would actually buy quotes from them. Like anyone else, if they believe the AP is being unfair, they will give their business to another company.
Next: What You Can Do >>
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