Blogging and the Associated Press - What You Can Do
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Now that you have a good understanding of how things are for both sides, you’re probably wondering what you should do to remedy the situation.
If you want to make your voice heard, you can sign a petition against the AP guidelines. An example can be found at: Unassociated Press. Numerous others can be found through a basic Internet search. Or, alternatively, you can start your own petition. One of the best can be found at Petition Online . Membership is free, and getting signups is pretty easy. Just advertise the petition on a few blogs, and the marketing will take care of itself. You might even get media contacts if your petition gets in the right hands.
Another approach could involve buying the quotes. Some may view this as a cop-out, but if you rely heavily on the Associated Press, this option keeps you from getting into trouble. Ultimately, it will depend on your own belief system.
Conclusion
All in all, the AP is right to frown on plagiarism. Yet, is it really plagiarism when a blogger uses a linked quote of 75 words? Most people wouldn’t think so.
This is not to say that there aren’t blatant plagiarizers out there… individuals that have no problem taking pages of other people’s content and claiming it as their own. But the AP is treating everyone like that, and it’s just not fair.
However, it remains to be seen if the AP is actually going to be able to enforce its guidelines. They do have some things on their side, as they are a large organization with a lot of money and power. In addition, new technologies like Copyscape enable webmasters to easily see whether or not their content has been stolen.
Even so, similar actions have been taken by the RIAA, the organization that started suing people for downloading illegal music. But did it stop piracy? No. Unfortunately, the practice is alive and well on a variety of warez sites.
So, it’s my guess that the same thing will happen with the AP, though I wouldn’t suggest that bloggers take any chances. If you can’t write the material right from your own head, you may want to buy the quotes or use content from sites that allow sharing. Ezine Articles and Go Articles are a few examples. True, they may not contain the latest news, but at least there are no worries over whether or not you’re breaking copyright law.
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