Freedom of Speech Isn’t So Free

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While the First Amendment certainly protects your right to free speech, you know that it’s really not that simple. Just because you have the right to say what you want, doesn’t mean you can always say what you want, where you want.

The catch is that regardless of where you say something, there are always consequences. If you say something to your spouse that’s laced with sarcasm, you may end up sleeping on the couch. If a child says something inappropriate to their teacher, they may find themselves in the principal’s office. If an athlete talks back to his coach, he’ll likely end up running or sitting on the bench.

In fact, one of the best examples of not being able to say what you want, where you want involved a recent case of not talking at all. Last NFL football season, Seattle Seahawks star running back Marshawn Lynch was fined multiple times for his refusal to speak with the media.

What do all of these examples have in common, and why are they relevant to you as a blogger? They all point to one important fact: Free speech may be allowed, but you must be wary of the consequences. Each of these instances is legal, but they come with significant results. [Read more…]

Fighting Plagiarism – The Real Challenge

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Generally, it seems pretty clear what plagiarism is: when a writer uses work created by someone else without acknowledgment or attribution. In other words, plagiarism is when an author claims someone else’s work as his or her own. Although these guidelines seem quite clear, the problem of plagiarism runs rampant. Important to note, here, is that the problem can occur in two different ways. First, an author can knowingly plagiarize a work for their own gain. In another way, though, plagiarism can be accidental, where an author simply doesn’t know how to properly cite source material or attach attribution.
plagiarismDespite the potential for an honest mistake, however, all plagiarism can lead to serious consequences. According to a study referenced in the New York Times, “40 percent of 14,000 undergraduates admitted to copying a few sentences in written assignments.” The numbers don’t change much for graduate school students—30 to 33%—or writers outside of academia. Although plagiarism occurs most often in writing, it can occur in photography, filmmaking, advertising, or any other creative media. To hone the focus, however, and group many of these plagiarism cases under the same banner, the biggest challenge in fighting plagiarism is handling it in the digital age. [Read more…]

Blogging Battles: How to Handle Virtual Malice and Content Theft

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content theft

 

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Blogging is hard as it is. You read everyday, write like your life depends on it, put your experience, thoughts, insights, and opinions into each blog post, not to mention back them up by research.

You’ve been marketing your blog and getting traffic in spades. Ever so slowly, your blog seems to be growing in popularity and reach. Your readers begin to engage with you, comments seem to be flowing in, and a community begins to develop.

All of that is good until you hit the point most bloggers dread: you also begin to receive malicious comments or hate mail. [Read more…]