Let's Talk About Sharing Content Online

Holly Becker of decor8 has brought up a meaty topic on her blog today about the blogging trend towards 100% original content vs sharing each other's content or some mixture of the two styles. She writes: "How can we discuss trends if no one has images to share supporting those discussions unless they take these images themselves – and because they don’t have the images they clam up? While it’s important to get permission from photographers and to link back, credit sources, etc. These discussions need to take place and should be taking place for the sake of our community."

As a content creator, I feel like chiming in. There are three factors I feel contribute to issues with sharing content online: 1. Ad-supported bloggers are being compensated for their content, and not necessarily sharing the compensation when they are sharing other people's content; 2. Content has been shared irresponsibly leading to fears by creators of losing control over their work as well as possible sales; 3. There is a culture of immediate gratification and urgent deadlines that do not allow people to take time to ask for permission to use other people's content.

On the first factor, I can say it can be hard to see bloggers grow their reach by generally being content aggregators, get ad revenue and make a living with their blogs but not credit responsibly at the absolute minimum or perhaps come up with a way to compensate people for their work by inviting them for a paid guest post.

Regarding the second factor, when sharing happens irresponsibly (hello Tumblrs and Pinterest), creators lose sales and this hurts them in a direct way. This has happened to me, and brings up the large debate over the issue of watermarking. If you watermark your work, people can find you IF your watermark is not stripped. But if you watermark, then people are less likely to feature your work. It's a tough decision for a lot of creators. There is also a very large risk of your work becoming an orphan work and losing your copyrights all together.

Finally, in the rush to be on trend, and our fast-paced lifestyles, who has time to wait to publish a post so they can get permission? Many people operate by the idea that they'll use the content now, apologize and remove it later if needed. I know I need to slow down and get back to my blogging roots when I would read posts and comment. If you are not using an editorial calendar and planning your posts in advance, you are less apt to be patient. I do not use an editorial calendar yet so I do not use other people's work anymore. I don't know when I quit but it was a long time ago. Before that, I tried my very best to use work with Creative Commons licenses or copyright notices on the sites stating it could be used with credit. Speaking of which, let's all take the time to create copyright notices and state clearly what we allow. Let's make it easier to share! I've got one in my sidebar over there on the right.

I have asked myself, "How big would my Pinterest account be if I was willing to repin every gorgeous un-sourced Tumblr image that crosses my feed there alone?" It is frustrating, not to mention blogging. Please know I am not speaking in absolutes here. I know there are so many ethical, wonderful bloggers out there who take the time to share the love. In an ideal world, people would share content responsibly all the time and content creators would be compensated fairly for their content. Unfortunately, this has been the exception rather than the rule. Today, I'm not even going to get into copyright infringement on the corporate level, a topic I am passionate about and have experienced.

I hope you will join the conversation too. It is a big conversation and I love to contribute and try to help improve things. Holly is right on the money when she talks about the power of the blogging community. It can elevate or not, depending on how the power is used. I am sure I was rambling a bit, but I'm thinking out loud. At the heart of sharing, there needs to be trust. When trust has been broken, it's hard to overcome. I know I feel vulnerable but I don't let it stop me from sharing my work. That would be giving in to the fear.

Have a wonderful weekend!