I love to read. I read newspapers, blogs, magazines, cereal boxes, billboards, books, and the labels on cans of cat food. I am hyper-vigilant about acquiring data because I want to know new things and be a better person. In turn, I love to spread the wealth and share pieces of information.
The problem with being a hyper-vigilant reader is that I run the risk of misattributing my sources when I do share stories. Did I read about tiger attacks on MSNBC or CNN? I subscribe to US News, Newsweek and Time Magazine. Who wrote the article on Barack Obama’s Christian faith? (All of them?) Where did I see that cute cat video? Digg? StumbleUpon? YouTube? Facebook? MySpace?
I believe that the best blogs are built on a formula that includes relevant data + current events + an original voice. When I post on my blog, I’m always careful to recognize that my point-of-view is built on information that I gathered elsewhere. I cite the source of my inspiration because it’s important to give credit where credit is due, yo.
I’m not always perfect, and sometimes I think an idea is really mine when it belongs to someone else. As an example, I had a conversation with a friend and I said, “Did you know that Rachel Maddow worked at a car dealership?”
She said, “Dude, I told you that — and PS, I read it in the NY Times.”
Oh snap, that’s right. We just had that conversation. How could I forget? Duh!
I grant other writers the benefit of the doubt when I see another writer’s idea in a blog post without attribution; however, I’m self-aware enough to realize that granting someone the benefit of the doubt is a passive-aggressive way of responding to something that doesn’t sit well in my tummy.
So I want to share my Punk Rock HR rule of attribution:
- When in doubt, cite the source. When you forget to cite the source, apologize and amend the blog post.
It might be tough to figure out if a brilliant idea is yours or if it was influenced by another person’s terrific blog post; however, there is a fine line between being inspired and being derivative. I know that bloggers aren’t journalists, but as Maren Hogan so aptly wrote on Twitter, this week, this is not ‘Nam — this is HR Blogging. There are rules.
It’s simple, really. When in doubt, give credit to another blogger. Even if the idea sprang from your brain like the goddess Athena, the art of attribution makes you seem generous, thoughtful, and gracious.
Great post…and quite honestly, it’s why I almost never do a derivative piece…you’re like that too, you come up with original ideas. I’m afraid that too much of blogging is “Yeah, what she said” kind of writing. When you think up your own ideas, even if they’re an amalgam of things you’ve read, then they’re yours.
@frank No, I totally find inspiration from other posts. So many good ideas just floating around and I pick and choose from the bunch and then riff of them. I just try to add a ton of URLs so that people can find the original genesis of my idea.
That’s just good, honest journalism. Attribute when you can…and if you synthesize a new idea, even better. My point was more around the echo chamber. That gets droll in a hurry…original ideas and levels of analysis never do.
Laurie,
Did you know that it’s always a good idea to cite your sources, and if you forget to do so, to go back and do it later? Wait…oh dang, I just read that somewhere. Oh, it was here!
(Combining multi-feed reading with memory loss is a recipe for disaster.)
A good deal of my sources reside on FriendFeed or in Google Reader, so if I can’t remember where I heard a particular item, I can use the search capabilities in these applications to (hopefully) locate the original source. Normally, I tried to mark (star, share, like) items of interest to make them easier to recall in the future.
And if I can’t find the source, I apologize for not being able to cite the source and move on.
Now let me go check out Maren Hogan…
Well, citing your sources is just good writing practice! If there’s one thing they drilled into my English Lit. brain, it’s “If you’re unsure whether or not it’s common knowledge, CITE YOUR SOURCE!”.
I think I got that lecture in every class, every semester, from high school all the way through college. I’m glad that you paid attention, far too many people didn’t!
@Frank Original ideas are overrated.
@Ontariodude Good tips — be nice to Maren.
@LGeraldine I miss citations, but I try to go back & amend (& apologize). I’m not perfect, but I try not to be derivative.
Is giving the benefit of the doubt being passive aggressive towards yourself or the other person?
That is kind of a brain twister.
@hrwench OMG, is writing a blog a passive aggressive endeavor?