The prompt from ModlyChic:
This past week I encountered the topic of blogger copying twice. The first time was as I scrolled through the numerous bloggers doing the 30 for 30 challenge. I realized that after one person poses with an umbrella dozens others will. Or as Kendi poses in a parking garage suddenly 20 other bloggers appear in a parking garage. And then I was talking with Kinsey about some of favorite blogs and she mentioned seeing a blogger post a DIY recipe and two weeks later another blogger posted a very similar DIY recipe complete with the same wrappings. That got me thinking… how much of blogging is coming up with your own content and how much is mirroring what we see others doing?
1. What are the ‘unwritten rules’ about copying content that we bloggers should all abide by?
I think you should just always be sure to give credit and link back to the person’s blog! I did exactly this in what I pretty much consider my first real style blog post: I bought burgundy tights because I was inspired by a post on What I Wore where Jessica wore a white dress and burgundy/red? tights (hers are definitely redder than mine and P.S. that’s still one of my favorite blogger photos ever).
If I one day decided to go to one of the dirty and dark (and full of cars that might run you over) parking garages that are around here then I would definitely note in the post that I was inspired by Kendi Everyday. But I’m not likely to do that. Getting run over = bad. And Kendi’s parking garage looks really nice and beautifully lit. Parking garages around here are just don’t look like that. I pose with an umbrella all the time too but only when it’s raining/snowing. And I actually like to see recipes on blogs (I follow a log of food blogs) but I wouldn’t post one myself
2. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. But when it a post imitation and when is it copying?
I think it’s fine to take inspiration from someone else, especially another blogger because fashion editor and magazine looks are not always accessible to all of us. Taking a color combination or silhouette after you see someone else do it is perfectly fine but I would also link back to the blog/photo/whatever as well. But it’s definitely copying if your outfits just look a little too similar though, you know? I would definitely change it up with different colors, patterns, or shapes.
3. Taking another blogger’s idea (perhaps for an outfit, or DIY tutorial) is pretty common in the blogging world. Do you think it is necessary to credit the original source?
If I did a DIY from another tutorial I would definitely tell everyone that I did the DIY from _____’s blog, and this is how it turned out! But I personally wouldn’t include a tutorial because I’m far too lazy/impatient to take all those photos.
If I am inspired by one of my blogger friends I definitely credit and link to her blog, even if I was inspired by a color combination. After two blogs I follow wrote about wearing faux fur in their posts I decided to examine my feelings about fur ( I wear it) and linked back to both blogs and posts. I also told everyone those posts were why I decided to write about fut.
4. How have you improved your blog by comparing it to other bloggers? Have you made changes due to something you have seen others doing?
I decided to start taking some closer-up and detail photos (although I often still forget) because many bloggers do and when was posting regularly on chictopia I got a lot of feedback like “I can’t see your necklace/bracelet/shoes/whatever as well as I want to, can you take a closer picture”. I also made a facebook page for the blog because most people seem to have them. And I added AddThis to the blog, that’s pretty much standard on every blog hosted on Blogger and WordPress but not on Tumblr.
5. Have you ever had one of your posts copied by another blogger or publication? How did you handle the situation?
No, I’ve never had anything copied (at least not that I’m aware of) so I’m not sure what I would do if that happened to me!
