Keeping your business communication fresh is both fun and hard work.
- You tell stories
- You make videos
- You write books
Inspiration is found in some surprising places, but when you land the big idea, all your hard work pays off.
Just make sure that when you are out trolling, you keep your fresh ideas from turning fishy.
The following are a few examples of fresh ideas gone bad.
#1 – You’re grabbing the idea off the dock.
The great thing about social media is the sharing of information.
Blogs, forums and social networks operate on a sense of trust and community.
- Members share resources
- They bounce ideas off peers
- And test concepts before launching
Taking someone’s idea and racing it into your own production smells fishy.
I’m not talking about an invention, but perhaps an idea for a plot or a different way to market a product.
It may not have copyright protection, but that doesn’t make the taking any less stinky.
I know there will be those who disagree.
- Jack be nimble
- Survival of the fittest
For me, an idea shared in trust deserves better.
#2 – You advertise last week’s special as fresh.
Sometimes we feel like we’ve run out of ideas.
- Google any phrase and it’s been blogged about a million times
- Market your business communication and find the exact same title
Innocent duplication – most of the time.
- We are all inspired by others
- Give credit where credit is due
Serving up ideas of others as your own is a half-baked way to run your business.
#3 – Stealing the whole line, hook and sinker.
We saved the trashiest example for last – the thief.
- They scrape content
- They hide behind claims of fair use
- They plagiarize business communication
Plagiarism is a whole other kettle of smelly fish.
Fresh Catch
Keep your business communication fresh.
- Reel in your own ideas or create a new spin
- Recognize those who inspire
- Never take what wasn’t yours to begin with
Business communication turns fishy when professionalism takes a wrong turn.
You could end up in a social media dumpster, smelling like trash.
What other fishy shenanigans have you seen?
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I’m with you on all of these Cathy. Nothing rubs me quite as badly as someone stealing from me professionally. I’ve had people take project plans I shared publicly and run with them before the announced launch date (which is why I don’t share much detail with my readers before launches anymore, and I think it’s sad I have to do that). I’ve had plenty of blog posts swiped by thieves. Heck, I’ve even had an entire site stolen and put up on a similar domain (design included)! I had that sucker banned from ad networks and kicked off their host’s servers in less than a week. I have no tolerance for it. And I find it hard to respect colleagues when I see them doing it. Some repetition is bound to happen in any niche. But when it turns into a habit, it’s a real problem.
It is wrong on so many levels, Jenn. It’s lazy, unprofessional, and sometimes illegal.
I get that it’s difficult, particularly in the case of blog posts, to find truly original topics, but when you know that reading someone’s post was the catalyst for writing yours, why not give a little link love to that person? No matter how different your post may end up.
Thanks for sharing your stories, Jenn – horror stories. 😉
I have had my work stolen from another blogger. It was more than fishy. I had to threaten legal ramifications before she would stop. There were several of us and you know, we all are working hard out here to be unique. You can’t steal THAT!
So true, Martha, but somehow those that steal don’t get that. It’s sad to see how common this is. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I know others sometimes take my ideas and work to make them their own… I don’t worry about that much. When I find outright theft, which I don’t work to find, I ask them to remove it.
Making them their own is fine, but I still think giving credit for their inspiration is a nice thing to do. 🙂 Thanks for your insight, Anne.
Cathy: True, true & more true! I know that I grow tired & uninspired when reading the same ol’ info said in a dozen different ways. That being said, when we do discover some great new ideas/info, share the wealth…but do so ethically, as you stated. Give credit where credit is due. You’ll gain much more respect for sharing than for stealing, that’s for sure! Stealing is stealing…whether it be tangible items or intangible things such as words/thoughts/ideas. Thanks for telling it as it is in such an honest & straightforward fashion.
Hi Lynn: I firmly believe we each have something unique to offer and that helps prevent the same topic from becoming just another rehash. It could be we are tired of reading the same ol’ thing because it is taken from someone else and we don’t share anything new.
Thanks for stopping by and offering your thoughts, Lynn.
Oh, you set off my alarms. Reasons 1 and 3 are why I’ve copy-protected my blog. I work too hard and too long to have folks try to pawn off my work as theirs.
Reason 2 is what I call our politician special– or maybe the Kleenex wipes… Since they always claim new and improved for the old and tiresome.
Thanks for the laugh and the blood pressure elevation…
Amen, Roy! You’re welcome for the laugh. I apologize for the elevated blood pressure. 🙂