Attribution is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

…because Imitation isn’t cutting it anymore.

Look – I’ve written a lot of things online over the years. Enough to fill a book, if anyone were so interested. And I share it freely.

But maybe I shouldn’t anymore.

I have no problem with this, because Mark Burhop didn’t Imitate. He Attributed.

Let’s instead look at what I found today, on LifeHacker:

I only return messages left for me at 10 am, 2pm, and 4 pm. My phone’s ringer is turned off, and my cell phone sits in my purse. I call it my “Dr Pepper Rule,” because of the old 10-2-4 logo on the Dr. Pepper bottles.

That was an excerpt from another blog post – and you’ll note LifeHacker does an excellent job of attributing the origin of information and directing readers to the original.

My quibble is with how we define “original.”

Look at this post, from February 2010:

Time Management Tip: Returning Calls, Emails, and Text Messages on Your Schedule, Not Theirs

I’m offering up one of my greatest time savers here, today, just for you, Dear Reader.  I only return messages left for me at 10 am, 2pm, and 4 pm.  My phone’s ringer is turned off, and my cell phone sits in my purse.  I call it my “Dr Pepper Rule,” because of the old 10-2-4 logo on the Dr. Pepper bottles.  Remember those?  (I still love me a Dr. Pepper, real not diet.  Yum.)

Right off the bat, if you choose to do this, too, get ready for some backlash.  There are those who will be annoyed, perhaps even offended, that you aren’t picking up your phone every time it rings, or jumping right on their text message or e-mail in reply.  That’s okay, because this isn’t about them.  It’s about you, and your schedule.

If you will, stop and compare it to this:

I wrote the above and published it on my site in August 2007. Many people read it and linked to it, and that is flattering. It drove a little traffic to my site, and that was nice.

Please note, that in more than three years of writing Occam’s RazR, I have not run a single ad. My ideas, as they are, are completely non-monetized.

So, bear with me if I have a little problem with people taking my ideas and repackaging them as their own. For all I know, the author I linked to above was inspired by a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy of what I wrote. That could be the case with this one, as well.

That’s why Attribution is the new currency of Flattery. They are called Links for a reason. They bind ideas, and help trace the epidemiology of inspiration. The other plus to Attribution is when you are open in cataloging how and where you got an idea, then you have immediate immunity to claims of original authorship.

Yes, it feels good to see your ideas flourish.

No, it does not feel good to see your ideas generating money and reputation for other people.

Your suggestions are welcome.

Share Button

Comments

  1. Just ask major caudill.

  2. Jeremy Gordinier says:
  3. Jeremy Gordinier says:
  4. There’s got to be a way to figure out how much a post on Lifehacker generates in revenue. You should receive that amount and a bonus on top of that with an letter of apology.

    • I’ll say this for Lifehacker – they are meticulous about attributing and linking to the original work. Lifehacker also does a great job of giving you enough flavor of the article in question without reproducing so much of it that you don’t want to click through.

      My contention is that so many people are just plain lazy about linking back to the things that inspired ideas or conversations — and in that way we lose the “chain of inspiration.” I can’t in good conscience blame people who were inspired five or six generations down in the spread of an idea. But I can be angry at those who lift my content directly and profit from it. (And for the record, I don’t think anyone I linked to above is guilty of lifting from me.)

Trackbacks

  1. ikepigott: I'm looking for suggestions. Is it time for me to stop giving away ideas for free? | http://ike4.me/o44 http://ff.im/hetpD

  2. Sarah Fowler says:

    Attribution is the Sincerest Form of Flattery http://tinyurl.com/yzneh2o (@ikepigott)

  3. Attribution is the Sincerest Form of Flattery http://ff.im/-heQeN

  4. Attribution is the Sincerest Form of Flattery – http://bit.ly/9AT7dW (via @ikepigott) @lifehacker please explain….

  5. Best Fresh Content Pick: Attribution is the Sincerest Form of Flattery http://bit.ly/a0cuJA by @ikepigott

  6. kathy taylor says:

    RT @RichBecker: Best Fresh Content Pick: Attribution is the Sincerest Form of Flattery http://bit.ly/a0cuJA by @ikepigott

  7. "Attribution is the new currency of Flattery" … just came up with that… read more of my thoughts at http://bit.ly/a6dafy cc @ikepigott

  8. @LouiseT_PR interestingly @ikepigott wrote a blog post about just that topic recently. http://bit.ly/a6dafy