There’s always something to howl about.

One for the Authors…

One of the things I am most thankful for this Thanksgiving are the people who code, write, and give form to the internet. I am a huge defender of intellectual property rights as well as compensating those with links who author, post, and code on sites around the web.

I am honored to be able to write here and be one of the dawgs. I still feel intimidated by some of the great folks I get to write with here. I am well compensated for my efforts both with an audience and a place on the right hand of Odysseus’s blog with a link. With that in mind, please know that what I am about to say is out of respect for your generosity, Greg.

I am not a nameless faceless content generator. I am an author. I could not ask for more freedom and respect than Greg offers to us. Thank you, sir.

I am seeing three trends that are violating my respect of authors and creators in the real estate space and I want to get them off of my chest. Thanks for your patience while I do.

Ugly Trend #1: De-emphasizing of Authors on Group Blogs.

If you author a post on a blog that I have anything to say about, you will receive credit and links for your efforts. Simple as that. The current trend of consciously shifting the focus onto the domain and away from authors is offensive to me. Enough said. I got upset when Trulia no followed links to sites that gave them content (err..listings) and said something. Taking author links away from those who write is no different than no following them and I feel the need to be consistent. Good enough to hire, not good enough to marry? No thanks.

Ugly Trend #2: Content Stealing via RSS Feed

My buddy Kevin Koitz just guest posted on my Search blog about WordPressDirect and the increased ease of splog creation and the fact that it takes authenticity away from a blog / site. My antidote on WP blogs? This plugin or the one that is in Cheryl’s comment in the post link below. Load it and love it. Load some of his other good plugins. Now that I have added the footer, anybody want to syndicate my content? Knock yourself out.

Using RSS feeds to syndicate (as Greg posted) can be a VERY useful technique and a good thing. It also can equate to theft if you use it to steal content from others. All depends how it is used. Again. No link? No love. Write your own damn content if you think mine is worthless.

Ugly Trend #3: Website copying.

This is not as new, but has been on the rise lately. A friend in Atlanta just got a bunch of his site copied/pasted by three different people. One of copiers was a major real estate blogger who should have KNOWN better. (and does…) Folks, the people who write unique custom sites OWN the rights to their work. Just because you CAN right click on it, does NOT make it shareware.

The people who write code are AUTHORS as well. Their work has copyrights. Please respect them. (Or run the risk of getting a letter from a lawyer and some unwanted exposure online for taking others content…your call.)

Now that all of that has been said…I’d like to thank the folks who read, comment on, tweet about, and in general raise the level of conversation on the real estate piece of the web.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and my best to each and all.