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WritersNotes.Net: Helping Writers Follow Their Dreams Through Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement!
Background: Work, Borrowed and Stolen
In my last post, I mentioned that I'd discovered two unauthorized postings of my work on the Internet. One of the two posted my byline and linked to both my blog and the blog I'd originally posted the piece to (though changing the title of the piece), and the other removed my byline, provided no link, and also changed the title of the piece. I've written all about the first instance in my previous post, Who Has the Right to Post Your Work? I'll cover the second, more serious offense, in this post.
Google Alert Comes Through, Again!
I learned about both these unauthorized postings of my work through Google Alerts I'd set up using unique phrases from my work. In the case of the second article, I'd instructed Google to scour the Web for the following phrase: "individual's simple personal musings about a subject." That's all it took. I had set up a comprehensive, as-it-happens alert. So, as soon as the Googlebot found my content, a notification e-mail, including a description and link to the offending website, appeared in my inbox. Finding my work was as simple as that.
A Visit to the Offending Site
When I clicked the link to visit the website that had posted my piece without permission, I discovered that it was a British blogging website. (My post was also, as you've likely guessed, about blogging.) There, unceremoniously gracing the site's webpage, stood my article, sporting a revised title, some added text, and three added links to other pages on the site (both of which had been placed directly into the body of the piece). Conspicuously absent were my byline and the last few paragraphs of my article. Needless to say, these things made me rather unhappy. And while I was glad to see that no one else's byline was on my piece, that did little to assuage my annoyance at this site's presumptuous handling of my work.
A Message to the Offending Site-Owner
I decided to send a message to the website's owner via the site's Contact form. The following is the message I left:
You have posted my article, "The Fascinating World of Blogging: Is It for You?" to your website without my permission, at the following URL: [LINK REMOVED]. This is a direct violation of my copyright as the author of this work. Not only have you used this article without my permission, but you have also removed my byline, changed the article's title, and made other unauthorized changes to the article itself.
If you would like to continue to use this article, usage rights to the article are available for purchase at the Constant Content website at the following URL: [ARTICLE URL].
To continue using this article, you must do the following:
1. Visit Constant Content and purchase usage rights to the article.
2. Replace my byline.
3. Restore the article's correct title: "The Fascinating World of Blogging: Is It for You?"
4. Remove the additions you’ve made to my article (i.e., your links using the anchor text "B___," "B___ blogger," and "Blog"--which you may place at the END of your post, OUTSIDE and SEPARATE FROM my article, if you desire to keep them) and restore any other changes you've made to the original article.
If you prefer not to purchase usage rights to the article (which are really quite inexpensive); or if you're willing to purchase usage rights, but unwilling to make all the changes listed above, please take this article down from your website immediately, as you do not have authorization to use it, and as usage rights to the article include all the above requirements.
Thank you very much,
Jeanne Dininni
The Website-Owner's Reply
The very next day, I received an apologetic e-mail from the site owner telling me that he'd purchased the article from a writer--and I use the term loosely and only because it's the term he used--on one of the freelance bidding sites, who had told him she'd written it. He also said that he'd taken the article down.
That was the point at which I realized that I was indeed dealing with outright, intentional plagiarism--that my article had been hijacked by an unscrupulous "writer" who felt it was perfectly OK to profit financially by passing off someone else's work as her own.
My Unsuccessful Attempt to Get to the Bottom of It
I was quite relieved to learn that the website owner had taken down my article--though I admit I did feel bad that he'd been taken advantage of every bit as much as I had. I did, however, want to get to the bottom of it and do everything in my power to put a stop to this so-called writer's cavalier selling of other, real writers' work. So, I sent the following response to the website owner's e-mail:
Dear A___,
I'm very sorry to hear that you, too, have been the unwitting victim of the dishonesty of this unscrupulous "writer." Is there any information you can give me about the person who sold my article to you that might help me track down this individual and put a stop to this so others aren't taken advantage of as you were? If you have this person's name, [BIDDING SITE] username, or any other info about him/her, I might at least be able to contact [BIDDING SITE] and inform them that this individual is selling plagiarized work.
For your protection in the future, I recommend googling a unique phrase from any article you're planning to buy before you pay for it. This will show you where this work is already posted on the internet and who has posted it. You may not always be able to tell this way (e.g., when you've purchased it from someone selling it through a site where usernames are the norm). But, at the very least, if you see it posted under several different bylines, that should give you a clue. You might also be able to contact authors through their contact info on their websites to check on a so-called writer's ownership of an article.
FYI: I discovered that your website had posted my piece via a Google Alert that I had set up to detect any websites that had the following unique phrase from my article posted to them: "individual's simple personal musings about a subject." As you can see, Google can be a great help in detecting plagiarism—either through Google searches or Google Alerts.
I do appreciate your willingness to do the right thing by taking down the article. And again, I'm so sorry that you were victimized by this so-called writer, who gives real, honest writers a bad name; and I hope you won't judge all of us by the dishonest few.
Sincerely,
Jeanne Dininni
No Reply--and that Nagging Question of Why
The trouble--and I admit that I do find this a bit unsettling--is that the website owner never replied to this e-mail, which was dated June 8th (about 2-1/2 weeks ago). This does raise questions in my mind about whether the site owner had in fact been honest in the first place when he told me how he'd originally come to post my piece. Of course, it's every bit as likely that he simply doesn't recall the username of the individual from whom he bought the piece on a website that thrives on anonymity and mandates no outside contact between buyers and sellers. This would be a reasonable assumption. Yet, I would have felt so much better to at least have received a reply telling me as much.
My Decision Not to Identify the Website
I've decided not to reveal the name of the website that posted my piece for two reasons:
1. The website owner promptly apologized and removed my piece from his site.
2. Though his lack of response to my request for more information about the offending "writer" has left me wondering about his honesty, I really have no proof that his explanation for how he came by my article is untrue.
After much thought, I've also decided not to identify the freelance bidding site, since this could happen to any such website, entirely without the knowledge or consent of the site's administrators. I believe the negative publicity such a disclosure might create for the site would be both unfair and unwarranted under the circumstances.
Should I Pursue It Further?
My nagging question at this point is, "Should I pursue this further?" I can't help but wonder whether I shouldn't recontact the site owner--though that would seem fruitless--or perhaps try contacting the bidding site directly and giving them all the information I have, in the hope that they may be able to track down the transaction--and, with it, the offending "writer."
I must confess that I would find it most satisfying to have this unscrupulous individual banned from the site to prevent her from doing this to anyone else there--though, of course, I realize that the value of this action would be limited, since she could simply leave the site and perpetrate her thievery on other unsuspecting clients of other freelance writing websites. But, at least it would be a start--a small step toward righting a wrong and preventing the perpetuation of that wrong in one cyber location, anyway. I'll definitely be considering taking this step.
Come to think of it, though, I suppose it's possible that this person could actually remain on the same freelance bidding site by simply changing her username and registering with a new e-mail address. So, it's really questionable how much good it would do to contact the bidding site. I'll certainly have to give it more thought.
That's My Story
Well, there you have it--an intentional hijacking of a writer's work for purely profit-driven motives. A blatant disregard for an author's rights made possible by the sheer ease and amazing convenience with which modern technology has enabled Web content to be copied and pasted by anyone to any desired location, either online or off.
Do You Have a Plagiarism Tale to Share?
How about you? Has your work ever literally been stolen--i.e., used in a way that was obviously intended to be plagiarism, rather than simple posting of your work to another website in likely ignorance of copyright law and with proper attribution? Has anyone removed your byline without your consent? Has someone actually sold your content under his or her own byline? Has someone had the nerve to sell full rights to your work? If so, what did you do about it? What was the outcome? Even if it hasn't happened to you, what do you think about the issue? What would you do if it did happen to you? What do you think I should do?
Looking forward to your thoughts,
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Have anything to add? Please feel free to comment on any aspect of this issue that strikes your fancy--whether or not your comment answers any of the questions I've used above to prompt thought.
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UPDATE: New content has been added to this post. If you first read it on June 12th, when it was first posted, you may not have seen the new additions. If you're reading it after June 12th, the changes have already been incorporated into the post.
An Issue That Affects Every Online Writer
I've decided to interrupt my Guide to Polished Writing series with a post about plagiarism and unauthorized posting of a writer's content to the internet. (For the record, I differentiate between the two because they aren't necessarily the same. It all depends on whether a writer's byline is left intact or not.) The reason I'd like to address these issues is because both just happened to me--with two different articles--during the same week.
"Borrowed" Content: When Is It Stealing?
As most of you know, my guest post, 7 Secrets to a Striking Essay, went live at John Hewitt's Writer's Resource Center (aka PoeWar) June 4th. That was a rewarding day for me, as my work went before John's audience--which is considerably larger than mine, since he's been blogging quite a few years longer than I have. My joy quickly turned to consternation, however, when I received a Google Alert which included a link to a website I'd never heard of, informing me that my piece was posted there.
When I visited the site (which will remain nameless, as they've since removed my post), sure enough, I found my entire guest post on the site, under a similar but different title--the very same day it had been posted at WRC. The blogger who runs this site, to his or her credit, had at least credited me with the article, leaving my byline and the link to Writer's Notes intact--and even adding a link to the comments portion of my post at WRC, using the anchor text "[original]." That part was commendable, and I very much appreciated it. Yet, I felt violated all the same. And this was in fact an actual legal violation--of my copyright--because this blogger had no right to post my article in its entirety without my permission.
Two Violations in One
In fact, by posting that piece, the blogger in question had committed two copyright violations in one--because not only had this individual infringed my copyright as the author of the piece; but since I'd granted John the exclusive right to post that article to his blog, this person had infringed John's copyright, as well. After comments left on the post by John, me, and Michele Tune (who's not only a great blogging friend, but who also has one of my guest posts on her blog), the blogger promptly took down my post. I sent an e-mail expressing my appreciation that this individual chose to do the right thing--also mentioning that the fact that my byline, as well as John's and my links, had been posted with the piece had not been lost on me. But I didn't receive a reply.
The Question of Motive: Does It Matter?
I often wonder what bloggers are thinking when they do this. I'd rather not speculate on people's motives; and I do recognize that there's a big difference between posting content which credits--and even links to--the author and posting it without giving credit--or even posting it and claiming that credit for oneself. Yet, don't people--and particularly other bloggers who presumably write themselves (at least when they aren't posting other people's work)--know that they have no right to post another writer's entire piece without authorization?
There's no question that motive is important--even though we don't always know what a given person's motive is. I certainly don't mean to minimize the importance of motive--or the mitigating effect it can have on a literary transgression. Even criminal law differentiates between crimes committed with "malice aforethought" and those committed in the heat of the moment. And while we can't get inside a person's head, we--like the criminal justice system--can use the obvious evidence (such as bylines, links, title changes, etc.) to draw some conclusions about motive and get a general feel for the spirit in which our piece was posted.
Yet, while it may make us feel better to know a person's motive probably wasn't malicious, the fact remains that even the purest of motives require the author's permission to post a complete work. As writers, we have the right to give our work away for free--if and when we decide to do so. (And I've done so many, many times.) Yet, no one has the right to take it without asking--though I suspect many are unaware of this and actually don't even realize they're doing anything wrong. (There may, of course, be cases where someone has used our work and we decide not to pursue it. That, too, is our prerogative as the originator of the work. Yet, again, that decision is entirely ours to make.)
Should I Be Flattered?
Many say a writer should be flattered that someone would want to post that writer's work to his or her own site; but there's something not entirely right or comfortable about that statement. We may be glad that others like our work enough to post it to their own sites. After all, it is a compliment of sorts. Yet, would we be flattered if someone "borrowed" our favorite jacket without our permission--even if the person did only want to wear it to a party where he or she planned to tell everyone there that it was ours? Most of us wouldn't be too terribly flattered, I suspect.
I'd be willing to wager that even fewer would be flattered by the pickpocket's admiration of their wallets--which brings us to the question of just how much the unauthorized posting of our work can hurt us financially (in cases where we might actually want to sell the piece so posted). And, of course, there's also the little issue of the potential harm such posting can do to our search engine ranking for the piece in question. As can be readily seen, there are many nuances to this issue!
Next Time: The Article That Was Intentionally Plagiarized
This post has grown far longer than I planned; so I think I'll save the story of the second unauthorized posting of my work for the next post. (The next one is worse, since it involved intentional plagiarism; but that's all I'll say about it for now.) In the meantime, I'd sure appreciate hearing your thoughts on this topic.
What do you think of the unauthorized posting of an author's work to a website not his or her own? Does it bother you to see it happen to other writers? Would it disturb you to have your own work posted without permission? Why or why not? Does posting the writer's byline and/or a link to his or her site make it OK? Or does it at least make it a little less offensive? What are your thoughts? Has it ever happened to you? If it has, how did it make you feel? What did you do about it? And what was the outcome? Or did you decide not to pursue it? (I, myself did that once.) Anything you'd like to share on this topic would be much appreciated.
(Note: The questions I've asked above are only designed to get you thinking and give you some ideas for sharing on this topic. Feel free to either use or ignore them when leaving your comment. After all, it's your thoughts that we're interested in!)
Awaiting your thoughts,
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Did it speak to you in some way? I'd just love it if you'd share your thoughts!
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4/8/08: I'll be doing a little experimenting with my blog's design, to see if I can find a way to make the default template look better; so please bear with me! Thanks! Right now, I'm attempting to make the banner ads look less obtrusive.
Why not check out my new "Writer's Notes Pillar Posts" section. You'll find a link in my left sidebar under "Spotlight Posts." You'll find blog carnivals there, as well.
Update (4/7/08): Orble has partially reconfigured my preferred template, but they've left the banner ads, which dwarf my blog's title banner and make for a very unflattering look. For the time being, I have little choice but to stay with this template until I (hopefully) manage to talk Orble into providing a link ad option for that template, in place of the banner ad--a real disappointment!
Update (4/5/08): Since writing this post, I've learned that the Google ad configuration which appeared while I was rearranging my sidebar was a formatting experiment done by Orble and not the result of anything I did to my blog. I'm very disappointed in this experimental setup and can only hope they'll come to their senses and return to the normal, attractive, symmetrical three-column design and get rid of the unsightly fourth column they've added to most of their templates--including the one I usually use.
This fourth column contains nothing but a Google ad tower floating in space, pushes the entire blog over to the left, uncentering it and making it appear lopsided and--along with the unsightly banner ads it forces upon us--makes a blog look extremely unattractive. I want to provide my readers with an attractive design--as well as helpful and informative content--to make your experience here more pleasant; and the latest formatting experiment simply doesn't help me do that.
The only good thing about all this is that the experiment is only supposed to last 48 hours, and it was begun April 3rd. Hopefully they'll stick with that schedule. If they do, I might actually be able to restore my original blog format before my blog is judged in the March Madness blog tournament.
Unless and until they do get rid of the new design monstrosity, I'll likely be sticking with this adless format--not because it's my chosen format, but because it's far, far better than the mutated version of my usual format. I hate gaudy banner ads, and the floating ad tower looks ridiculous. I really do miss my lovely, symmetrical design with one sidebar on the left, one on the right, and the blog in the middle! And I'm extremely disappointed that Orble would even consider such an unattractive design. My only hope is that they'll realize that the "experiment" has been a failure.
Stay tuned for further developments. In the meantime, please take a look at this Writer's Notes thumbnail, at AboutUs.org, to see what my blog should look like--and will, as soon as I'm able to restore it.
____________________
Blog Formatting Problems
Please bear with me while I work out my blog formatting problems. Some changes I made to my blog have created technical difficulties with my Google ads, causing them to become unconfigured and move to other parts of my blog and also causing the wrong ad type to be displayed (i.e., banner ads--which I hate).
In order to remove the unsightly ad problem, I've had to choose a template that has no ads (other than the referral links under the header); but, unfortunately, it's also one that displays both sidebars on the left side of my blog--which I find quite unattractive.
I've also had to temporarily remove some other items from my sidebar: my Helpful Sites for Writers link list, and the MyBlogLog and TheGoodBlogs widgets.
Please bear with me, while I wait for technical help from Orble. Hopefully Writer's Notes will be back to normal very soon. This is even more critical right now, since my blog is set to be judged in the Writer's Resource Center March Madness Blog Tournament in a few days! (Believe me, this was not the way I'd intended to make that announcement!)
Thanks for your patience!
Jeanne
____________________
UPDATE (4/4/08): I've replaced the Sites for Writers links, as well as the widgets for MyBlogLog and TheGoodBlogs, though I've arranged them somewhat differently than they were before. Unfortunately, I'm still unable to use my preferred blog format (the more symmetrical one that has one sidebar on either side of the blog), due to continued problems with the configuration of the Google ads.
Thanks so much, everyone, for your understanding and support! I really appreciate it!
A Few Comments Worth Repeating
The following information is adapted from a few comments I recently wrote here at Writer's Notes about online fraud. These comments expanded on the info presented in one of my earlier posts on the topic. I've decided to turn them into a post in their own right, because I believe this information is critical for everyone who uses the internet and e-mail to know--and since writers often use online payment processing services, such as PayPal, we must be particularly aware that we don't get scammed. (Many--if not most--people don't tend to read all the comments on a blog post, which means that most Writer's Notes readers have not had the benefit of reading this information.)
How to Tell When You're On a Spoof Website
Once on a website, if you right-click the webpage you're on and then click "Properties," you'll learn two things:
First, you'll learn the actual URL of the website--regardless of what they may have done to hide or manipulate it to make it seem like another site. (Note: The PayPal site's "Properties" window shows that the site is in fact PayPal, because it shows the authentic PayPal URL.)
Second, you'll learn whether or not the internet connection to the site is encrypted. If it isn't encrypted, it's not a secure site and therefore cannot be the real PayPal website. (Try this by right-clicking this Writer's Notes webpage. You'll see the exact URL--in this case the URL to this particular blog post--and you'll also see that this site's connection is not encrypted.)
Aside from the "Properties" window, another way to tell whether you're on a secure site is that the lock icon will appear in the status bar at the bottom of the web page. This is the only lock-icon location that indicates a secure site. If this icon is found anywhere else on the page, it means nothing. (Of course, it's possible that it could be found elsewhere on the page in ADDITION to the status bar--which is in fact the case with PayPal. But, if it's found ONLY on the web page and NOT in the status bar, the site is not secure.)
Apparently, some online con artists remove the status bar entirely to prevent visitors from noticing that the lock icon is missing. They then place an image of a lock somewhere on the web page to give the site a false air of legitimacy and security.
These things are so important for writers--and others--to know!
How to Avoid Phishing E-Mails
These cyber scammers are becoming more sophisticated, and it's definitely becoming more and more difficult to tell that their e-mails and websites are not the "real deal." But, there are ways to tell, and we can only do our best to educate others, hopefully helping to prevent them from becoming the prey of such dishonest individuals.
We must always be on our guard wherever online financial transactions are concerned--and of course, whenever we receive any e-mail that claims to relate to any type of financial transaction. It's absolutely crucial never to click a link in an e-mail that claims that it will take you to a website where you'll be able to complete any sort of "secure" financial transaction or where you're expected to "update" your personal information. I always pass my cursor over the link to see where it would have taken me before I DON'T click on it! Even if it appears legit, I visit the site via my web browser, instead of by clicking the link. If it doesn’t appear legit, I avoid it like the plague—and you should, too.
How to Tell When You’re About to Be Redirected to Another Website
In the case of unfamiliar web addresses that you type into your browser or copy and paste there, if you'll pass your cursor briefly over the "Go" button or arrow before clicking, you'll be shown the web address that you'll actually be taken to if you click "Go." (I learned this quite by mistake one day. I'd never noticed it before.) This is extremely valuable in cases where clicking a certain URL is actually designed to redirect you to an entirely different web address, hiding the fact that you aren't actually going to the website that you think you are.
(In the case just mentioned, I had actually been redirected to a site which supposedly sold cheap cigarettes. Maybe it was legit; maybe not. But I can't help but wonder why they would have needed to masquerade as an affiliate tool website in order to force traffic to their site if they were indeed honest businesspeople.)
There are many tools at our disposal that can help us to avoid being the victims of online fraud. But, we need to be informed that they exist and how we can best use them to protect ourselves and our vital personal information.
But, of course, knowing isn't enough. If we want to protect ourselves from online fraud, we have to take that knowledge and use it!
Stay safe,
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Have anything to add? Any experiences to share? Any tips or tricks you know of for protecting ourselves from online fraud? We'd love to hear from you!
Please note: If the StumbleUpon and other social bookmarking buttons aren't visible, please click the "Add Comments" link beneath this post. Thanks!
Fraudulent E-Mail Received Today
Here's the latest fraudulent "PayPal" e-mail I've received. This e-mail shows one of the most recent schemes used by scammers to steal our identities and our money!
In particular, note the following:
~The blank "to" line
~The generic greeting of "Dear PayPal Member," instead of PayPal's usual "Dear Jeanne Dininni"
~The "encrypted" link. This link is supposedly encrypted to protect me--but in reality, it's encrypted so I won't realize that the link doesn't take me to the real PayPal website!
~The sly psychological tactic used to get me to click the link:
Note:
If you haven't authorized this charge ,click the link below to dispute transaction
and get full refund
~The scammer's clever attempt at gaining my confidence by including a description of the high-level encryption technique supposedly used to protect my confidential information
The Spoof Message
fromPayPal < dispute@paypal.com >*
reply-toservice@paypal.com,
to
dateDec 5, 2007 12:29 AM
subjectThanks for using your bank account!
hide details 12:29 AM (10 hours ago) Reply
Dear PayPal Member,
This email confirms that you have sent an eBay payment of $47.85 USD to
[undisclosed]@yahoo.com for an eBay item.
----------------------------- ------
Payment Details
----------------------------- ------
Amount: $47.85 USD
Transaction ID: 2LC956793J776333Y
Subject: Digimax 130
Note:
If you haven't authorized this charge ,click the link below to dispute transaction
and get full refund
Dispute transaction (Encrypted Link )
*SSL connection:
PayPal automatically encrypts your confidential information
in transit from your computer to ours using the Secure
Sockets Layer protocol (SSL) with an encryption key length
of 128-bits (the highest level commercially available)
----------------------------- ------
Item Information
----------------------------- ------
eBay User ID: scratchandgnaw2
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ------
Edward Harrell's UNCONFIRMED Address
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ------
Edward Harrell
211 David St.
Springtown, TX 76082
United States
Important Note: Edward Harrell has provided an Unconfirmed Address. If
you are planning on shipping items to Edward Harrell, please check the
Transaction Details page of this payment to find out whether you will
be covered by the PayPal Seller Protection Policy.
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ------
This payment was sent using your bank account.
By using your bank account to send money, you just:
- Paid easily and securely
- Sent money faster than writing and mailing paper checks
- Paid instantly -- your purchase won't show up on bills at the end of
the month.
Thanks for using your bank account!
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ------
Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team
PayPal Email ID PP118
Forewarned Is Forearmed!
Beware! These scammers are all around us, and they are continuously dreaming up new schemes to fool us into giving away our critical personal information! Don't fall for their lies--or into their clutches! Read every official-looking e-mail very carefully and critically. If anything seems odd, don't respond! If the e-mail claims to be from PayPal, forward it to spoof@paypal.com. Forward other e-mails to the company they claim to have come from. Protect yourself! Don't let e-mail fraud catch you unawares!
To your safety,
Jeanne
* NOTE: I had to modify the formatting of this e-mail address to prevent Orble's software from turning the (opening) "<" and "d" into a smiley face icon. (This is why I've placed a space after the [opening] "<". For balance, I've also placed a corresponding space before the [closing] ">".)
This is not a sponsored post.
Did you enjoy this post? Learn anything new? Have any stories to share? Please feel free to comment!
Blogging to Please Our Technorati Taskmaster: Is It Worth It?
Lately, I've noticed an interesting phenomenon with Technorati authority and ranking: If you don't happen to be getting enough backlinks to your blog quickly enough--or if the Technorati search bot just doesn't happen to be finding them for some reason--the more often you update, the faster your blog authority and ranking decrease! Isn't that strange? Wouldn't you expect your authority and ranking to increase the more often you update? I would--and it certainly used to--before I hit the 50 K mark, that is. (But, more on that later.) My authority has dropped, of late, from a high of 135 to its present 127--and my ranking has taken a similar dive--despite the fact that I've been updating more frequently than ever.
Well, apparently frequent updates aren't enough to keep the Technorati taskmaster happy. Along with those updates, you need a steady influx of new links to appease the powers that be at the Big T! The funny thing is that I've been visiting quite a few blogs and leaving a lot of comments lately, but most aren't found by the Technorati search bot and those that are, don't seem to count for much, if anything!
I've come to the (perhaps obvious) conclusion that comment links don't carry as much "authority" (or "link juice") as links that are organically integrated into blog posts. This makes sense, of course, since having your link written into a blog post is much more a vote of confidence from the blogger than is the fact that you decided to leave a comment on someone's blog along with the link that's always included. However, you would expect these comment links to count for something, since they are listed among our Technorati Blog Reactions (aka backlinks to our blogs). And you would also expect Technorati to find more of them.
Disillusioned With Technorati: The 50 K Hurdle
I must admit, though, that I'm becoming more than a little disillusioned with Technorati these days. My ranking has lost its luster! My blog authority has left me flat! Twice I have broken the Technorati 50,000 ranking, and when this post goes live, I'll no doubt end up above 50 K once again. I'm seriously considering removing the Technorati authority widget from my blog, because it's so depressing--not to mention embarrassing--to watch my authority steadily declining rather than improving each time I update!
Up to--or rather down to the 50 K point in my Technorati ranking, things went quite smoothly. Whenever I updated, both my authority and my ranking improved. But something happened at about the 50 K point (which I didn't even realize was happening until I'd gotten as low as 43 K + and didn't update for about five days: my ranking shot up (which isn't good) to over 54 K in a single day, requiring me to break 50 K all over again--a slow and painstaking process! (During that period, the same busy-ness that had caused me not to update for five days had also kept me from visiting and leaving many comments on other blogs, so of course my backlink growth-rate stagnated, as well, which contributed to the problem.)
Irony: When Blog Traffic Belies Technorati's Valuation
All this is very ironic, because, during this period, my blog's traffic had been steadily growing--and still is. Though by no means huge, it's basically doubled over the past several months. But, I suppose it only goes to show that no algorithm is perfect. It's virtually impossible to create an algorithm that addresses all components of a blog's value--or at least, no one's doing it.
Alexa addresses the issue of traffic--but only among the users of its own toolbar, which couldn't be much of a reflection of overall blog traffic from all sources and which thus makes the value of Alexa ranking questionable, in my view. Alexa, of course, totally ignores backlinks and frequency of updates, which isn't a problem in itself, but becomes more important because its traffic stats are already skewed by the fact that only one segment of the reading public is involved in compiling them.
As far as I know, Technorati ignores traffic altogether, focusing on backlinks and frequency of updates--though often not even handling these in ways that seem fair or equitable. For example, each time we update, we still (presumably) have the same number of backlinks that we had before updating, and these backlinks had a certain value before we updated. Why do they now lose some of that value simply because we now have one more post on our blogs? Shouldn't our latest post simply add value to our already-existing links since we haven't actually lost any links and have gained a post? That, in my view, would be equitable.
Which Is It, Technorati? Is It Good to Update Often or Isn't It?
Personally, I tend to question the value of a blog ranking service that makes a blogger afraid to update for fear of losing hard-won ranking--thereby effectively providing a disincentive to update frequently. Is it better to update frequently or not? If so, Technorati needs to reassess its algorithm to stop penalizing bloggers who update frequently without amassing huge numbers of backlinks at the same time.
Reassessment: Are Blog Ranking Services Really Relevant?
Many are reevaluating Google in the wake of the current PR fiasco whereby bloggers have had their PR lowered--to as little as 0 (or no PR) in many cases--for so-called link-selling, causing a widespread questioning of the relevance of Google. In the same way, this writer is beginning to reassess the relevance of Technorati. While there's little doubt that many will continue evaluating bloggers based both on Google PR and Technorati ranking--and many by Alexa ranking, as well--which will certainly impact quite a few areas of blogging; I seriously wonder what any of these ranking methods can really mean when they reflect little more than the bias of the particular service whose ranking we happen to be checking.
What Do You Think? Should We Care About Technorati or Other Rankings?
Is Technorati relevant? What about Google? And Alexa? What do you think? If our Technorati ranking or authority drop, should we care? Should we be concerned if Google decides to "steal"--or has already "stolen"--our hard-earned page rank? (I know it's theirs to give and take away, since they gave it in the first place; but we did, after all, work hard for it.) Should we care that our Alexa ranking is based only on one segment of traffic to our sites?
If you have any insight or comments on any of these ranking services, we'd be very interested to hear your thoughts. If you have more to say on the issue than can be conveniently addressed in a comment and would rather write a post about it on your blog, please let us know in a comment and leave us a link to your post. We'd love to read it!
Looking forward to hearing your views,
Jeanne
This is not a sponsored post.
Did you enjoy this post? Have anything to add to the Technorati, Alexa, or Google conversation? We welcome your feedback!
Another Attempt at Identity--Or Money--Theft via E-Mail
I received yet another fraudulent, or phishing, e-mail a few days ago that I thought I'd share with you to help you avoid being taken advantage of, as well as to expose the unscrupulous individuals who engage in these illegal internet activities. (I seriously entertained the thought of leaving the return e-mail address in but decided that that would be irresponsible on my part, since it could cause problems for anyone who might decide to send these con artists an e-mail; so I've instead reproduced their e-mail address as "[undisclosed]mail.com.")
An Unbelievably Poor Attempt at Separating Me from My Money
The text of the blatantly phishing-oriented e-mail follows:
From International Paying Bank ipbn2008@[undisclosed]mail.com Nov 9 (3 days ago)
reply-to ipbn2006@[undisclosed]mail.com,
to
date Nov 9, 2007 1:46 PM
subject CHEQUE REMITTANCE RESPONSE REQUIRED!!!
ATTN:
With reference to your yet to be transferred inheritance funds in the
STB/ETB Banks in Lagos, after due consideration of the fact that you had
not been able to claim your rightful inheritance which from our datas
gotten from the Central Bank of Nigeria is $750,000 an inheritance claim
before the end of the last quarter of the year 2005, the Federal Ministry
of Finance has decided that all beneficiaries who have not fulfilled all
paperwork request for the
release of his/her inheritance funds to his/her nominated account,
should be transferred to the International Paying Bank of Nigeria.
The IPBN has been advised to pay you instalmentally,through NATWEST
BANK UK PLC starting with the sum of $250,000.00 (TWO HUNDRED AND
FIFY THOUSAND US Dollars) strictly by certified cheque , which will be
debited from the Government's foriegn account with NatWest bank UK
clearable every 3month after drawn airmarked for payment in the Fourth
quarter of 2007.
The cheque will be sent to the contact address you will provide to us.
The check will be sent to you via our official courier,FEDEX, to your
designated contact address . As soon as we receive your response: a
confirmation that you have received this message and you are willing to
receive the cheque, the cheque will be sent to your contact address. We
will require the following information from you to prepare the cheque
immediately in your name:
Beneficiary Full Name:
Contact ADDRESS :
Telephone Number:
Your response will be highly appreciated.
Best Regards,
Mrs Martha Kartaka
Depty. Remittance Director
E-MAIL: ipbn2006@[undisclosed]mail.com
International Paying Bank[IPBN] [SUBSIDIARY OF THE CBN]
When Greed Overcomes Common Sense, Potential Victims Benefit
The one good thing about most of the individuals who engage in this sort of identity-theft attempt is that they seem to be totally oblivious to some of the more ridiculous aspects of their scams, such as the following:
1. If they were writing to inform me of a legitimate inheritance that awaited me at their bank, they would most certainly know my name! The fact that they not only don't address me by name (see blank "ATTN" line), but that the e-mail isn't even addressed to me (see blank "to" line [more on this later]--and to a slightly lesser extent, the fact that they ask for my name along with the rest of my contact info near the bottom of the e-mail--are a dead giveaway that this e-mail is a scam, and a very poorly conceived one, at that.
2. As mentioned in point #1, the e-mail is not only not addressed to me, but the "to" line is completely blank. These people weren't even sophisticated enough to attempt to hide the fact that this e-mail was likely sent to an entire list of hidden e-mail addresses via BCCs (Blind Carbon Copies). More savvy fraudsters generally put an e-mail address in the "to" line as a cover, to lend the e-mail an air of legitimacy --though this is still a dead giveaway to those alert enough to notice that someone else's e-mail address is in the "to" line and who know that this isn't just an innocent mistake but a clue that fraud is the intent of the e-mail.
3. Not only is the e-mail atrociously written--note particularly the word "airmarked," which should be "earmarked"--but its formatting is also horrendous. This highly unprofessional--and equally embarrassing--presentation is a real indicator that the e-mail did not come from a legitimate banking entity.
4. It's extremely doubtful that any bank which had a $750,000 inheritance to deliver to me would ever contact me via e-mail. (That idea is actually almost laughable.) In fact, it's highly doubtful that the bank would contact me at all. I'd far more likely receive a letter from a legitimate law firm via snail mail--or perhaps international air mail, if from another country.
May Many Other Con Artists Follow their "Shining" Example!
No doubt there are other clues to the illegitimacy of this e-mail which I haven't had time to delve into yet. But these four certainly suffice to warn potential victims of the true nature of this message and others like it. Thankfully, these aspiring fraudsters have shot themselves in the foot in more ways than one with their sorry excuse for a scam. And we can only hope that many more e-mail con artists will follow in their footsteps and do as bad a job at phishing as they have done in attempting to hook their victims!
Don't Let Down Your Guard! Protect Your Identity--and Your Money!
Yet, the fact that many--if not most--scammers are very poor at what they do is not a good reason to let down your guard. Stay alert! Watch out for those unscrupulous individuals who seek every opportunity they can find or create to steal your identity so they can part you and your money! They are everywhere--and they aren't likely to give up any time soon!
We writers--along with many others--work very hard for our money; and we don't do it so we can give it away to those who have nothing better to do all day than sit around thinking up ways to steal other people's money!
Keep your identity--and your money--safe!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Learn anything? Have any insights to share? Please comment!
Problems With My PayPal Account?
A few days ago, I received a very official-sounding e-mail informing me that there were some problems with my PayPal account. Being the analytical type, I read it very carefully, and, while it was quite expertly written--and contained neither the spelling nor grammatical errors usually found in phishing e-mails--something about it didn't seem right, from the very beginning. And the more I read, the more I knew something wasn't right. I've reproduced the e-mail below. See whether you can figure out what's wrong with it--or what could possibly be wrong with it, based on whether or not certain actions had actually occurred. (There are several clues that this e-mail is not legit.)
From: Service PayPal <name@emailnet.com>
Date: Oct ##, #### #:## PM
Subject: Message from support, please Confirm your information!
To: othername@email.com
Dear PayPal Member,
As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the
PayPal system. We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your
account.We requested information from you for the following reason:
We recently received a report of unauthorized credit card use
associated with this account. As a precaution, we have limited access to your
PayPal account in order to protect against future unauthorized
transactions.
Case ID Number: PP-###-###-###
This is a reminder to log in to PayPal as soon as possible.
Be sure to log in securely by opening a new browser window and typing
the PayPal URL. Once you log in, you will be provided with steps to
restore your account access. We appreciate your understanding as we work to
ensure account safety.
Click here to restore your account access. [NOTE: Link deactivated. Basic URL formatting follows, but with extra spaces added to avoid creating an actual, albeit non-functional, link: "http:// ###.###.###.## / libsh.so / paypal / login.htm"]
In accordance with PayPal's User Agreement, your account access will
remain limited until the issue has been resolved. Unfortunately, if
access to your account remains limited for an extended period of time, it
may result in further limitations or eventual account closure. We
encourage you to log in to your PayPal account as soon as possible to help
avoid this.
To review your account and some or all of the information that PayPal
used to make its decision to limit your account access, please visit the
Resolution Center. If, after reviewing your account information, you
seek further clarification regarding your account access, please contact
PayPal by visiting the Help Center and clicking "Contact Us".
We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please
understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your
account. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ------
PayPal Email ID PP###
What's Wrong With this E-Mail?
1. First of all, while it says that it's from "Service PayPal," the e-mail address isn't a PayPal e-mail address. (You won't always be able to go by this, however, since there are ways of making the e-mail address appear legit.) In this case, though, the e-mail address was a dead giveaway once I examined it. So, do pay attention to the e-mail address, since it can be one way of recognizing a phishing e-mail. (Notice, also, that the "From" e-mail address is in a pale gray font that doesn't really stand out, which they hoped would prevent me from noticing it.)
The e-mail also isn't addressed to me--a safe bet that it was sent to a "cover" e-mail address and "BCC'd"--distributed via Blind Carbon Copies, a practice which hides the copy recipients' e-mail addresses--to a group of different people at the same time. (Sounds exactly like a mass phishing expedition, to me.)
2. Next, the e-mail claims that the company has contacted me about an issue with my account and requested information from me about the matter. As you might well imagine, I was never actually contacted about any such matter. (I suppose they were hoping that, though I would realize that I hadn't had any previous contact about this matter, I would be very eager to clarify that fact, as well as to straighten out the "issue on my account" by contacting "PayPal" immediately.)
3. You'll notice that this particular phisherman actually cleverly advises me to be sure to "log in securely by opening a new browser window and typing the PayPal URL." This makes him sound very official and totally legit. Yet, after a few more reassuring sentences about how my account access will be restored and how they're working to ensure the safety of my account, the very next thing he does is provide a convenient link whereby I can "Click here to restore (my) account access." (He hopes that, by this time, he's built my trust sufficiently to actually get me to click the link--which, by the way, would not have taken me to the PayPal site.)
The next paragraph then very subtly tries to pressure me into acting now--before I've had a chance to give the matter sufficient thought--by threatening continued limitation of account access and eventual account closure.
4. Another clever move this individual makes is to deftly disguise the website URL, making it appear to be the PayPal login page. When I passed my cursor over the link to check it out, I saw that the URL consisted of an IP address made up of a series of numbers followed by "/(subdomain).so/paypal/login .htm". (Again, you won't always be able to tell this way, since there are apparently some rather sophisticated methods of making a website URL appear to belong to a site other than the one it actually belongs to.) But, in this case, I could see that the real domain was represented by the series of numbers, which, of course, I would have no way of recognizing. This person has likely done nothing more than name one or more pages on his website "paypal/login.htm"
This e-mail manages to match the business-like tone of a legitimate e-mail one might receive from PayPal, one's bank, or any other financial institution. This is what makes it so potentially dangerous. And this is why you need to be extremely careful to check such e-mails closely, rather than mindlessly following their instructions.
What Did I Do?
The first thing I did was log into my PayPal account (via my web browser rather than the link found in the e-mail) and check to see whether there was in fact any kind of hold on my account. And, guess what? No hold.
Next, I tracked down an e-mail address for PayPal that I could use to forward the fraudulent e-mail to the company. (This is one time I was glad I save and archive my e-mail.) It turned out that I had an e-mail from PayPal which discussed "spoof e-mail addresses" and "spoof websites." So I forwarded the e-mail to spoof@paypal.com, and this is the reply I received:
Dear Jeanne Dininni,
Thanks for taking an active role by reporting suspicious-looking emails.
The email you forwarded to us is a phishing email, and our security team
is working to disable it.
-------------------------
What is a phishing email?
-------------------------
Phishing emails attempt to steal your identity and will often ask you to
reveal your password or other personal or financial information. PayPal
will never ask for your password over the phone or in an email and will
always address you by your first and last name.
Take our Fight Phishing Challenge at
Really Long Link to learn 5 things you should know
about phishing. You'll also see what we're doing to help fight fraud
every day.
-------------------------
You've made a difference.
-------------------------
Every email counts. By forwarding a suspicious-looking email to
spoof@paypal.com, you've helped keep yourself and others safe from
identity theft.
Thanks,
The PayPal Team
What Should You Do?
First, you should take the Fight Phishing Challenge at PayPal. This is a five-question quiz that will test your knowledge of the subject, helping you learn some facts about phishing that can help you protect yourself. (Note: You won't need to log in to PayPal to access this quiz; so, even if you don't have a PayPal account, you'll be able to take the quiz and learn how to better protect yourself from online fraud.)
Next, you should read the following article to learn more about how to recognize spoof websites and find out how to further protect yourself from the fraudulent practice known as phishing: What is a "spoof site", what is "phishing" and why do I need to know about this stuff? (This article was posted back in 2004 but still contains extremely helpful information that goes deeper into the topic than I have here.) I should point out that this is an anti-PayPal site; but the information it contains about protecting yourself against online fraud is invaluable. (You'll also find an article on spyware here, which I haven't yet read, but which could also prove helpful.)
Then, you should be very alert and cautious whenever you receive an e-mail purporting to be from PayPal, your bank, or any other financial institution or website. Pore over it with a fine-toothed comb, looking for clues that would either confirm or deny its authenticity. Never click a link in an e-mail to get to a website where you need to perform a secure monetary transaction. Always use your web browser and preferably type in the URL yourself. (If you use the drop-down box beneath your browser window, confirm that the URL is correct before clicking it.)
Finally, you should report any such phishing e-mails to the company from which they claim to have come. Fraudulent PayPal e-mails may be sent to spoof@paypal.com. (Other reporting websites are listed in the article linked to above.)
Freelance writers often use PayPal to collect payment for their work. If this is one of your payment methods, be especially careful. Don't be the unwitting victim of one of these malicious phishing expeditions! Protect your information! (Remember: PayPal will never ask you for your password, Social Security number, credit card number, bank account details, or any other personal information in an e-mail [or during a phone call].) Be absolutely certain that you are on the legitimate--and therefore secure--PayPal website before revealing any of this information!
Also note that the individual who sent me the fraudulent "PayPal" e-mail didn't know my name. PayPal's legitimate e-mails always address me by name--though addressing me by name is not in itself proof that the e-mail is legitimate. It's always possible that a given internet scam artist has somehow managed to get hold of a potential victim's name--particularly if that potential victim happens to be someone who is rather high-profile, such as a blogger. So, beware! Check the e-mail for other clues, and if in doubt, don't respond to it.
Knowledge is power. Learn how to protect yourself from internet fraud!
Cautiously yours,
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Learn anything? Have anything to add? Feel free to comment!
Many Thanks for Your Feedback!
I'd like to thank everyone for all your excellent feedback on feed-reading. It's been very helpful! You've given me some great ideas that will help make my feed management easier and more productive; and hopefully your comments have been helpful to other readers, who may have been experiencing some of the same issues, as well.
Feed Readers: Tools to Make Our Lives Easier
Feed reading is really a very convenient way to "visit" the blogs we enjoy--without having to surf all over the internet to find them. Having them all in one place is a great feature. When we look at feed readers as tools to help make our lives easier, we won't feel enslaved to them, but will use them in the ways that prove most helpful to us. If that means deleting posts that we haven't had time to read, so be
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