Is The Blogging Times “borrowing” content from other websites?
Earlier this week, Duncan chronicled the end of The Blogging Times only to have to recant this a day later when The Blogging Times relaunched with a new blogger and some less interesting posts than before.
Howard Lindzon, an investor in TBT, calls the critics of his approach at TBT ‘putzs’.
But the problems are deeper than what’s just on the surface with the downtrend in post quality – and the attempt to produce news more like ‘Valleywag’ than the substance that was posted when Minic was the editor at TBT….
And that problem is the use of other’s works without credit – and in violation of copyright law.
Here’s an example. In the post earlier this week about the Apple iPhone (this link is broken, by the way, due to a poorly configured wordpress installation over at TBT), Eddie Daroza used this photograph, which looked really familiar to me.
And it should look familiar, because the photograph is really from Engadget in this post – one that I saw for the first time while reading their excellent liveblogging coverage of Jobs’s keynote.
My own feelings on copyright are well known. Crap like this gives everyone in the blogosphere a bad name.
And I expect better from bloggers that choose to cover blogging news. Even a competitor.
Update – 3/3: This isn’t the first time that the new editor of The Blogging Times has been in trouble over using photos without permission.
Related posts:
- Vale The Blogging Times 2006-2007
- The Blogging Times returns: new name and heads down market
- When to Stop Blogging
- Aggregate Knowledge inks deal with LA Times on user-driven content
- The New York Times Company joins Facebook Ad launch
If true that’s just poor form, especially from a “news” site – they should know better.
How hard is it to give credit where credit is due – only takes a simple link and all should be happy.
BTW Matt, I agree 100% with your ‘feelings on copyright’ – anybody serious about doing a newsy site should read it (even though it should really be common sense).
By Martin Neumann on March 3, 2007 1:22 am
Train wreck.
By Loren Feldman on March 3, 2007 6:36 am
Mostly, I’m just disappointed.
I expect blog news sites to be better than this.
Matt
By Matt Craven on March 3, 2007 9:20 am
It just amazes me how arrogant Howard Lindzon is that he makes his little comment against 901 and then subtly taking a shot at Loren. This is an adult who runs businesses or a spoiled brat losing his ball on the playground?
By Tony on March 3, 2007 11:33 am
Borrow the content but ask first and then you add your own ideas and views…thats the way it should be!!
By Ashish Mohta on March 3, 2007 1:11 pm
No, you borrow the content if you have permission. Otherwise, you don’t. Period.
Matt
By Matt Craven on March 3, 2007 1:12 pm
Thats why i said you should ask them first to get permission.And the end you should link back to them telling you took permission or something
By Ashish Mohta on March 3, 2007 1:14 pm
Yes, Ashish did say that.
Whilst I agree 100% with the policy in general, strictly speaking, it’s hard in this instance to know if that really is Engadget’s picture or whether it was taken as a screen grab from the keynote presentation. It’s certainly been used in several places. So, it may not actually be Engadget’s photo – it belongs to Apple really – but then, it’s likely that the photo was taken from Engadget as the chances of independently taking the same frame from a keynote presentation are slim.
By Andy Merrett on March 4, 2007 1:13 am
I’m going to look into this, thanks!
By Ryan Block on March 4, 2007 4:35 pm
Andy, by the way, that is absolutely positively our photo. Where else have you seen it? Almost everywhere else credited us.
By Ryan Block on March 4, 2007 5:46 pm
I’ve contacted TBT and Eddie, he immediately took down the image. He then requested and obtained our permission to use it (with credit / link); we’re happy to share and share alike, and he’s got our blessing to use the photo now with credit.
By Ryan Block on March 4, 2007 5:57 pm
Ryan, thanks for the followup.
I just wish folks would use common sense and show others a little respect – bloggers shouldn’t be ‘borrowing’ (i call it theft) content from elsewhere.
Matt
By Matt Craven on March 4, 2007 7:02 pm