Last week style blog Fashionista posted a story about the Most Influential Personal Style Bloggers which ranked the fabulous Susanna Lau of Style Bubble second in the list. Susie, who has often been praised for her original content and ability to recognise undiscovered talent, has been accused of taking content from other blogs/sources without crediting via a comment under the Fashionista post. The comment stated:
“I’ve noticed that some blogs with larger audiences (a number of which are included in Fashionista’s list) often appropriate content from smaller blogs like the ones in the paragraph above. While being inspired by others is par for the course, what’s disturbing is that some of these widely read blogs do not feel the need to cite their sources. By omission, these popular blogs will claim the original ideas of others as their own.”
Lau responded directly to the comment saying:
“…who are you accusing in this list that re-appropriates content? I hope it isn’t me… because I work VERY hard in trying to ensure my content is mostly my own… sourcing my own photos, arranging them, writing a good deal, not relying on press releases and generally trying to make sure that i experience most things ‘in person’ as opposed to through the internet…”
The debate then continued with the initial commenter replying to Lau’s response:
Earlier today, Susie tweeted about the accusation:
It’s obvious she’s pretty concerned with finding the (alleged) instances of when she has appropriated content from another blog or source, and it makes me wonder the responsibility individual blogger’s have to their original source. There aren’t really any referencing rules in the blog world – it’s basically on the onus of the author as to whether or not they credit their sources.
If you have a blog or a website that posts original content – or alternately one that features words, images or music of others – let us know what you think about the rules of blogging: what are the circumstances for which you need to reference sources – if at all? Does it make a difference if you advertise or collect revenue from your site? Does the popularity and audience reach of the site also impact upon whether sources/artists/musicians/photographers be credited?
Let’s hear your thoughts.
PS Feck. Now I’m super paranoid that I haven’t linked to all the sources…
Main image from StyleBubble Phew.
