Stealing other peoples’ work

Stealing other peoples’ work & pretending very confidently that it’s your story is nothing but plagiarism. I’ve noticed that one of the dailies does this on a daily basis. They copy/paste the entire article without even making smart changes (i.e. removing the evidence that the story belongs to someone else). Perhaps they are in a hurry to scribble in the end that the monitor thingy is the one who has written the story.

They say bloggers behave as journalists while stealing stories from various websites. Bloggers are not that important, but newspapers definitely are. Moreover, those who are interested in world news or what’s going on in their own country won’t be checking out blogs for authentic news. Anyhow, what kind of journalism is this in which you steal your brother’s hard work & claim it to be yours? Mentioning the source would not just give it credibility, but it will also point out how honest you are. Lots of dailies mention the source & that’s how it’s meant to be.

The million dollar question is: How many people read newspapers? And those who read will know when you are stealing stuff from everywhere & pretending that it’s your story whereas it’s not. I think it’s laughable.

This is extremely disgusting & unprofessional. I never expected one of the newspapers in my country to stoop down so low. They have even left behind Urdu dailies that are into sensationalizing stories. Not that I think much of sensationalism & yellow journalism, but cheating on the public is not acceptable. People are not that stupid.

Plagiarism is nothing new, so to speak. Even writers have been guilty of stealing other peoples’ work. Speaking of which reminds me of the famous J.K. Rowling. It has been alleged that she too has stolen stuff from here & there. However, people admire Ms. Rowling for her smartness even in stealing. She knew how to steal just like Edison & she has written all that in a way that people of all age group actually enjoy reading the Harry Potter series.

The bottom line is not that you’ve got to be smart like J. K. Rowling & Edison while stealing. Smartness in this particular case is obviously missing, cause it’s just stealing. And they don’t have the guts to steal stories of biggies & scribble that monitor thingy on that piece.

And about bloggers who think they are professional journalists…I just have to say one thing: Something is seriously wrong somewhere or maybe they are playing a game called make believe.

I am also a blogger & it’s quite an informative, nice hobby where you don’t even know if a single person reads you or not but you know why I’m basically into blogging…I miss my school days (read submitting assignments on time) :P

But one thing’s for sure – if you’re into any kind of writing business, you’ve got to be smart & not just smart but really smart. And you get good results only when you work hard at a thing. Or be like Edison – hire the best & get the desired result. That is what we call smart thinking, Genius. You know if you’re doing a thing, then you must do it properly or you shouldn’t dare to venture. But those who know the truth still like Tesla better than Edison for obvious reason.

I heard bloggers believe they are journalists & professional writers :P

It’s kind of funny if bloggers seriously believe they are writers & journalists. But more than that I guess it’s lack of education to take such things seriously. I think people are dumb & naïve if they are complaining about it. In these 4 years even I have observed people presume that you have created petitions that you share on the blog even though the link is very much there. I think it’s humanly impossible for me to be everywhere in the world where they are abusing animals & I can’t take photographs everywhere on this planet.

Even when you provide links of certain write-ups, they presume you have written that article. When you cover certain stories that are very much in, they all believe you are the one who is investigating & they throw stupid questions at you. Which proves people don’t have common sense, to begin with. In fact when I share links on twitter, some people tweet as if I have written the entire article. Reading really doesn’t help them cause nothing seems to cross their brain cells. It just seems they don’t have sense, if they can’t get it.

When we talk about some dirty story, we are considered dirty as well. When we talk about incest, they believe we are the ones who indulge in such acts. When we talk about rape & sexual harassment, again we are the victims. But when it’s about domestic abuse, a bold blogger can never be the victim, since it’s hard to presume. You can only beat the shit out of a weak individual. You know these are myths & if you don’t know that then maybe you live in another world.

Some of us have written books that are available online & that’s one of the reasons why we started blogging. It’s another thing if we are not famous. Some blogger haven’t written any book but they are original & good. Most importantly, they are readable, which is a rare thing. Some bloggers share their personal experiences. Some just share pictures & stories. And yes there are bloggers who just copy/paste stuff. You get to know that as well.

You get to know the difference between gathering information & acquiring knowledge through extensive reading. Original idea will stand out. That’s how it has always been. Now if you do not know all of this, it’s entirely your headache. You need to educate yourself rather than complain about what bloggers are thinking about themselves.

To me, blogging is just a hobby. I really don’t care if anyone takes me as a serious blogger. I also don’t give 2 fucks if they don’t regard me as a writer. All I know is that writing a book is a fun thing. Working as a ghost writer & copywriter was not that much fun. Blogging is a different kind of experience. When you read, you want to share stuff & there are times when you want to express yourself. Blogging makes it easier for you to express yourself & what’s wrong with that.

Everyone has the right to write. It’s another thing if they are good or bad or just cheaters. You don’t have to be a professional writer to snatch this right for yourself. The world of internet makes it possible for everyone who has ever dreamed of writing but couldn’t pursue owing to a variety of reasons. And people only read your blog, if you’re good at it. Btw, they don’t even read your draft/manuscript in real life, if you don’t have contacts. But fortunately today the net allows such writers to post their work online & through blogging, they can let more people know about their work.

Moreover, bloggers who think they are journalists need to know some real journalists. Believe me, after meeting 4 journalists, you would not ever want to deceive yourself. They are highly unimpressive. Anyway, this is my opinion (not a fact).

More importantly, it requires a lot of courage to speak the truth & yes you have to have a lot of courage to hear it as well. I don’t think everyone falls under this category but this is what’s required in anyone who scribbles anywhere.