Andy Beard - Internet Business Systems Discussion - Latest Comments in Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

reverse mortgage dallas — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:29:06 -0000

In a way speaking about blogging insurance is kind of funny, in another vein, rather serious. Since a good part of my day is spent either blogging, commenting or searching for news, I'm well acquainted with borrowing from here, grabbing a snippet from there, all the while thinking, changing and paraphrasing.

On the flip side, I'd hate to see Digg, Propeller and others suffer from what is a very good way to get publicity (traffic) to your site.

The world and particularly the net is a constantly changing and evolving medium. Thanks Andy... good post. As for me, I'll add this then surf on over to Digg and see what kind of trouble I can get into.

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

reverse mortgage dallas — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:29:06 -0000

On the flip side, I'd hate to see Digg, Propeller and others suffer from what is a very good way to get publicity (traffic) to your site.

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Lori — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:52:19 -0000

Yes, I agree with you. There has to be some logical way to deal with this that is not the "letter of the law".

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Lori — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:52:19 -0000

Yes, I agree with you. There has to be some logical way to deal with this that is not the "letter of the law".

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Fiar | Conservative Political — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:24:17 -0000

The issue here is old media failing to embrace new technology. The AP is trying to take print media standards and apply them to digital media, and it isn't working, which is no surprise to those of us who have actually adapted to digital media.

It's just like the RIAA suing over music downloads, when it was clear from the start to anyone with half a functioning brain that they should have been embracing the technology instead of fighting it. The very first thing I thought when I heard of the music industry going after napster was, "Why aren't they selling downloads themselves?" Even with the ability to download music legally, they still want to enforce standards that simply are not reasonable.

I think the same principle is applying here. Instead of looking for the best way to compete in a digital market, the AP is looking to use brute force, and strongarm tactics to attempt to maintain control over content and it's distribution. What they will most likely never realize is that they can't control content and it's distribution, and the attempt to do so is counterproductive.

I hope that they see the same fate as the RIAA, which is to say, a serious decline in relevance.

Creating a news summary based on their coverage containing all the facts might also land you in hot water.

I'm going to have to agree with Ed Sutherland here, and say that they can't copyright the facts of a story, or even the rewording of a story as mentioned. You site a case involving an actual direct quote, but that is not the same as the facts of a story. If you're lifting quotes, I can see how that would infringe, but facts are facts. You can write the same exact story using different words, and it is NOT copyright infringement, any more than using the same chords in a song, but in a different order is copyright infringement. If that amounted to infringement, nearly every popular artist would be out of business. It doesn't work that way, nor should it.

The AP is doing a bang up job at relegating itself into complete irrelevance.

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Fiar | Conservative Political — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:24:17 -0000

I hope that they see the same fate as the RIAA, which is to say, a serious decline in relevance.

Creating a news summary based on their coverage containing all the facts might also land you in hot water.

The AP is doing a bang up job at relegating itself into complete irrelevance.

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Jessica Rose — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:22:40 -0000

Great to see you comparing these two together! =) nice article as usual!!

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Jessica Rose — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:22:40 -0000

Great to see you comparing these two together! =) nice article as usual!!

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Self Fulfilling Prophecy — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:07:36 -0000

I think that if you just blog with common sense then you shouldn't have anything to be worried about. People who frequently say the wrong things will obviously be targeted.

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Self Fulfilling Prophecy — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:07:36 -0000

I think that if you just blog with common sense then you shouldn't have anything to be worried about. People who frequently say the wrong things will obviously be targeted.

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Paul Fitz — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:35:17 -0000

AAP is truly a disgrace. The ironic thing about old media companies attacking new media (eg. blogs) is that increasingly they use the internet and blogs to provide their news stories.

I think news agencies are increasingly under pressure financially so they don't have the time to report as well as they used to. So they regurgitate stories from the internet. It is so often that I see a story on the front page of Digg then 3 days LATER it appears in the Sydney Morning Herald here in Australia.

So the companies who are VERY touchy about their intellectual property rip an increasing amount of their news off the net.
Jornalism is about to be shaken up bigtime by the internet and who knows what will be at the other end.

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Paul Fitz — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:35:17 -0000

AAP is truly a disgrace. The ironic thing about old media companies attacking new media (eg. blogs) is that increasingly they use the internet and blogs to provide their news stories.

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Chelle — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:29:36 -0000

It does seem like having insurance for your blog doesn't seem like such a bad idea - but I would want to know exactly what it is covering and it shouldn't be too expensive. You have to be really careful with blogging - everything from using trademarks to copyright & of course there are people who will steal your stuff without a second thought.

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Chelle — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:29:36 -0000

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Jon Cline — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:57:59 -0000

Thank you Andy for your coverage here. I was not aware of this case. Additionally, your readers in the US might consider looking into a Legal Insurance program here called Pre-Paid Legal. It is a terrible name but offers legal assistance and even court prep & defense for individuals and businesses starting at just $26/month.

It is what I currently use.

I can understand the need as Errors & Omissions insurance has been used in the publishing world for many years to offset this risk.

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Jon Cline — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:57:59 -0000

It is what I currently use.

I can understand the need as Errors & Omissions insurance has been used in the publishing world for many years to offset this risk.

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

DeAna — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:03:51 -0000

It's a difficult one this. I'm all for free speech however I recently became aware that a comapany, that saw themselves as a business rival (not individual people) had taken to posting derogotory comments about my business on social network sites. I support free speech but this is a different issue although related to the above. Should social bookingmarking sites (or those who syndicate their content) have a moral/legal responsibilty to ensure that they are not being used in this way?

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

DeAna — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:03:51 -0000

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Peter — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:20:32 -0000

I think this is a very touchy subject and it all depends how someone interprets it. With internet and social networking in full force, it's hard to control it.

Peter

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Peter — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:20:32 -0000

I think this is a very touchy subject and it all depends how someone interprets it. With internet and social networking in full force, it's hard to control it.

Peter

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Britt Phillips — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:25:12 -0000

WOW. I've seen it all now. Blogging insurance. At least Al Gore didn't get his wish and tax every sale made online. But that's a whole other debate I guess.

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Britt Phillips — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:25:12 -0000

WOW. I've seen it all now. Blogging insurance. At least Al Gore didn't get his wish and tax every sale made online. But that's a whole other debate I guess.

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

maximus — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:40:10 -0000

Associated Press has made it quite clear that the organization intends to put the hammer down on bloggers who quote that news service. As one who routinely quotes and links to Associated Press content, all I can say is, "Yeah, good luck with that."

At first, AP took a hard-line stance, demanding that one particular blog should remove seven pieces of content which featured quotes from AP articles and stating that bloggers across the internet should curtail the use of AP content. However, when faced with a swift backlash from a cross section of well-known and heavily-read bloggers, the news service took a big step back. The New York Times reported that Jim Kennedy, vice president and strategy director of The A.P., stated in an interview that the agency was "heavy-handed" and that A.P. would "rethink its policies toward bloggers."

Fair use doctrine not withstanding, this move by Associated Press is just plain stupid. Yes, as a writer who has had his own work "ripped" I agree that content theft is wrong. However, for a news service to come out against being quoted by blogs smacks of playground protectionism, nothing more. This is especially true when responsible bloggers are careful to properly cite their sources and link back to their original source articles. Associated Press probably gets more value from these practices than it knows.

If The Associated Press wishes to police the internet for violations of its as-yet-undeclared official quotation policy, I think that's fine, and I hope it has the resources to properly do the job. However, I don't really believe AP is fully up to the task. It would take about 300 full-time content reviewers to sufficiently scour the blogs daily for quotation violations, and a well-heeled, fully-staffed legal stable would be needed to attempt to enforce sanctions via civil tort law.

I'll give Associated Press a hint about one trick which works well for tracing the abusive use of original content; By placing a seldom used word, which I call a "ripper tag word", within your articles, you can more easily search the Internet for misuse of your content. One such word would be the term supercilious, as used to denote an attitude of superiority and haughtiness. I think that term well applies to the whining of Associated Press in this case.

Some more additional info

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

maximus — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:40:10 -0000

Associated Press has made it quite clear that the organization intends to put the hammer down on bloggers who quote that news service. As one who routinely quotes and links to Associated Press content, all I can say is, "Yeah, good luck with that."

At first, AP took a hard-line stance, demanding that one particular blog should remove seven pieces of content which featured quotes from AP articles and stating that bloggers across the internet should curtail the use of AP content. However, when faced with a swift backlash from a cross section of well-known and heavily-read bloggers, the news service took a big step back. The New York Times reported that Jim Kennedy, vice president and strategy director of The A.P., stated in an interview that the agency was "heavy-handed" and that A.P. would "rethink its policies toward bloggers."

Fair use doctrine not withstanding, this move by Associated Press is just plain stupid. Yes, as a writer who has had his own work "ripped" I agree that content theft is wrong. However, for a news service to come out against being quoted by blogs smacks of playground protectionism, nothing more. This is especially true when responsible bloggers are careful to properly cite their sources and link back to their original source articles. Associated Press probably gets more value from these practices than it knows.

If The Associated Press wishes to police the internet for violations of its as-yet-undeclared official quotation policy, I think that's fine, and I hope it has the resources to properly do the job. However, I don't really believe AP is fully up to the task. It would take about 300 full-time content reviewers to sufficiently scour the blogs daily for quotation violations, and a well-heeled, fully-staffed legal stable would be needed to attempt to enforce sanctions via civil tort law.

I'll give Associated Press a hint about one trick which works well for tracing the abusive use of original content; By placing a seldom used word, which I call a "ripper tag word", within your articles, you can more easily search the Internet for misuse of your content. One such word would be the term supercilious, as used to denote an attitude of superiority and haughtiness. I think that term well applies to the whining of Associated Press in this case.

Some more additional info

Re: Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

Monavie — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:04:10 -0000

I didn't know about Vlad's case, that is just ridiculous! And as far as the AP goes, why wouldn't they want people quoting them? I mean, as long as they give credit where credit is due. It's going to be a huge mess to clean up all the quotes and social bookmarks leading to them.