Have you ever wanted to quit blogging? There’s no denying it, running a blog is loads of work. If there was a big red button that I could push which would delete my blog, this past week I would have pushed it… repeatedly.
This is a rant… an all-out, sick of everything, stomping my feet, temper tantrum rant because sometimes we have to throw a fit.
This week I discovered one of my Huffington Post articles was scraped and posted on another website. The entire article was copied word-for-word!
I messaged this site and asked them to remove it.
The response I received back was less than favorable:
She credited me – so it’s not stealing.
*Ahem – YES IT IS!*
Thankfully I had this post from Jennifer Oradat on Beyond Your Blog to reference as I went through the process to get my content removed.
I filed a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice with their webhosting company. The response, once again, was less than favorable.
She reduced the post to two sentences with a “read more” link. She would also like to offer me free advertising on the post to make amends.
No. This is still unacceptable to me. Here’s the thing friends, when searching that post title in Google, the Huffington Post article shows up and pages later, my original post shows… pages after her scraped content.
I admit it, I suck at SEO (you won’t find me writing advice about SEO on here). I don’t have the time, energy, or money to fix my SEO, so I’m limited with what I can do.
That aside, I asked her to do the honorable thing and remove the post. I’m still awaiting her response.
However, copyright laws state that the way she has now shared the article is perfectly acceptable. Case closed.
The fight is knocked out of me.
Blogging is a lot of work… especially if you’re trying to make an income from it.
The easy part is the writing but as you all know, there’s so much more to it:
* I write a weekly newsletter
* I co-host a weekly hop (in which I try to visit my half of the posts linked up)
* I schedule social media shares and participate in social media regularly
* I curate pinnable images (I mean look at this post – did I have to create a graphic? What’s wrong with me?!)
* I regularly visit my blogging friends (which I’ve been terrible at lately because I’ve been so swamped)
The list goes on and on.
I’m tired. In fact, I think I’m border-line burned out. So I’m going to listen to some of my previous advice and take a break.
I don’t know for how long. A week or two or three? Whatever it takes to build up my energy and self-esteem.
I know this break isn’t for good. I love blogging. I love connecting. I love writing. I’m going to do lots of writing while I’m on this break… but instead of doing it in front of a screen, I’ll be using a pen and paper.
So, I’ve kept my hand off of the red button and instead I’ll take a break. I look forward to connecting with you when I get back.
With much love –
SHARE WITH OTHERS
That’s terrible, I hope she ends up choosing to do the right thing. Enjoy your break. Take all the time you need, we will be here when you get back!
Aw, Jennifer I know this feeling well and have actually decided for the summer to only post once a week, because I am also getting burnt and just need time off, as well. So I very much get what you are feeling and sending virtual hugs to you right now. xoxo
I am really sorry to hear that happened to you! That would make me angry as well… some people just have no clue when it comes to the ‘rules’ of blogging.. and stealing other peoples work/writing in general. These days people have no problem taking another person’s instagram pic and posting without attribution… etc. I hope you enjoy your blogging break.. I think we all need them every now and again…
Oh wow, I’m so sorry someone stole your work like that. I’d be livid too.
Sometimes breaks are needed. It can help clear your head.
Hurry back!
We all need to take a step back sometime and recharge. Enjoy your time away, soak up the sun and recharge. I look forward to you returning.
I am so sorry. I have seen one of my posts copied word for word as well! Except credit wasn’t even given to me :( NOT ok
I hope you enjoy your break – I think we ALL need them, so enjoy!!! Get some rest and we will be waiting for you to come back when you are ready!
I am so right there with you. Blogging is a never ending amount of work to be done and that stinks for someone to take your content.
{big hugs} and enjoy your well deserved break!
~ Ashley
I’m looking forward to hearing that this blogger took down your work entirely. Enjoy your blogging rest. It will be great for you! When you return, I have no doubt that you’ll be back in the blogging game, enjoying it as usual. :) There’s no shame in breaks. It just equals a blogger’s vacation, which everyone is entitled to or else the burnout will just get worse and worse.
Hugs xox,
Monica
I am so sorry. How disheartening. Take some well deserved R&R, and then come back to us! Love your blog and linkup. It’s obvious that you really put a lot of care and effort into connecting with others online. Quite an inspiration to me and many other bloggers!
Unacceptable. I am so sorry.
I’m so sorry this happened to you. There is definitely a negative side to blogging but I hope it doesn’t stop you. I think a break is a good thing. Sometimes we just need to step away and take some time to regroup. I really hope this other blogger just does the right thing and takes down the post!
I think I suck at SEO also. Unless it’s automatic it’s not happening on my blog. It truly was so much more fun back in the day when I wasn’t worried about all that stuff.
I’m sorry to hear about that. It’s lucky that you found the post, and it wasn’t just sitting there getting all it’s glory without proper credit where it was due. Taking a break is beneficial. Blogging takes a bit of a toll, and we’ve all been there. And as much as we love seeing you here, you need a break to keep your momentum going. What good is a product and a brand if the producer isn’t in tip-top shape, right? Take as much time as you need. Have a glass of whine, do some cloud watching, binge watch a show or two on netflix, and get your mind off of it for a bit. We’ll all be here when you get back.
Jennifer, that does hurt when someone takes your words, even if they give “credit.” Sometimes I think there’s malice behind it; sometimes it might just be incompetence. Either way, it’s not right, and I’m sorry your content was filched.
As for the break: take it. It’s good to step back and refocus periodically, and I hope the hiatus provides some valuable rest and perspective for you. Love you!
OH friend, I am just so sorry you had to deal with this!! What a mess. Please take all the time you need, and the burn out part I totally get. I’ve been scaling back HUGE since the kids have been out of school, and it will stay that way- for now at least.
Sometimes, it’s worth the time out. No matter how much we love the connecting and writing- it’s WEARING!!! Exhausting and overwhelming!
Take good care of YOURSELF, okay?
<3
I’m sorry that happened to you! I hope you enjoy your break and come back feeling refreshed.
Jennifer, I pray that the time you take off will rejuvenate you. That during this time, you will feel God’s peace and that you will find amazing rest in Him.
While you will be missed, I know you will return with astounding grace, strength and dignity. You will have wonderful content to write and encourage. I know this – I am confident of it.
Take care and have a wonderful rest my friend.
I get it. Scrapers are the bane of every blogger, I think.
I’m so sorry Jennifer! There was one site that scraped up a couple of my HuffPost pieces, but, when I found out about it, it was taken down before I had a chance to do anything because they had done the same to several other bloggers. It is so frustrating, though! And, I don’t do much SEO stuff at all. Anyway, I hope you don’t quit, but you definitely deserve a break. Enjoy your time away!
I think you are making a wise choice! I am sorry though that you are feeling so burned out. Hopefully a good long break will help renew and refresh your mind and spirit. Hopefully it is not too long a break though :)
I am so sorry, Jennifer! you are an awesome, selfless blogger. You deserve a break, sweet lady. It has been eleven days since my last post and I have thought up so much good stuff I want to blog about so I just draft it and I will wait to post when I am ready. Right now, real life is pressing hard on all sides so I will jump back in when I can. Grace and peace, Sharon
Awww, so sorry sorry you had to deal with that. But yes we ask need a break some time. Take it, enjoy it, and you will come back with new energy, new ideas, and ready to knock the ball out the park. Enjoy your break my friend!
This is truly despicable. Blogging is time consuming, and for someone else to be so….. Unoriginal is the only word I can think of at this moment is truly sad. Doesn’t show much character on their behalf.
I wish you much peace and rejuvenation on your break.
Argh I despise scrapers, I once spent an entire day sending cease & desists – totally ruined my day & really steals your mojo. I’m sorry this happened Jennifer, it’s such an awful violated feeling you get when it happens. I can say that you have to take the positive from (what a wise blogger once told me & what I try to tell myself when it happens) the situation… If your writing sucked no one would want to steal it – they steal it because it’s freakin’ amazing – that’s huge, look at it like a huge compliment & then…. pound them legally ;) love ya mama! And seriously you do more in social interaction as a blogger than I ever do these days. You should be proud of all your supporters – just look at this thread of comments – so much love is being sent your way :) xo
Jennifer, I always appreciate the fact that you do take the time to visit and comment on posts who have linked to your blog hop. I know it takes a lot of work and time. So sorry to hear someone has stolen your hard work. I sure hope she is convicted to take it down. Enjoy your break!
It makes me so sad that you’re going through this :( We will still be here when you come back. Im glad you’re taking the time you need to figure things out! :)
Well, I’ve got nothing nice to say about the thievery so I won’t say anything at all. (Thumper’s Mama would be proud). When you’re burnt out – take that break! You need it! But please come back to it! I look forward to reading your posts and won’t settle for any copycats. I hope the thief does the right thing.
Oh Jennifer, I really feel for you. You put your heart and soul into your blog and to think that someone thinks it’s acceptable to steal your work, is wrong (whether the laws says so or not).
To think that your wishes to have also been ignored is also infuriating. What happened to common courtesy and respect? It’s why I find people confusing, I just don’t understand them sometimes!
Take a deep breath and a nice break, and for the sake of your sanity try to let it go. It would be a shame to let this person get you down for too long.
xx
I’m so sorry you’re burned out. It sounds like a break is just what you need. I hope you’ll be refreshed during your time away and will come back with a new zest for blogging. I don’t want your blog to go away. :-)
I’m sorry this happened to you, some people are so inconsiderate. I understand why you would be upset! Enjoy your break. .. but not for too long as I just found your blog today and I’d like to keep reading :)
Take a break, refresh, regroup and keep writing. You touch many lives and don’t let someone take that spirit away from you. I always look forward to your messages in my bloglovin feed. I’ll be praying for you my friend.
I am so sorry my dear friend. This is awful.
Please don’t quit, I know you are doing a good job and God knows that too.
You will have a breakthrough soon. Just Hanging there.
A miracle? Of course my dear friend a miracle.
Please don’t go, you are blessing people really you are.
God bless and do enjoy your break.
Hi Jennifer! I say ‘good for you’. It’s summer, and you could use some down time to be with the kids anyway.
I remember when I went to a fellow bloggers site, to find she had taken an image I had up on the blog and pasted it on hers. I called her out on it (gently) and she did apologize. The web is the ‘wild west’, and laws are sketchy. What’s sad is, I’m sure if your problem blogger asked if you would guest-post with that content, you would have agreed.
Take a deep breath my friend. Enjoy a bit of a rest. You’ll know when the time is right to come back, and you’ll be ready and better for it. I’m sorry for your troubles…
Blessings and prayers,
Ceil
That’s awful. People don’t get how much work running a blog is. Take a break and recharge. We all need to walk away sometimes to remember why we do this.
Oh Jennifer! I’m so sorry! That is EXTREMELY frustrating. You write such great content, it’s no wonder, but definitely not right or fair. I hope they take it off and that you can enjoy some time away to breathe freely. *hug for you!
Oh honey, that is EXHAUSTING!!!
I’m so sorry you’ve had a week like that… It is totally, utterly, completely exhausting, and yes then you’re sat there at the end of the day wondering ‘what on earth is the point!’.
Have a break. ENJOY your break. A mighty plan will dawn <3
I don't even know if you're reading comments… But HUGE HUGE hugs to you whenever you do :-)
What a mess! Ahh all the work of blogging can easily wear and tear. Take a break and come back refreshed and ready to go! Don’t quit- you are an inspiration and encouragement to so many. Hope you have some good down time :)
Hi Jennifer,
I cannot believe she would not take down your blog post that she scrapped! That’s just horrible and I’m so sorry to hear that it happened to you.
I know how you feel about wanting to quit blogging as I have been struggling with the same thing lately. I hope this break is everything you need it to be.
Sorry I haven’t stopped by in awhile but real life keeps getting in the way of everything lately.
Wishing you a relaxing and rejuvenating blog vacation and I’ll be back again when you’re back as I have missed you.
Much love,
Lysa xx
I am so sorry to read this. Awful that someone stole your work. And, of course, trying to sort it out is just so exhausting. Blogging is hard enough work without unnecessary stress like this. Have a wonderful break, you deserve some time off, and you will come back rejuvenated and refreshed. I have to thank you again for commenting on my blog, with all this going on, it was so kind of you to stop by.
Jennifer, I know I’ve already told you but I’m so sorry that happened! And the fact that she won’t take it down is insane! We all have times of burnout, so just know that we will all be here for you when you decide to start writing again. Blogging is a lot of work and even today I’m considering quitting because I’m not making much $$ and I have other things I want to do. It is not an easy job that’s for sure.
xoxo
I am so sorry to read about that.
When I used to write about games, there was this other ‘blogger’ who literally copied everything I posted on a daily basis. Even images, everything.
I leaving the link to my SEO for beginners blog. If it can be of any help.
Take your time and come back stronger.
Hi Jennifer,
I’ve been away becoming a grandmother so I missed this post until today. I totally understand your frustration and wish I had some great words of wisdom to share with you. All I can say is I’m sorry this happened and I hope you’ll come back. I know I enjoy reading your content as I’m sure you’re readers do to.
Imitation (or stealing) is the best form of flattery! ( or not ). Enjoy your break. Everyone needs one now and again
Oh no! I’m so sorry this happened to you! Take a break, take deep breaths, and take the time that you need. But don’t be scared to come back and do blogging the way YOU love to do it! Whether that’s doing all the things you’re doing now, or whether that’s going a little slower… slow and steady wins the race ;) You’ve got this!
We all need to take a break from time to time. I have done it many times and have always come back bigger, better and more inspired. So take that break, enjoy it and get your fire back.
That’s terrible to work so hard and have someone else take your content! I hope your blogging break is enjoyable. I’m sure it will generate new writing ideas and be refreshing!
Oh wow! That’s low. I’m so sorry that has happened to you. There is no way that it is acceptable to merely shorten a post and have that be “okay” by copyright standards. I can’t believe this! I thought those laws were there to protect the author, not just make it easier to be stolen.
That’s terrible. How can we prevent this from happening to us? I am such a newbie to everything that I would be totally stressed if this happened to me.
How discouraging to have all your hard work stolen, and not even a bit of remorse from the person! I am sorry this happened to you, I hope she does right thing. In the meantime, have a good break, I hope it recharges you and you’re able to get back soon!
Thank you for still hosting!
Ugh. That reminds me, I’ve got to start policing my own posts so I know when they are scraped! Add it to my ever-expanding to-do list, I guess.
Good for you taking a break. I hope it does you good and you’ll be back happier when you’re ready.
Ugh! So sorry this happened to you. I hope she takes it down. I hope you get what you need from a bit of a break and try not to let this bad incident taint blogging as a whole for you.
I always appreciate the comments on the content that I link up, BUT I also sometimes think to myself, “That’s a lot more work then she should be doing.” I know it’s important to connect, but I’m not at all surprised that you are burned out. When I think about what you do in relationship to your blog, I pray the while you’re away you’ll have a time of refocusing and prioritizing. I’ve had to do the same. It’s OK to let go of good things in order to make a fewer things more of what they need to be. ~Ren
Totally understand. I posted something on my blog. And someone copied it from my blog to a group page with no credit at all.
Oh no I’m so sorry. I have had this happen many times and even had a site using my picture with a different name. I hope she takes it down.
Oh, Jennifer, I’m so sorry to hear that happened to you.
Used to happen to me all the time when I had corporate clients–I’d have to personally go after blog owners and other businesses when they would take my professional content and use it as their own.
In fact, at one point I was making thousands a month from a FREE WordPress blog (NEVER put your projects on free sites) and because of an argument online, a hourly wage was able to cut my personal income by almost $8K a month with a single flip of a switch!!
No, no,no…
Glad you’re okay now. Revitalized again?
Good. We do–those of use faithful friends–miss you.
Jaime Buckley
wantedhero.com
I read this post and it kind of broke my heart. I’ve been blogging since 1999. Yep…. way back when. I’ve had to deal with copy-cats, scrappers and out-right thieves for so long….
I really know what you’re feeling. I almost broke when someone scrapped my ENTIRE site, stuck a different logo on it and the stupid thing was RANKING HIGHER than my site with the original content!!! I did get it removed with a DMCA. Thank goodness. But it’s like being on guard “all the time”. Like any of us have the time or money to check all of our content, all of the time!
To this day…. I see my articles spun, stolen and copied. I do the best I can staying on top of it. Those that do it are certainly pathetic, unoriginal and lazy. Keep the faith. It’s always good to take a break. You’ll come back recharged and ready to tackle the next chapter of your blog-life :-)
Take care.
I’m not a blogger, but I thought about starting a small one, just to support my Etsy business, if nothing else. I’m really bad at social and legal stuff, I know if I’m gonna try blogging I’ll have to muscle up in that department. But I tried to put my clueless self in your shoes and I’m still struggling to see why this situation is so bad. I mean if you were credited (was there a direct link to your blog?) whoever posted your article on Huffington Post just did you a favor by moving your content up in the Google search. Of course if your blog was just mentioned without a direct link, that’s useless because most people are too lazy or too busy to look for your blog manually. But even if so, it doesn’t really harm you in any way, does it? Does it reduce your traffic? Does it make your blog look less valuable for sponsors? So I really don’t see what the problem is.
Of course, like I said before, I’m not a blogger and maybe I’m more clueless about this whole matter than I even think, so please, don’t regard this comment as disagreeing with you (I’m not in a position to do so), regard it as a question: what are the actual disadvantages for you personally? If there are none, other than the unbearable thought of Huffington Post benefiting from your content while also not doing you any harm and if there’s a direct link, maybe even helping you out, I don’t think you have a reason to be so frustrated.
I really hope that I’m right about it because then it means you’re OK and don’t have anything to worry about. :) But if I’m wrong, I’ll appreciate it if you take some time to educate me a little about it.
Sincerely wishing you all the best!
Hi Olga. I appreciate your questions and your candid curiosity.
Basically, the disadvantage is that when you’re building your blog/website, you want as many posts as possible to rank high in the Google search engines. The more posts ranking high (i.e. the first page of the results of a search) the better overall ranking your site gets.
If someone scrapes all your content and posts it on their own site AND their site does better in the Google search engines, then all your hard work is out the window. Yes, they link back to your site, but it’s not the same as having the actual visit on your site. PLUS, they run ads on their site and get income from people reading my post on their site… whereas if people come to my site to read my articles, they may click my ads.
I hope that clarifies things for you.
So far I haven’t experienced anything this major (that I know of!) It’s pretty ballsy to copy your published work from a huge website, but as I’m learning it is all too common in this industry from people looking to make a quick buck. Hopefully you’ve gotten a break in since you wrote this :) I took a few days in May when I was out of the country (wifi was spotty so it was somewhat forced haha) but still very refreshing. From the outpouring of support in the comments it’s obvious you have a lot of people who care about you and your site, so keep your head up and keep going! Those hacks that steal content won’t ever actually amount to anything :)
Fortunately, the duplicate content was taken down. It was a very discouraging time, though.
I did have a blog break (almost a month off) and it made a huge difference to my outlook on my blog and the work I do on it.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this Stacey!
I admire your decision. Know that you have prayer warriors walking through the journey with you. Enjoy your break & breathe a little. God gives great rest to those who need it!!
<3 Alison – a CBB friend