May, 28, 2022 | No.77
Hello, dear friend of Read!
I know you may wonder what self-plagiarism is, or, you may think that this word does not exist, or even, that it is misspelled. However, I did a previous search in the one that knows almost everything, Google. So I have verified its existence. As well as its meaning.
Self-plagiarism is to republish your own content in different places, or, in different languages. It also applies if you reuse a part of your texts again in new ones.
And this is a problem that affects some content creators, mostly in the field of writing. So it usually happens, in blogs, not only in the ones we know like Hive, Blurt, Read Cash, Noise Cash, or others. But also in others well known to all as Wikipedia. It can happen anywhere on the Internet.
So actually, it's not wrong to use your content as you want to use it, because it's yours.
But what happens is that there are many policies that are not explicit rules of the platforms where we write. It's not reflected when we first register. Nor in the rules of each place.
However, in some platforms like Hive blog we can see how users impose that self-plagiarism is not allowed.
And this is something I experienced. Because in one of my Hive accounts I copied and pasted the presentation I had posted in Steemit.
It was my presentation, a part of my life story, my picture with my Hive user, every word written in my own handwriting. My only "mistake" was to copy and paste my own content on another platform.
So came many accounts with strange names to give negative votes.
Some friends I've made on Telegram explained to me that Hive and Steemit have some conflicts. Plus maybe they thought someone stole my identity.
So, when you get downvotes you lose good reputation. You get blacklisted. And your account is not as valuable as it used to be.
But I thought that happened only on Hive and Steemit. I was wrong, because it happens in other places.
Geeklania blog, where you can find articles about technology, blockchain, and a lot of interesting things. Also in Spanish, but you can read it in your language.
To @geeklandia AdSense I remove the monetization of his blog on Blogger. A blog with his own domain. All because he also committed self-plagiarism. So, the platform demanded him exclusive content, and in addition to that the same platform will not pay him for a while until the sanction ends.
But if you think that by being in Read, you are safe from it, I regret to tell you dear reader, that you are wrong. Because Read Cash also applies this rule. I realized this a few days ago while talking to my friend @mostrorobot about it.
Profile of Mostro Robot on Read Cash. He has great stories that I recommend them to him. Its content is Spanish, but using the translator you can read it in your language. You'll love it.
Some people accused him of self-plagiarism. Just for republishing his own content.
So his account was affected by it due to the "spam" reports, which in my opinion make no sense. However this is not only limited to the actions of people on the network, but also influences the algorithm of the platforms. This algorithm detects when the content you post has already been published elsewhere. So they ban you or punish you in some way.
When you are reported as spam in Read Cash, the comments you make on the publications will be shown as spam. So it's like being a ghost in Read Cash.
These punishments affect your monetization and reputation on the platforms.
So as you will see this article has several purposes, among them to inform to avoid bad times, dealing openly with an issue that affects us as a community of writers. And that apparently it is a rule not to commit self-plagiarism, but it is not specified anywhere. So I disagree.
It's a little known term, so it should be reflected in the different writing blogs. So I will leave here some tips for the creators of these platforms:
Reflect in written form in the rules of each platform that you can not commit self-plagiarism. So that new users do not suffer the consequences of misinformation.
This is not only directed to the platform, but also to the users. This is because sometimes we are unfair to other users, giving negative votes or reporting their accounts without carrying out an investigation. We do not know if it is plagiarism or self-plagiarism because we just judge without realizing that we harm good creators as is the case of Mostro Robot.
Although the rule is somewhat outrageous and it feels like a slap in the face every time you are punished in some way for making this mistake. It also has a why. Self-plagiarism, it's not legally wrong, due to the fact that it's your content, and not someone else's. Morally, however, it is not.
I did a previous research, to confirm that this term existed. And also to know its exact meaning. Among my research I found that the activity of self-plagiarism is unethical.
A writer must be creative. As well as being in constant growth. So, after all the rule of no self-plagiarism, makes sense. What it means is that it seeks to help us not to stagnate, to unleash our imagination and creative capacity.
In fact, since I was punished with negative votes on Hive, I have never again copied and pasted information of my authorship anywhere. Except for the covers I use, or photographs to make my own publicity.
I currently have 2 blogs, the first one, my blog on Read that you are visiting. And my blog at Blurt where I usually post photographs, landscapes, and everything related to it.
So if you are a creator of written content, I leave here some tips that can help you to avoid self-plagiarism, and its terrible consequences.
To avoid self-plagiarism problems:
Use your own images, if you can. Exclusive content is not only limited to text, but also to images, photographs, covers, and to avoid inconveniences, we could say that you have to include banners, just to avoid anything that could happen. I personally avoid using the same images. So nowadays I make 100% exclusive content for each platform.
Use images without copyright. If you don't know how to edit images or you don't have the option to take your own pictures. You can use images or videos from copyright-free content banks. Some of them are Unsplash, Pixibay and Pexels.
Do not copy and paste anything from the Internet, without indicating where you got it from. You should always put the source of the information. Research is fine. But not plagiarism.
Always analyze, don't copy anything. I have observed that some people do research on some topics for their articles, copy and paste, changing a word or two. And this is also plagiarism. So my recommendation is that if you can research, but do not copy any word, sentence, or paragraph from that author. Write an analysis of the topic, but do not copy the above information.
And lastly, always be polite. The best thing is that the coexistence on the platforms remains healthy. And if there is a lot of hate in social networks, we don't want that here. Besides we don't gain anything from it.
To be more creative:
Diversify content. If you create a different niche for each platform there will be no problems like this.
A notebook of ideas. I usually write in a notebook all my ideas, sometimes I use pieces of paper that I keep in a drawer. So when I need it I go and organize that information.
Think, think, think, think, and act! I usually spend days thinking about what I will do, but I also write drafts. Some work, some don't. But it helps to get the ideas flowing.
Distract yourself and be happy. I think the best way to generate fresh and great ideas is to live life, enjoy a good meal, be happy in conversation, marvel at beautiful scenery. This is what makes me write.
I hope you find the information I provide helpful.❤️
Zul Airan Mujica Frontado (@zulfrontado) | Venezuela.
❤️ I bid you farewell, with love and a big hug. thanks for reading!❤️
Original text by zulfrontado ©.
Original photos and images in the post by @zulfrontado taken with my BLU Studio J1 cell phone.
Read my other texts (poems and articles) very interesting. You can also follow me on social networks:
✒ReadCash ✒BLURT ✒Wattpad ✒myLot ✒Twitter ✒Instagram ✒Telegram
Other related articles:
°I have found my niche at Read! | ¡He encontrado mi nicho en Read!
°Details for blogs | Detallitos para blogs
°Because I don't use Steemit. | Porque no uso Steemit.
°¿Qué escribir en BLURT? | What to write in BLURT?
Many thanks to my sponsors for their valuable support! ❤️
I use plagiarism checker while blogging so I don't get spammed when writing on different platforms and this as really worked for me