Missy

I am not sure if you can use this on Active Rain, but if you have a Wordpress Blog you can add a plug in that puts two link backs to you RSS feed posts. Here is the link to the plugin. http://yoast.com/wordpress/rss-footer/

As you can imagine, I am splogged alot as I come up pretty high when the scrapers search  for real estate blog. These folks are typically fly by night folks so getting them to stop is a losing battle unless you have a great deal of time to invest in getting them taken down.

But by using this plug in, you will get a couple of link backs to the posts and have the early warning system if they are doing anything really egregious.

I hope this helps.

Tom

Geez.  Syndication gone amok. 

Thanks Tom, it is a Word Press blog. I am trying to learn how do add plugins. Since I didn't set up my blog but hired an outside firm I am on the learning curve. Thanks for the suggestion, I have many plugins I want added.

Missy - You're at it early today! I don't do enough blogging to worry about this yet. I've bookmarked it so that I'll set up my alerts when I do get started. Let us know if Tom's link to the plugin works.

Bookmarking this one.

I get this a lot too.... and sometimes on not so great sites!!

Hi Missy.  I just set up my first Google Alert.  Ken Tracy!

Thanks for writing,

Ken

Good point, Missy.  I get several alerts through Google and have seen that admin thing many times - but not on my posts.

Missy, Add the Plugin Tom suggested above. It is very easy to add and the authors plugin page has all the explanation you need for adding the plugin. Best of luck.

Missy: I use Google Alerts and CopyScape. Most people only do their web site, but I also track my blog posts. I have found my posts posted by Admin as well as individuals all over the Internet, even major sites like This Old House and some big Real Estate sites. If it was posted by someone else in a forum, I send a letter to the editor of the site and it is usually taken down in 24 hours. If it is posted by Admin, I send a cease and desist letter with a little more bite.

So far every site has removed my stolen content, except Squidoo. I am having a hard time getting stolen content that others have posted as a "lens" removed.

BTW, there are also site that grab blog feeds from Google and post the blog feed on their site. I'm not sure if there is much we can do about this, but I do find it offensive when someone taps my blog feed and uses it on a site I find offensive or to promote a product I don't endorse.

It is such a pain to see people that don't have the energy or the common courtesy to at least give you credit for the content. Thanks for your post.

Hey Missy, thanks for sharing this is great to know. I have some google alerts set up and I have one with my name. It's amazing the stuff that comes up.

Sploggers are in business to sell Google Ads. They select high traffic topics then look for higher traffic blogs to help them rank higher with Google Juice. Getting on the front page of Google for a given topic increases the opportunity for more traffic and thus, more click-thrus on their ads and then they make more $$$$.

I removed the RSS feed a few months ago and it has cut down on the sploggers, but some also scrape based on tags.

I need to study up on plug-ins. I don't understand how they work and how link-backs work.

Missy-  Having your articles stolen for republication is so annoying! The problem besides your work being stolen is that it is often shared on sites you would have nothing to do with. Then your online reputation is being tarnished. There has to be some safeguards that are easy to use that can help reduce if not eliminate the problem.... If any of us find one please share it.

Best,

Scott

Amazing... it's still very surprising to me how many people will steal content, word-for-word. Google is amazing too, but in a good way.  Thank you... again.

Missy you would not believe the amount of times this has happened to me. I have turned in over a 100 splogs that are part of blogger. It is crazy the crap people waste their time on!

did Admin take down your post or is it still up? I can't believe that so many people do this type of stuff. Just nasty!

I think I am too boring for them to copy! LOL I don't check on too much more than my name.

Monika, Last time I checked it was still up, however since they use RSS feeds it is buried somewhere deep in there.

Bill, I don't have the time to do it. Another local blogger emailed me, who had seen it. He was mad as heck.

Mana, I want to soooooooooooooooooo bad. I need help with the plugins, just don't get FTP. What program do you use? I downloaded Firezilla, and got stuck.

Michele, thanks I didn't know that happened on Squido, I need to visit my page more. LOL

Elaine, is that the reason, to make money, sell ad's? Gosh I had no idea what the point was. It has happened before, thanks for Google Alerts.

Missy, I'm glad you pointed this out again, I have many alerts including my name....which was missing from my plagarized post.  Pure theft.  That particular person is back to doing it again so now I email all the other consultants she's stealing from....it's awful and I'm sorry it happened to you too.

Missy, is their some legal ramification for you, not that you want to do that, but it amazing they get away with it.

Missy there is a local blog that does this to me all the time - at first I was mad as heck about it - then I started looking at my website stats - and low and behold - I was getting traffic from them - kind of crazy

My guess is the splog is using your content to attract traffic from the search engines, and then hoping that visitors click on one of many ads. It would be nice if there was a way to block them from subsribing to your RSS feed.

Missy.... it was actually because of you and another member that wrote about Google alerts about a year ago that I decided to sign up for it....  people need to know about this...  thanks

Missy, great information on why it is so important to have a google alert on yourself.

Missy, I hope this tutorial helps.

Missy - that is crazy !  I have been reading more and more about this... is a shame.  Quick question though - if one has a google alert just for their name (and blog address) would this have come up ?  It seems like you saw it from a more general google alert.  Either way, it is a shame that there are so many of those folks out there stealing content.

Christopher and Stephanie, I have Google Alerts set up for many search terms, it came up under Houses for Sale in Ann ARbor, one of my Google Alerts.

I was saying at least do your name, but it is best to do other search terms that you post on.

Missy, when you have time, visit PlagiarismToday.com. There are lots of instructions on what to do with theives as well as sploggers. However, sploggers who only list a portion of the article - as Google does - are within the copyright laws. But when they publish the entire article and/or don't give credit, they are in violation.

As I recall, that site also lists the address of another site where sploggers can be reported. You can also file a DMCA complaint with Google and if they rule in your favor, they'll block the splog from coming up in their search results and will add the splog to TheChillingEffect list.

If Google didn't sell their ads, all these sploggers would go away. But then Google would make a lot less money on their pay-per-click. Consider how many Realtors use Google Ads to make money for their blog!!!! They're feeding the beast.

Missy, your post and the comments have really got me thinking.  I haven't been at this long and I can't imagine that I've posted anything someone would want to steal....but I need to learn more.

Missy - I have set up google alerts awhile ago and it has been helpful and an eye opener to say the least.

I have lots of google alerts set up and it is very interesting.  It is obvious that you work very hard on your blogs, I am sorry that someone would think it was ok to steal your hard work!

Thanks for the heads up Missy! Aalways getting educated 'cause hadn't heard the term "splog" either....guess I need to get out more :) 

Missy-Thanks for the info on splogs....but sorry for your situation. 

Thanks for the tips Misty. BTW, I just watched the new Listings Router video with Robert Stwart...

Misty Caulk is the new Joe the Plumber!

theres always a cheater in the room wanting to benefit from anothers hard work... I didnt got to the sblog- will it be trying to sell leads back to the source of content ???
Good for you to bust them- and post to expose their scheme...sure they will never even acknowledge  your reply/findings...thats how crooks function.

Thanks for the info.  I have a Google Alert set up - but I didn't put one up with my name.  I'll do that now.  Thanks again for posting.