Me: Hi, Inner Self!
Inner Self (IS) : Hello! Long time!!
Me : Yeah, long time! Had been very busy. Didn’t had the time to talk to you at length.
IS : It’s ok. better late than never! What is it that you want to talk about today?
Me : There’s one thing, which is on my mind for a long time now.
IS : Tell me…
Me : I have been writing my own blog for a cool 5 months now. Done over 100 posts! Have some regular patrons. Have had a variety of posts on my blog.
IS : That’s good. But where is all this leading? And what is variety of posts?
Me : I’ll elaborate…well, in the recipe of my blog, I have had various ingredients in the form of some Fun posts, 55 Fiction, Satire, Humor, Informative posts, Rants, Tags, Awards etc etc.. but one variety of post is missing.
IS : Which one??
Me : Its the Cut/Copy-Paste posts.
IS : A Cut/Copy-Paste post? What is that?
Me : Well, this is a post in which you Cut/Copy-Paste anything from anywhere and post it on your blog, either with no change or some minor changes. I want to do such a type of post too.
IS : From the looks of it, it doesn’t sound appealing at all. Why do you want to do this??
Me : Oh, there are a lot of reasons…
- It’s the easiest thing to do!!
- It can be done in a wink!
- You don’t get to put any stress on your grey cells or don a creative hat!
- You get rave reviews for doing so too. People literally thank you from the bottom of their hearts for sharing such wonderful info with them.
- In fact, some believe it to be your own creation and give you amazing creative titles.
- And even if some know that it not your own creativity, they’ll still post rosy, glorious comments.
- You get awards/recognition too for such posts.
What more could a blogger ask for?
IS : But the comments on such posts might be marginal?
Me : NO, you are mistaken. They are in huge numbers.
IS : I believe the bloggers are an intelligent, creative, thoughtful tribe! Why would they be glorifying such a copy cat thing?
Me : They are! In fact, most of them are so very talented and creative. I guess, nobody wants to be in anybody’s irritated or dumped books and no blogger would like to lose his/her followers or commenter’s, just because you don’t like/agree with their ONE post!
IS : I don’t understand, where do people Cut/Copy Paste such info from?
Me : Arre…there is so much information available on the world wide web. Then you have forward mails which you get a dozen a day, then you can Cut/Copy Paste from other blogs too!
IS : Ok, if such information is accessible to all, so why bother duplicating the whole thing??
Me : Agreed, but these bloggers think that may be their readers do not have access to that kind of information. So, they are kind of doing a social service, by providing the info right on their computer screen!!
IS : Just a thought, does the well worked out posts lose their importance, in the process??
Me : They do! In fact I received very few comments on the posts which I worked on the most (and they were elaborate). Very few people read the entire posts at a stretch; the others just go through it superficially and leave a bland comment like “Good”, “You are the best”. But in the case of Cut/Copy Paste posts, a reader can get gist of the entire content in one go and hence puts up better comments (or am I feeling that they are better?). In this process serious posts are the real losers.
IS : How can one get the gist of a Cut/Copy Paste post but not of an original one?
Me : The answer is simple. A Cut/Copy Paste post is generally (in nearly all of the cases) obtained from forwarded mails. Any blogger with some sweet 20 posts under his name tends to have constant access to e-mail (20 posts is a benchmark, for example, it may be lower too). And as it is universally known, forwarded mails are bombarded in a frequent mail user’s inbox. Hence, there is a greater chance that a reader of a Cut/Copy Paste post knows the content matter of the post beforehand.
And moreover, most of the Cut/Copy Paste posts are generally humorous. The grey cell burnout factor is minimal in their case. So, upon reading the first paragraph, one can easily get the drift of the post, thereby letting the reader to come to a conclusion without going through the entire post.
But when it comes to an original piece of writing, one cannot predict the ending just by reading the introduction. There might be many twists and turns in between and also the intensity may increase depending upon the author’s caliber so, it eliminates many of the passing readers.
IS : Judging by your above thoughts, are you telling me that the quality of comments define the posts?
Me : Nah! After a certain period of time I feel every blogger reaches the stage where he/she doesn’t care much about the “Present Sir/Mam Comments”. Yes, thoughtful and well researched comments are always useful for the blogger as they present the pros and cons of the post, and hence help the blogger in becoming better. But in the end, it is the satisfaction of the blogger which matters the most, nothing can beat that.
IS : Hmmm… looks like a logical answer to me.
Me : It is. Oops, that reminds me of something, a part of the lyric from Sum 41’s song “Pieces”.
“If you believe it’s in my soul,
I’d say all the words that I know,
Just to see if it wouldn’t show,
That I am trying to let you know,
That I’m better off on my own”
IS : That was a good adaptation!
Me : But, somehow, somewhere I don’t get a good vibe about doing such a post.
IS : Ok, I get your point. Let me share with you something from a Blogger (who does a Cut/Copy Paste Post) and a Commenter’s perspective on such posts. You know that, a Blog, as Wikipedia describes it, is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Right?
Me : Right.
IS : Since it is a personal website, the author has the right to post whatever he/she deems correct/blog worthy. Since, its a personal blog, the author has all the right to publish anything he/she desires. So, as a blogger, in case you are happy to have a Cut/Copy Paste Post on your blog. By all means, go ahead.
And in case you do not like the idea, don’t do it.
As a Commenter, you have a choice…
- To read the blog and comment on it.
- To read the blog and refrain from commenting on it.
- Neither read (I am sure you’ll get an idea after first few lines!) nor comment on it.
Me : Makes sense.
IS : So go ahead and express what you feel on your blog, after all it’s your personal domain!
Image Courtesy: http://www.robbyslaughter.com/images/cut_copy_paste.jpg
39 Responses
Hey..just now read this post at pawan’s blog….
Kudos to both of you..sorry I just read half of this post here.. I guess both are the same…
This new form of collaboration is really good.. A very unique idea..
Just today read a copy/paste post and really liked it, but the blogger had given proper link to the real author.
I guess if someone copy/pastes an article and gives the credit to real author, its ok.
But if he just copy/pastes and presents it as his own,then its really bad.
——
shilpa.
well shilpa, this is an amazing post…you conveyed the message very beautifully here…u know, when we start blogging, we don’t receive many comments…we write what we feel like…and our best work comes across then…but once we start receiving comments, we blog things our readers enjoy…but as u said, slowly time teaches you to be urself again on your blog and write what you feel like, and the quality shows…
long enuf comment already na? the topic is only such…thank u for sharing..
I am glad you liked it Neha. 🙂
Yeah, that’s the cycle we all go through…very true!
I read the same in pawan’s blog now!
I have commented there.
You have written it so beautifully!! I always admired you! Its you who taught me to write a 55Fiction! I never told u this.. I know what is 55Fiction before i started blogging. But only after readin urs, i learnt to phrase it!
I have had occasional comments from you on my blog. But whenever i have seen u commenting, i will be on cloud 9! I tell these things from the bottom of my heart!
Cut/Copy paste posts – I have written them myself. In my opinion, if u like reading those posts, comment, or else don’t!
Gud post again! Sorry for such a long comment
Thanks a lot, Shruti for kind words! 🙂
oh , I have read this post at pawan’s blog. its the same aint it? becausse I jus skimmed thro.
I personally hate cut copy posts. Thats the main reason i dont tags nor do I acknowledge awards posts in my blog-coz they contain sentences not written by me 🙂
Good one 🙂
hey shilpa………
thas not your flair.
Try discouraging your IS for fabrication.
If u can’t let it be……….:P 😀
well…hello there shilpa and the shilpa inner sense too…:)
thats interesting post…and it may interest you, i do not comment on any cut/paste post if only sarcastically which I do many times.. hoping the author gets the hint. If he/she doesn’t, the blog gets kicked off my blogroll
which i guess is a sane option for me, as I won’t promote any plagiarism on my blog.
Kudos to you… btw.. u r linked on my blog post…
nd need more than yes sir/madam comment from u…
p.s. after reading this post, i thought of talking to my inner sense, assuming he is intelligent than me, but he said…’Pbbbbhhhtt…’ :O
A very honest and truthful post, Shilpa. Sometime back, I had seen such flowery and glorifying comments on a copy paste post that I was just disgusted. There is a limit to flattery! A blogger can post whatever he/she wants,but as a commenter,I believe one should follow some ethics and restraint too.
A very good post. Loved it. 🙂
Shilpa copy-paste posts can be very informative – like a summarised version of something one wouldn’t read otherwise – the only thing is one must give due credits and links, it should never be passed off as one’s own writing.
Some of us love to write, some of us love to read and research, and if one comes across something worth sharing it’s a good idea to share it. I read a post by Amit Verma (of India Uncut ) and he advises us to keep the post size to minimum (his recommendation is 200 words), another blogger (and a journalism professor) Mr J Pinto quotes from a book suggesting we omit every needless word.
Rambling posts are fun to read too, but if we really wish to convey something, say a cause close to our hearts, then we would want the entire post to be read – every word of it, then one would be safer writing nothing that can be avoided, or distracts from the subject.
I try to trim everything I write – doesn’t always happen, but I do try.
I liked this conversation very much, many of these questions I have had too… and I remember the disappointment, around an year ago, I felt when one commenter said he liked the post so much that read the entire post… till then I had assumed everybody read entire posts !!
@ Shankar : Yeah, its the same post at both our blogs with very minor changes!! 😀
Thanks! Am glad you liked it! 🙂
@ Shilpa : That’s exactly the point! I mean,if you give due credit,link etc its great but presenting it as your own is something in bad taste! And believe me,there are loads of them in the latter category!!
It is really up to the reader..to comment or not to comment.
Also,I feel cut-paste is used more as a filler,till the post is ready to be published.
hummmm….Inner one indeed wuld have been agreed for not opting to go for CCP blogs.
Same here. I dont like them either.
But they have their own goods ofcourse.
but i have few queries:
how can you say its easiest thing to do
it takes its own labour dear may be it is some times more then what we right genuinely because you are not free to do any thing at your own. your grey cells (I guess its your one of the fav words lolzz)…will turn more greyer if you go for a proper CCP type.
@ Aditya: Wow! That’s a cool ideology to follow!! Liked it!! 🙂
But I love tags!! That reminds, me, I have a load of them to complete!! 😀
@ leveret: You think so?? 🙂
And welcome on a “A rose is a rose is a rose!”
@ Sid ‘Ravan’ Kabe : That’s a nice strategy Sid! I liked it…Sarcastic comments on Cut/Copy Paste post! 😀
That’s a deal!! 😀
@ Keith : Thanks Keith!
I know, what you mean!! 🙂
@ indianhomemaker: You are right, IHM…if given with due credits/links, it becomes a well researched post.
But here we are talking about posts that are merely copied from forward mails or somewhere else which is accessible to all.
I remember seeing a food post. It was a recipe of Mutton Biryani.
Here, the entire recipe was perfect and seemed promising too, only the last line gave it all away. It said serve hot with Rice or Chappati! 😀
Yeah, one should K.I.S.S the post! But I guess, we get carried away, most of the time!
A good learning from you… “Trim the post”! Thank you for sharing your secret of success! 🙂
Oh, that was a dampener!! I mean, you must be truly shocked! :O
@ BK Chowla: Yeah that’s correct, Mr. Chowla.
There can be fillers in between. But not the ones claiming somebody else’s words as their own! And then commenters going ga-ga over it!!
@ Makk : 🙂
Re: you query…I believe, they can be done easily! All you need is to pick it up!!
CCP posts are different from well researched posts!! In the researched based posts you really let your grey cells work!! 🙂
Hiyo,
What is this high-decibel rummage about plagiarism and copy-paste work? The fact of the matter is that there are very few of us capable of “Sustained Originality + Quality”. Most of the Bollywood tunes are ‘inspired’ and movies are either ‘copy-paste’ or a bhel-puri of copy-pastes. The only thing we ever ‘invented’ was ZERO!!
So, let us not go gung-ho about this. We don’t have the patience to even stand in a queue, forget original writing. Very few bloggers do that because it requires lot of creativity and time. Those who write a post every week are either maintaining a public ‘personal diary’ or simply amalgamating sentences and ideas. Those with ‘original’ blogs would do much better are professional writers!!
Well, recently I did a posted copy/paste item. I hope you remember. By the way it takes a lot of guts to post such an item.
By the way I gave full credit to the original writer.
That’s the way it should be done, Pramathesh… giving credit to the original! 🙂
Nice post.. I feel cut-copy-paste is fine if the author is given credit. I have one or two cut-copy-pastes (my very beginning posts) but they were put just the way I would write in a journal.. make a note of it.. I myself might read it after sometime and have a nice laugh at it.. But I have seen lot of posts which are kind of inspired from some work (old wine in a new bottle).. I dont see much difference between inspired ones and cut-copy-pastes.. they both do the same.. I would rather prefer cut-copy-pastes since they give credit to the author
Agree with you! 🙂
Well done!
Happy Diwali!
Thanks and best wishes to you too! 🙂
The ending of your post was perfect,
and you are very true, nobody want to loose a comment in his/her blog
gr8 post
Thanks Chetan 🙂
hey
honestly speaking I did not read this post of yours….but still I am saying…
good post 🙂
😐
I just read this post @ Pawan’s blog… and I guess its pretty much the same…
P.S. Wish you a very happy, safe and prosperous Deepavali/Kali Puja… !!! May the festival of lights bring lots of happiness and colour into your life and a New Year blessed with prosperity!
It is exactly the same!!
Wishing you the best of the festive season too, Roshmi! 🙂
Wonderful!
Good research done.
Thanks 🙂
very clever..lol..
🙂
Ok… so I’m still confused! Are u game for a CCP post finally or not? :-/
Watch out for a forwarded mail on my blog today! 😉 He he!
No, I am not game for CCPs 🙂
LOL 😀
Really meticulous post i have similar views like you. it was like reading my own write up. I am now following your blog 🙂 I personally hate cut copy paste stuff
Thanks Venky 🙂