Blog Post Piracy

I received many emails about my post about "The Treasury of Human Intelligence". People seemed to like the concept, and the name / term "The Treasury of Human Intelligence".

Several folks asked me if came up with the term or if I borrowed it. I had come up with it, but as many things, I was not sure if I had read it someplace and subconsciously recreated it while writing my original blog post.

Thus, I googled the term to be sure I was not plagiarizing some other person's catchy phrase (as I have been asked to expand upon this short article for a presentation by the same title to a group this fall). Besides my post, there was only a single unrelated reference to something written in 1909. (apparently 99 years ago someone else used the words "The Treasury of Human Intelligence" as a title --- interesting!)

Alas, I had not stolen the term (the 1909 article or book was not on my reading list!), and it did not show up on any other websites, with the exception of some random blog, Qassia, who had lifted my entire blog post from four days ago - VERBATIM, and did not give me the credit as the author. They had even submitted the post to Digg under their own byline.

Holy Blog Piracy, Batman!

They even left the "Have A Great Day" at the end of the post, which is how I end every post on this blog. Arrrrrrrgggggg, Pirates!!!

Now I doubt that the term "The Treasury of Human Intelligence" will catch on as the next great theory of interpersonal relationships, business development and networking.... but just in case it does, I want to make sure that Oprah Winfrey has ME on her show and not this "Qassia" person.

Anyone who has produced creative products will have sensitivity to those who would steal their intellectual property. When people lift other's work (without giving them proper credit) they are not making deposits into the treasury of human intelligence. In fact, it is just the opposite. Plagiarism creates a situation where they are in a karma overdraft, with no overdraft protection issued by the treasury. This is not an action that helps the original author, but instead it causes pain and frustration.

The Blogosphere is populated by a variety of unique and giving souls who bare their hearts and spin their words to challenge, inspire, entertain, and educate others. But the dark side often rears its horns and spoils the pool for everyone. Piracy on the high seas or on the internet is equally evil.

I challenge all who read this post to make deposits to The Treasury of Human Intelligence and find ways to encourage and support other people to overcome obstacles and achieve success. Be the catalyst that help somebody win. When you give, you will get.

Have A Great Day.

thom