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Suzanne Carawan

By: Suzanne Carawan on April 21st, 2014

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Cite When U Curate, Don't Copy: Learn to Re-Purpose Content Correctly

Content, Social & Digital Marketing

mailto:demo@example.com?Subject=HighRoad Solutions - interesting article

Like everyone in business today, I log in to find dozens of automated email messages that include dozens of articles, links, updates and notifications about all of the things that have happened in my offline absence. Today, I have more than usual as I'm coming off of a week's vacation and as I'm frantically scanning subject lines to ferret out the critical to the nice-to-read, I see an article on change management. I open that one as I'm always eager for tips and research on non-violent methods to help others to change (my own experience has taught me that beating one's head on the wall elicits only short-term benefits). 

The email happened to be an automated update from LinkedIn, arguably the latest hot spot for content marketing. I clicked on the link to the article, opened up the LinkedIn person's profile (well respected gent) and read the full article that had his name at the top. I finished the article and was reflecting on what a great article it was when I saw at the bottom another link to the article that was posted on a different site--the real site where the real author's name was displayed.

I actually gasped out loud. This well-respected person had just copied the entire article into his profile along with his name. Only if you read the entire article would you realize that he didn't write it himself and the link included went to the real author. This isn't content curation. That is plagiarism. 

As the business world becomes more focused on content marketing and the need for content spikes, we will see more and more of these types of behavior. I believe it's critical that all organizations put into place standards for their staff as to how to correctly repurpose content and how to correctly curate content. It's easy to understand how someone would naievely copy content and not realize that they are, indeed, harming others and perhaps putting their own organization into a litigous situation. 

With the need for content and the need for experts who really know what they're talking about to be the originators of content, there's no better time for associations and non-profits to solicit volunteer help. Content creation and curation requires a level of subject matter expertise that is bountiful in a membership or donor base and is a volunteer opportunity that can be fulfilled remotely, on the volunteer's own time and is open to volunteers of all levels. Just ensure that your volunteers and staff understand the rules of citation--have them review a set of rules and perhaps take a short test before they're off and running. 

Last point, don't assume that it's just young staff that need this training. The article I saw copied today came from a seasoned vendor to the association market. The article was prophetic--embrace change. Embrace new roles for volunteers and understand that new training guidelines and standards will need to be created to support these new roles.