Time for an installment of Friday Things:
1. Food Bloggers Fight Back About Stolen Content on Facebook – If you’re not aware, there are thousands of Facebook groups that ‘share’ bloggers’ content. Meaning, they reprint the photo, the recipe, the entire blog post as if it were there own. All bloggers work so hard on our content, from recipe development to writing the post to the photography and editing our photos to the day-to-day time and energy it takes to keep a blog going. For people to steal content and repost it as their own disgusts, frustrates, and saddens me.
Image from Amanda’s post
And many others are disgusted, too. Here’s a list of recent posts by others on the matter. Read the comments sections of these posts to get a sense of how enraged other bloggers are about the issue:
Susan Powers of Rawmazing wrote this guest post on Dianne Jacobs’ site
Meaghan Mountford, blogging at The Decorated Cookie and author of Sugarlicious, wrote this piece
Amanda wrote What Every Facebook User Needs to Know
Copyright-issues-and-why-they-cause-a-lot-of-drama-mama-its-all-about-r-e-s-p-e-c-t-and-props-lots-of-props, by Jasmin of 1 Fine Cookie
No doubt there are other posts about it, but there are 1000 comments in those 4 posts to keep you busy for awhile.
As I commented on Dianne’s post, “It’s a negative time, energy, and resource suck on all levels. Sometimes I just have to let it go b/c I can’t control it all, nor can any of us. And it sucks up our time, good energy, and our creativity to police it.”
2. Ilume Coconut Milk Mango Candle at Anthro. ‘A warm, tropical blend of ripe mango and sweet coconut’ but no description comes close to telling you how good it smells. It’s perhaps the best-smelling candle jar I’ve ever stunk my nose into. I wanted to eat it. I wanted to wear it. It’s just outstanding. My taste in candles loves ranges from all-time favorites like Yankee Buttercream to Aveda Shampure but this Coconut-Mango takes the cake.
3. Since I can’t drink the candle, I’ll drink a Pineapple Mango Vitamin C Booster Smoothie (vegan, GF)
4. I set my flatiron on my 10 year old Mason Pearson Rake Style Comb
and melted it. I caved and ordered another one because no other comb is like it. It just feels good in my hair and in my hand when I use it.
I am painfully cheap and will buy store or generic brand chocolate chips if it will save me thirty cents and I’ll obsess over spending an extra buck on my preferred toothpaste, but when it comes to this comb, it’s the best and I paid up. I don’t use The Best lightly when it comes to cookies or combs.
5. Tori Spelling pinned my Healthy Fudgy Brownie Bites (no-bake, vegan, GF, grain-free/Paleo, soy-free, no added sugar or salt) the day after I posted them. I was so flattered!
6. I guess I have a way with the 90210 ladies and dough balls. Lauren Conrad featured my Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls on her website as mentioned in item 8 here.
7. Upon walking into Anthropologie on the recent candle trip visit, my six year old said, “OMG Mom. I want to move in here!” You and me both, honey.
The sheer joy in her face and seeing the gorgeous clothes, dishes, books, and frilly, pretty things was just so evident. It starts young, doesn’t it.
8. I recently bought these OXO Good Grips Measuring Cups, Stainless Steel and I love them. Granted, anything was a step up from the plastic grocery-store set I’d been using for 5 years.
These feel so solid in my hand and goopy batter doesn’t stick to the inside of them. I use the quarter-cup measure to fill my muffin pan for Banana Yogurt Muffins and it slides right out.
9. I have spring fever and I wish the weather would get and stay warm. None of the teaser days where you get a hot snap for a day, and then it’s back to sweater weather. I love the longer days; now I just want them warmer. Like this.
10. These Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Crumble Bars are some of the best bars I’ve made in ages and if you’re looking for a 10-minute, throw-together recipe, I highly recommend them.
What are your Friday Things?
If you’ve made anything, done, seen, or bought anything fabulous recently, feel free to link it up in the comments.
Any thoughts about the copyright and Facebook sharing issues?
Combs you love? 90210 fan? Kitchen gadgets? Spring fever?
Thanks for the entries in the KithenAid 5-Quart Stand Mixer Giveaway!
Have a great weekend and check back for a giveaway!
Amen on the FB stuff. SO annoying. Love that graphic though. It’s so true!
And it happens to me multiple times a day some days! That I know of. Ugh.
I’m confused though … if the post is shared, doesn’t it link back to the original post?
No, they copy/paste the ENTIRE POST, recipe, photography, everything. And post it on their site as if it’s their own. They don’t link back! They do it hoping they’ll never get caught!
It’s only because of observant readers and good Samaritans that we bust them out, one at a time.
Ok, first off congrats on the pins and posts from Tori and Lauren. I actually love Tori and thinks she’s hilarious. Have you ever seen her show or read her books? She’s totally someone I could see myself hanging with.
I of course haven’t heard about this Facebook stealing fiasco. It’s totally rude and lame for anyone to steal another person’s hard work. I’m sure in the end, that people will find out that the people posting these images and recipes are fakes. What goes around comes around you know! Thanks for the heads up. I will definitely look into it! xoxo, Jackie
RAMPANT huge problem. Yes, something to be aware of but don’t drive yourself nuts…because in the end, not a fight we can always win, but something to think about!
congrats on the tori spelling post that is so exciting…i am such a 90210 wanna be groupie. hahahaha the work that you and other wonderful bloggers do … and that people would just take it as their own is so awful, mean and selfish.
Ha, I always say the same thing when I walk into Anthro. Wouldn’t it be a dream to just wake up and have that kind of wardrobe waiting for ya?!
So awesome that Tori Spelling pinned and that Lauren Conrad featured your recipe! And I’m also in love with anthropologie – their aprons are the cutest aprons I’ve ever seen!
I have that candle! :D In my office, next to my computer. So I never burn it, but whenever I’m stressed, I open it up and inhale deeply. Anthro always has the best candle selection and Illume are among my favorites!
Congrats on the mentions, too! I love 90210–the reruns were my guilty pleasure in college. :)
I love that ecard! I love your “Friday things” post even more! Those peanut butter cup bars have my name written all over them! Hope you have a great weekend!
I love that someecard! It’s so true, I can’t believe how angry people get when bloggers just say, “please don’t steal what I work so hard to create!” Most people don’t realize it’s wrong, but to be told it’s wrong and then get angry and lash out at the person you STOLE from is insane.
It’s like when cars nearly hit you in a crosswalk, but you’re in the crosswalk and have the right of way. But they are the ones screaming at you, calling you crazy. Ummm, no, you have that the wrong way around :)
I read Meaghan Mountford’s post last week – at first it scared me, then I just got angry. How on earth can people get upset over bloggers wanting credit for their own work? It just boggles the mind. Anyway, like you said, it’s saps our energy…I guess we all need to be more vigilant.
On a lighter note; I can’t believe that you were using plastic measuring cups too! *phew* I thought I was the only one. Time for an upgrade, methinks. :)
I wrote a cookbook and a blog of 4 yrs with a 2.99 set from the grocery store of white flimsy measuring cups. It was TIME for an upgrade and I looooove these new ones. So solid and sturdy and just nicer to use!
That candle from Anthro smells SOOO good, and I’ve got to make that smoothie soon. Your peanut butter bars look like something I need to make for a party I’m going to later today! If I do, I’ll let you know! Congrats on Tori Spelling…that is really fantastic! Have a great weekend!
They are so easy and I hope you try them. LMK!!
I looove that you shared all those posts about stolen content, it realizing is so upsetting and ridiculous how defensive and harsh the culprits are.
I also love all the food and your famous people shares and Anthropologie!
Not only do they steal, they get defensive when called out on it. Truly amazing. Headshake indeed!
Ah stupid iPhone made me sound dumb in that comment lol. Yes I was trying to say that the people getting so defensive and mean which is so infuriating. Ugh
No I totally got your gist, no worries! And commenting on iphones..the hardest! The autocorrects are just unreal sometimes :)
Congrats on all of your recent features! :) And I love Anthropologie. Everything from clothes to candles is wonderful there. Have a great weekend!
First I want to say awesome being pinned by celebrities! To cool!
I am outraged by all the theft there has been with stealing photos and recipes. We work so hard and if someone likes the recipe, then give them credit. I have had a few stolen lately myself, just like you, it’s horrible and I am simply pissed over the whole ordeal!!
I want to make those peanut butter cups brownies. I have some in the freezer I got after Christmas on clearance.
Do it! They only take 10 mins to toss together!
Those candles are too pretty and the smoothie looks so refreshing! great post :)
Dang, I knew people were stealing things (luckily it only happened to me twice that I know of), but I didn’t realize they were then being so hateful about it. That is the saddest thing to me. It’s easy to make a mistake and not realize that you need to credit, but when the blogger nicely points it out and people start making threats? I love the internet and social media, but I really really hate the way people act behind a computer screen. It’s like all rules of kindness and social grace just disappear and people (not all of course) turn into the worst versions of themselves.
PS–congrats on all that celebrity pinning!! So awesome, and you totally deserve it!
Thanks for the congrats and just today, I’ve had three readers/friends write to me saying hey, I just saw your xyz recipe and pics posted on abc’s FBpage as their own. Fun times. Who in their right mind would steal…a recipe. If I’m going to steal, I plan to at least rob a bank. Not rob a recipe :)
Loving those crumble bars! I have those measuring cups, they totally rock. And look at you and the 90210 set. :) Much deserved. Have a great weekend.
Have a great weekend as well. Hope it’s still cool there! You know, under 90F :)
LOVE LOVE LOVE everything in this post, and I want to move in to Anthropologie too! who wouldn’t.
Have a great weekend
Thank you for this post. I’m so glad people are writing posts like this to create awareness. I do think it is helping! I think people are sharing properly more than they used to before. Still a ways to go though.
Definitely a ways to go but hopefully all the voices from the peanut gallery will help to change things and at the very least, make FB more aware of how bad it is and we’re all so tired of it!
Great list and that’s fabulous about Lauren and Tori, you rock! Crazy about the content stealing.
A popular vegan blogger I follow said last week her post appeared in 4 blogs the day after she’d posted it as their own recipe. Outrageous!
My dumb question is, how are you all finding out about the theft? Am I just not looking for mine hard enough?
Congrats on Tori and those Peanut Butter Cup bars look amazing ;)
Some of it I find on my own (not even trying, it just literally shows up at me in my web travels) and others I am alerted by friends, fans, followers, and members of the group that Susan started that I linked to in the opening. It’s just such a shame…and so time consuming. Which is why I have to just let it go, most of it, most of the time!
Stealing bloggers photo’s is a not compliment no matter what people say. Unless you link back to there blogs, its an insult to their hard work. And when people say otherwise, it drives me nuts!
Great post about some super important issues right now! I love the marshmallows :)
It is indeed maddening with people out in the blogisphere (whether on FB or other platforms) steal others’ work. And then continue to get astronomical amounts of followers. What’s even worse is when they deny it after being called out.
Oh I know, the denial. Or the hostility when confronted. It’s like a car driver screaming at a pedestrian…like, uummm, no I think you have this backwards:)
All of this copyright infringement stuff drives me crazy and makes me so anxious, especially when the thieves start getting violent and mean – WTF?!
I want those peanut butter bars of yours. Big time.
Yes the hostility is just…amazing. Such a headshake.
Far too many times have we all been the victim of copyright theft. I will never forget when you told me about some woman selling your recipe on Etsy. Insane. Or when someone removed my watermark, stuck on their own like it was their photo. But they “didn’t know that was wrong”…? Where do these people come from?!??!?! It’s truly sickening. We work so hard! :(
So many celeb endorsements Averie! I can’t wait for you to be a celeb too. :) Please always remember me!
I should say the same about you, please always remember me :) And removing watermarks, getting hostile when confronted about things or playing dumb, selling recipes on Etsy…yes, it’s just…mindblowing!
Thanks for this post. So important to give credit where it’s due.
I was going to say that my Friday thing was the puffed millet (Arrowhead MilIs) I just poured into a green smoothie to see how it tasted, but um, holy crap—those mini PB cups in your cookie dough crumble bars are killing me. My wildest PMS dreams come true. I think that’s my Friday thing right there.
Wildest PMS dreams come true <--- love it :)
I could write a book about the copywrite, etc. issue, but I’ll save my fingers the frantic typing, because I know you know how I feel. It boils down to this though – people are jerks and we can let it bring us down or rise above it. Easier said than done, obviously, and a gross oversimplification of the issue, I know.
I am SO with you on the “some things are worth the splurge”. I will find myself at the grocery store anaylzing the price per ounce of a jar of pickles just to save 30 cents, but then when it comes to something like coffee, I don’t even blink about spending an extra $3.
My Friday “Thing” is the new Burr Coffee grinder I just ordered! I can’t wait to get it (in RED, no less!)
It’s snowing here, so just be glad you only have to deal with cold temps. UGH.
Wow, what an amazing week for you with all these celebrity endorsements! You deserve it, though – your recipes are both delicious and beautiful. Congratulations!
Thanks, Kelly! :)
I literally grew up watching 90210! Congrats on the celeb pinning and post! I always love reading about your Friday things =)
I think many of us have 90210 growing-up memories…I know I do! Glad you like the post :)
Loved Amanda’s post, very well written! Congrats on the Tori pin :)
I am with you on the copyright thing… I am currently writing a cookbook as a first time author, and I am so worried about accidentally using someone else’s recipe I’m nearly driving myself mad over it! Every recipe I’ve written, I double check to make sure my mind isn’t just rehashing something I read somewhere else–even recipes I’ve been making for years. I guess the fact that I’m being careful is good, but there are so many people who very BLATANTLY steal, that it’s getting crazy. So far my blog has been spared, but my photos aren’t that great yet so that’s probably why. It’s to the point where I cringe whenever I see someone share a photo of a food item on my newsfeed…
Congrats on your book and when I was writing mine, I went through the same exact thing you describe. There are only so many ways to make peanut butter cookies, or peanut butter banana bread; yes, the exact ratios differ, but there are a certain set of ingredients that have to be used, in pretty standard form, or the end result won’t turn out…so you’re always teetering on possibly duplicating someone’s work, even when you try not to. You can’t always reinvent the wheel on some recipes; some just ARE that way but driving yourself nuts over has this been done before…I was there and in the end, I just wrote my book knowing that every single thing was my own and that I did everything I could to make all content as truly original as possible.
How cool about Tori pinning your brownie bites! I grew up watching the original 90210 and just recently watched the first season! OMG, where did the time go?? :) Love your Friday Things!
I know…time.flies. Crazy, huh!
The whole copyright infringement thing just makes me really sad. There’s a similar issue going on in the Disney Photography circle right now, and all I can think is “are we really that desperate for likes and attention from strangers on the internet that we will steal other people’s art for a few likes and shares on facebook?” Some of the people I think just don’t know any better- I saw one comment that compared it to downloading an essay for school. Aside from the fact that both things are ILLEGAL, it’s not true.
There’s an Anthro just down the street from my college, and it’s terrible to drive by. It’s like it’s taunting all the poor college students and their wallets.
Anthro taunts us all I think :)
And when I went to college, stealing people’s work was called plagiarism and people got expelled. I wish that could happen in cyberspace!
It is beyond frustrating! Another thing I can’t stand is when people post the full recipe for something in a pin description on Pinterest. There has also been a growing number of websites that literally function to have a collection of recipes from different blogs around the web… no link backs or anything. It’s exhausting.
literally function to have a collection of recipes from different blogs around the web… no link backs or anything <--- YES that's partly what is addressed in some of those posts I linked...and so, so exhausting. people post the full recipe for something in a pin description on Pinterest = I had heard pinterest was trying to crack down on that, and not allowing full-out reprints of pins and it's gotten better the last 3mos or so, I see less of that, but I still see it. Ugh.
yess i was going to mention the pinterest thing, too. i mean, granted, a lot of people don’t do it to hurt the bloggers or on purpose, but it still irks my nerves a little.
oh and congrats on the tori spelling pin! that’s awesome!
The FB sites with 100k followers most definitely know what they’re doing. I am not talking about little mommmy or hobby bloggers. I’m talking about big outfits and bigtime operations. They know exactly what’s up and if they steal 10 from me, 10 from someone else, etc they can make a living at it with their 100k fans clicking away. It’s disgusting. Ugh!
ugh that is disgusting. how can they even feel good about themselves when they’re stealing something you work hard for?? that’s just so wrong.
I know (and you went into my spam…but you’re rescued now! ) :)
Tori pinned a great recipe of yours–those little things are so good! I haven’t bought anything fabulous recently, but I’m hoping to find a cool pair of shoes today. The weather is a bit dreadful and I have spring fever, so a little shopping should make everything better!! I didn’t realize there was so much blog content theft going on. I read some of the links you provided and feel badly for all of you affected. It’s not fair for others to steal, take credit and bask in glory without doing any of the work. It also sounds like a frustrating, tough problem to combat even with the law on your side.
It’s so pervasive and exhausting, Paula, and it’s never ending. At some point you just have to say, okay, I can’t do any more, nor do I want to; but it’s the act of stealing and how does one think this is right? And that so MANY people and websites do it. It makes me wonder what the world is coming to…to steal someone else’s recipe and photography. I mean…my.gawd.
And so glad you liked those little chocolate balls! ;) Good luck with the shoes!
Congrats on Tori Spelling pinning your recipe! How exciting! Oh yeah…the candle must smelling amazing!!
Thanks! And it does smell so good!
I’m like you too….I won’t buy anything unless it’s on sale, just to save a few pennies! So exciting having Tori Spelling pin one of your teats! And yeah for Friday – have a fantastic weekend Averie! :)
That’s why I asked you about using that pin yesterday – I just feel like everything has become so skewed with copyrights and internet activities. Even when you have good intentions like wanting to share something with others and try to include the author’s info, links, etc., you never know what someone else may later do with it. I see pins now with recipes that sound fairly identical to ones I’ve posted. I guess either I’m not all that creative, or it’s gotten around LOL. I love that you have celebs pinning you ;-) That’s just cool!!
Oh and what you did with a recipe roundup is nothing!! like what these FB sites do. They exist just to drive traffic to their site and get their content by fullon stealing, reprinting, etc everything from top to bottom, in a blog post. Text, pics, everything. They post it all and they have 200k fans some of them…it’s just, insane! I never mind if someone wants to use 1 pic and a link back to my site; it’s when they want to use more than that and then also reprint my recipe in full that it’s like really…well…just refer the people to my blog since they’re copying/pasting so much of it anyway! But it was still super sweet of you to ask.
Have a great weekend sweetie! xoxo
Pretty Cool about the celebs pinning your stuff and mentioning you on their sites! CONGRATs!
I hate that bloggers content gets stolen, it is so wrong! Thanks fo bringing some awareness to it!
It’s so rampant! And I was pretty flattered with those pins :)
I will have to try one of those combs. I tried a Mason Pearson brush and couldn’t stand it. It’s supposed to be healthy for your hair but it hurt like crazy. I’ve been happily using a Fekkai brush for years now. I want the weather to get so much nicer. But come on, at least it’s kind of warm and sunny in CA. Here in MI it’s in the 40s and won’t stop raining. It gets warmer next week but there is almost no sunshine in the forecast :( I think I’d give up May flowers if it meant an end to this.
I have M-P brush as well but don’t use it that often; I prefer the comb. Good info about the F-F brush and that you love it! Ugh to your weather…hope it warms up for you, and soon!
The copyright thing is infuriating. I put a decent amount of effort and money into the pics I take. I try to put watermarks on my pics in places it would be hard to crop out and embed copyright terms in the properties but after seeing some of the rude comments from people on these FB pages, it would be a full time job and hassle. I’m not a big blogger like you so I guess it doesn’t register as high on my radar…yet.
Congrats on the celeb pin/post. No surprise…your stuff is awesome.
Thanks, Anele, for your support and kind words. And whether a blog is big, small, or otherwise, the fact that someone takes your work and passes it off as your own is just disgusting. In college or in school, that’s called plagiarism and you get expelled! Sorry that it’s happened to you as well!
I have that exact same candle and those measuring cups too! On the candle – OMG so amazing. Anthro always has the best candles. I just bought an avocado mint one from there and it smells INCREDIBLE.
Oh I smelled the avo-mint and I wanted that one, too! And the fact that you have both the cups and candles…great minds think alike :)
I LOOOOOVE OXO stuff
So fun that Tori Spelling pinned your recipe! She picked a great one, too. :)
Those OXO measuring cups look awesome!
Happy Friday. :)
Happy Friday to you, too! And I was so stoked when I saw that pin!
Tori Spelling pinned one of your recipes?!?! That’s so fun!! :) Happy Friday, Averie!
I know, crazy, right! Enjoy your weekend!
That first image is hilarious! Aren’t we food bloggers so selfish as we try to make a living here?!!
And those oxo measuring cups are the best! I’ve been using those for years, except for 1/4 teaspoon one went in the garbage disposal. It works but it’s badly dented.
Congrats on the tori spelling pin – how awesome is that?!!
I almost bought the measuring spoons too, but didn’t, and that the next thing on my list. The feeling of the cups is just so…quality. And nice. Not flimsy like the plastic ones I had been using for years!
Hehe, my solution to not having my content shared is having sub-par photography. That being said my post this week was actually sort of nice and I was asking for people’s opinions on the shots:
http://scrumptiousgruel.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/queens-park-swizzle-fo-shizzle/
I’d be pretty peeved if someone stole my pics, I actually put a lot of effort into them!
1) I think this is my first time reading your Friday Things (how could it be??)-love it! 2) I also saw Amanda’s piece on those Facebook pages popping up and it so wasn’t anything I really noticed until this week. Such a shame and really infuriating. 3) Noticed you’re going to the traveling potluck in a couple of weeks- I’ll be sure to say hi!
I used to do Thurs Things but bumped it to Fridays. And don’t do them every week, but a couple times a month. And be sure to say hi at Big PL! So excited about it and no doubt will be a blast!