Call it an inherent trait; when I do something, regardless of what it is, I strive to do my very best. My ultimate goal is to be proud of what I've done. I know I'm not alone. In fact, I firmly believe that the majority of people strive for the exact same thing.
I'm also not naive. "Born at night; but not last night", as the saying goes.
One of the things that I work hard at is my web site. I work hard at the verbiage it contains, the photos it houses, etc... And like most who take pride in their work, I spent (and spend) hours in an attempt to stand out. One of the things I'm most proud of, as a home stager in Atlanta, are my photos. In fact, I have the following verbiage:
There are no purchased photos, no pictures from catalogs nor have photos been altered in any way other than to lighten or sharpen them. Photos of staged rooms are true illustrations of our work.
Those 34 words above represent many things; 1) an investment in my camera 2) an investment of my time 3) an indication of just how proud I am of the transformation that occurred.
Unfortunately these 34 words along with 365 additional words were copied verbatim from my home page last week. That amount represents about 70% of all the words contained on my home page. The month before, there were two individuals who also thought that it would be "okay" to copy my work. Fortunately, I use Copyscape throughout the month to ensure my hard work, the work I'm so proud of, isn't copied.
So... How did I handle the plagiarism? I sent a polite note asking that they remove the duplicate copy immediately. Given the importance of 'not having duplicate copy' I requested that they notify me when the content had been removed. The result. All three individuals had removed the content in less than 24 hours. All three complied with my request and sent me notification when they removed the content. And while all three made claims that their web master did it, one finally admitted that she had spent hours looking at web sites and admired my work so much, decided to copy it. I'm sure she knew it was wrong. I'm also quite sure that she didn't think I would ever find it. What she obviously didn't know is just how proud I am of the work I've done!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Georgia Interior Solutions (GIS), LLC is Atlanta Georgia's Premier Home Staging Provider. Owner and Real Estate Staging Expert, Kathy Nielsen has appeared on the pages of Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Home Improvement; Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. You can also see one of her staged homes on HGTV's hit show Sleep On It.
With their extensive home staging portfolio, you'll quickly learn that they have the experience and knowledge on what it takes to make your home and/or listing appeal to the prospective buyers. Contact them today for your free no-obligation appointment: 678 522 8392.
Home Staging Atlanta - Kathy Nielsen - 678 522 8392
RESA Professional Stager of the Year - Southern Region 2011
Whether your home is vacant or occupied, this Atlanta Georgia Home Stager, Kathy Nielsen, understands what it takes to sell a home quickly. Her homes have graced the pages of several publications, appeared in TV commercials as well as on HGTV's hit program Sleep On it.
With years of experience and a massive inventory - Kathy makes the perfect choice.
Home Staging Website: Home Staging Atlanta
Before and After Pictures: Atlanta Home Staging Portfolio:
Email: Kathy@HomeStagingAtlanta.com
Blog: Atlanta Home Staging
- Kitchen Transformations
- Short on Space? Keep it Simple
- Tips on Selling Your Home From a Professional Stager
- Curtains. Should they stay or go?
- How to dress up your coffee table and end tables when selling
- Quick tips for table settings
- How will buyers remember your home?
- Atlanta Home Staging Consultations - Check out what the homeowner did
- Atlanta Loft Gets Home Staged
- How to ensure your home appeals to a broad base of prospective buyers
Good for you Kathy! I like your new photo too.
Kathy,
Good for you, it's so easy to copy things these days. Its great to have programs like these.
Hi Kathy, I'm sure you are proud of your work. Your efforts are obvious. It's a shame that someone else wants to go the easy route and just take your work as theirs, but that seems to be all too commonplace today. I like the new photo. I hope your 2009 is great.
John
Kathy ~ Good for you for finding the culprits and "encouraging" them to remove the plagiarized text. How dare they? You have some of the best photos online and your website is something you should be very proud of, rightfully so. (In fact, you've inspired me as I just bought a new upgraded camera and had my first "lesson" yesterday ... but it will take me a year or two of using it to get even close to the quality of yours). Love your new photo, by the way -- so cute and casual!
Unfortunate that we all have to do this - thank God for Copyscape and Harlen "the Hero of plagiarism" here on AR.
Hi Kathy, you are indeed fortunate that the three culprits removed the content post haste. From what I read here on AR you are in a small minority of getting people to cooperate. Good for you!
You didn't start your note with 'Do you know who I am?' hahaha....
Good thing you're on top of your game. Thanks for the reminder because we should all be on top of this. (No, I haven't checked on mine recently.) You have an awesome website and is a true testiment to the work that you do and the results you provide. =) Continued success, my friend.
Yes, and I love the new profile pic...noticed it on twitter...
LOVE your new photo!! YOU have much to be proud of!! Protect it always.
Kathy, you should be proud of your work, And thanks for the post reminding us to always strive to do work that we can be proud of.
Thanks for the reminder Kathy N! It isn't until one of us is copied do I think to check with Copyscape. Glad you picked up on it...so many newbies out there. Sounds like you handled it perfectly! Thanks for the reminder.....Warm Regards-Kathleen G
Your website is something to be very proud of, as is your staging work. I'm glad the three people responded promptly and you didn't have to take further action.
Kathy - I have had a few folks rip off verbiage from my site over the years, too. It's never a good feeling. Glad to hear it worked out okay for you.
Congratulations on catching "the crooks". Those who steal your good name... etc. They should be ashamed of themselves for being lazy and thieves. What next?
Kathy - This is a great reminder to check monthly with copyscape. You have such great photos, I can see why others want them. You are what I aspire to be with my photos. I'm getting ready to enroll in a college course for digital photography. I'm a little frightenen, it is 2 1/2 hours, 2 days a week, for 5 months. Yuck!
Kathy; our new staging company website is in it's final stages of being built by a professional web design company. My fear was that I have read and seen so many staging websites (so many AWESOME sites!) that I was worried I may have accidentally used some verbiage that I had seen on another site. I tried to be original, but we are all trying to convey such similar messages. Anyway, I ran our new test site through copyscape, and lo and behold, the only other site I seem to have "copied" was my own verbiage on another site with my profile! Whew! If I had seen other sites with the same verbiage, I would have had mine deleted and started over with new wording and ideas. Glad this worked out for you.
Standing by your work is the only way to go. Being passionate about who you are and being confident shows your potential clients that you are true professional and will get the job done.
Kathy,
Good for you! I find it incomprehensible to copy other peoples work. If you don't have the creative nature, then pay someone to help you...but don't copy others!!!!
thank you for taking the time.
Hard work rewards itself. You are like an athelete..working to be the best at your profession. Think the pride aside, is also wanting when you were younger your parents proud of you? Mine are gone but looking back I wanted them proud of me too...and that was part of the passion, drive to excel and work hard. Good post.
Kathy,
Yes I agree with Andrew Mooers that hard work definitely REWARDS itself!
I like the way Andrew puts it!
Great post!
Tom Davis
DE REALTOR (R)
Hi Kathy -- I too have spend an inordinate amount on my company website and feel the exact same way you do. I have no idea if anyone scarfs what I've done or not, but perhaps I'll give this copyscape thing a try.
Individuals need to protect their intellectual property against those less ethically inclined.
I'm glad this incident is behind you and I hope there aren't any more.
Perhaps you ought to add something on your website that you use copyscape and actively look for offenders and they will be dealt with!
Kathy all I can say is WOW! I had no idea that a site like Copyscape existed and that people would literally use someone elses stuff verbatim! Good for you in taking the initiative in protecting something that you worked so hard for. I think it is great that you let these "offenders" know that you caught them red handed and that they ultimately made things right. Terrific post! Take care and happy blogging!
Kathy- Good for you! That was the right thing to do, or you could be like Lenn who also does the right thing and just has her attorney send them the request for payment and demand to take it down:) I am glad they complied! It is a hefty sum if they don't! You are proud of your work and if they want to use it and credit you back with a link back that is another thing entirely. Katerina
looks great. I am also proud that I do al my work myself. Its a labor of love!
Good for you. It's important to start with a polite request when someone violates your copyright, but it's also important not to stop there if they don't comply. I hear too many people say that it's not worth the trouble. Maybe they're not as proud of their work as they could be.
Kathy, you are to be applauded and i'm sure you are reaping the benefits from your hard work and originality
Kathy,
Good for you in going after them. I guess you should be flattered they thought your work was so good! Kudos for a great post and you continue to keep a vigilant watch!!
Kathy,
Good job---you definitely are doing the right thing.
Kathy ~ First off - as others have already said, I love your new picture! Second, last weekend I went to Copyscape and put in my homepage and it came up with a duplicate, but when I went to the site it was already removed. Thankfully that has been the only instance so far. I have made sure I put the "protected by Copyscape" logo on each page of my site, so I don't know if that has made a difference, but I do need to consider this a kind of maintenance and check on it more often.
Indeed thats true. If you love your work, you are gonna succeed. Keep up the spirit and writing things which touch the cord. Gavin
Hello Kathy, I'm surprised that people would "steal" the written words of others but I'm pleased to see that when confronted, all three removed the content. They should send you a sincere apology. Did they?
Kathy you look fabulous! Love the new photo.
Kathy, I totally understand how you feel about this, it is such a violation. I had my site plagiarized several months ago. The stager (a member of AR at the time) took 611 of my words. I found out about it through Copyscape. She was sent a 'cease and desist' letter and pulled down her site by the following day. She couldn't just remove my wording - there wouldn't have been much left! Thanks for the reminder that I should go and check my site again, I haven't done that for a while. I'm sorry to hear that this has happened to you as well, but I'm glad that at least they have removed your material. By the way, I really like your new profile photo :-)
Hi Kathy,
I am so sorry to hear that this has happened AGAIN. Last week I had 2 people that I found on CopyScape. The first told me it was her web designer- I told her it was still her responsibility to make sure the content was original. The second admitted that she "borrowed" from my site and that she was a stay at home mom trying to start a business and did not have time to do it herself. She removed the content and then I sent her an email explaining how not only was plagiarism a federal offense but it also unethical. I then went to her site and ran it through copyscape only to realize that she had copied another stager too- it was not your site. I did not contact that person and told the offender to remove the info or I would file a RESA complaint (she is a member)
Unfortunately this is becoming predominant in our industry. Thanks for the post- you do gorgeous work and are a leader all stagers can look up to- just not copy!
Kathy,
you may also want to scan some of your past blogs- I have found people using them on their sites as articles they have written! Not to scare you but nothing surprises me anymore. kh
Dear Kathy,
Well put, what I like best is your comment "Born at night; but not last night", will not forget it.
Katina Hargrove
Wanda - Thanks! Each and every single time I use Copyscape, I do so holding my breathe as I truly don't want it to find duplicate content.
Johnathan - You're right; it's awesome that we have tools available to assist us in finding the duplicate content.
John - Thank you for the well wishes.
Maureen - What a nice compliment. Thank you! I'm glad that I inspired you. And I promise you, it will NOT take you two years. I'm here to help you with any questions you have so... let me know how I can help.
Connie - I am very thankful for both Copyscape and Harlen.
Michelle - Yes, I feel very fortunate that they removed it quickly. Had they not, I would of had to take legal action.
Kathy
Abby - I'm glad this served as a reminder. I try and do it weekly so that should there be any duplicate content, I can catch it early.
Thanks, Cathy.
Chris & Karen - You're very welcome.
Kathleen - You're right. There are a lot of new stagers hitting the industry and as a result, a lot of new web sites getting created.
Sharon - Thanks for your kind words regarding my web site and of my staging.
Jason - I'm sorry to hear that the same has happened to you. It not only makes me feel bad, it leaves me scratching my head.
Sabinske - I too am glad I caught them. As for "what's next?" I haven't a clue. However, I'll be using Copyscape, that's for sure.
Kathy
Kathy, imitation is the best form of flattery, right? Not when it is your hard work!
Awesome post Kathy! Always protect what is yours. I know you have worked hard on your website....it shows and shines through. You have a lot to be proud of.
I will have to look into copyscape. Had not heard of them before today.
In seeing your comment that a person who stole the wording from your website was a RESA member, I think we will make a comment at our next RESA meeting about this issue. Thanks for bringing it up! May save someone some embarrasment, or worse, in the future.
Debbie - Thanks for such a wonderful compliment. The fact that you're taking a class speaks volumes to your commitment. I applaud you.
Peg - That was a smart move on your part to check. Glad to hear that the only verbiage you had copied was your own (smile).
Morgan - Yes, I sure do stand by my work! Thanks for commenting.
Lori - I couldn't agree more. I agree, if you don't have the skills, then definitely hire it done.
Andrew - Nicely said!
Thanks, Tom.
Kathy
Chris - I too hope that it never happens again. However, in the event it does, I have the tools available to find out. Definitely give Copyscape a try.
Thanks, Jason.
Nestor & Katrina - I like Lenn's approach with having her attorney send a request for payment. I'm sure that request gets an immediate reaction!
Laura - I agree. Our work is indeed a "labor of love."
Judy - You can be rest assured that should they have not complied with my request, I would have taken the appropriate next steps. Why anyone would consider that a waste of time is beyond me.
Janice - Thanks!
Dorie - That kind of flattery I can do without (smile).
Diane - I think I'm doing the right thing as well. When I said I take great pride in my work, I meant it. Behind that pride comes a great deal of work. For someone to think it's a-okay to copy it doesn't sit well with me.
Kathy P - I'll be adding the Copyscape verbiage soon to each page on my web site.
Kathy
Thats great Kathy! When you are proud of your work like you and many of us are, it does rattle my cage when others feel they can use our work freely without quoting us as the source !! Good work finding those sneaky plagiarizers !!!!
Congrats, Kathy, on getting those items resolved. Nobody likes to have their work stolen (even though it's a sign of flattery right?)
It's sad people resort to those measures. By the way, I checked out the pics on your profile and you do excellent work. Keep it up!
Gavin - I truly believe that! Thanks for commenting.
Marian - it IS hard to believe that people would do that. However, some may not even realize. And to answer your question - only one sent an apology.
Thanks, Mariana.
Charlene - I'm glad it worked out for you as well. Definitely check monthly (at a minimum).
Kate - thanks for your very kind words. I'm sorry to hear that you continue to have your site plagiarized. While it takes effort on our part to catch those that copy, it's worth the investment in time.
Katrina - I had heard that line "born at night but not last night" years ago. I rarely use it but in this case, it just made sense (smile).
Kristi - So very true.
Jan - Definitely try it out. Hopefully, you won't find anything when you put your pages in.
Peg - the individuals that had copied from my site were NOT RESA members. However, Kate had made the comment that she did find another stager copying someone else that was. All that said, I think it's important topic and worthy of mentioning.
Sheldon - I feel like a private investigator when searching, I honestly do. And as I mentioned, I always HOPE that nothing has been copied. Unfortunately, that just wasn't the case.
Kris - I wished I could feel like it was a form of flattery. However, given how hard I work at what I do, I didn't take it that way. It's wrong to copy.
Kathy
Good for you for not only standing up for yourself but for doing it in such a mature way as not to create unnecessary enemies.
Kathy: It is really unfortunate that we need web sites like CopyScape. For some reason people think that if they see it on the internet, it is OK to copy and paste it (steal it) because they can use it. Some think they will never get caught (obviously they don't know about Copyscape) and some think that whatever is on the internet is free. As you know I have had to deal with this problem over and over again. Sad.
You should be proud of your work. It is beautiful and your web site is admirable.
Kathy - Great new picture! You have a wonderful site and you should be proud of it. I know I am proud of mine.
I think that once people try, they realize how hard it is to write content and they think it will just be easier to copy someone else. But they don't realize that once someone has put that much effort into building a site and writing the content that they are going to do what it takes to protect it. I am glad they complied with your request promptly.
I've heard of copyscape, but never used it. Glad to hear it really works.
Good for you! I had no idea that a site like Copyscape existed thank you so much I may need it some time
Good for you Kathy! I'm glad you got your content back.
Tony & Libby - I was intentionally polite. However, had they not complied, I would have definitely pursued and likely made enemies (smile).
Thanks, Michelle. I know that you've been plagiarized as well and as a result, you know how it feels. It IS unfortunate and for the life of me I can't understand how one would think it would be okay.
Tanya - It is a challenge to write good copy and it takes time and effort. I'm hoping that they just didn't realize how detrimental is is/could be.
Rebecca & Andrea - It works perfectly. Just put a note on your calendar to check on a regular basis. Also - I believe they have a service that will proactively check for you. I'm not sure on that but... if you go to their web site, you'll find some great information on what's available.
Kathy
Kathy,
Absolutely excellent! I've never even heard of "copyscape" but rest assured I'll be visiting there soon!
Thanks for being so observant and on your toes!
Kathy Opatka, Re/Max, OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND
I know they say that copying someone is a form of flattery, I know exactly you mean. I had the same thing happen to me after finding that someone had copied my services page. We do work hard and take pride in what we put out there..I don't think its too much to ask to expect other people to do the same.
Amber - I'm glad I got it back as well. It wouldn't benefit either of us (the individuals that copied or me) should they have kept it out there.
Kathy O - I'm glad this post was useful.
Laura - Sorry to hear that happened to you as well. And I agree, I don't think it's a lot to expect.
Kathy
Nice post. I guess I need to get Copyscape as well. Sorry that somebody stole my stuff, but you did great to get it off quickly.
Kathy: It is a shame that someone would copy your website and pass as their own.
Great statement, so I can see why someone would want to copy it. I actually upgraded copyscape to copysentry, and receive a weekly email notice of any wording similar to all of my websites. Great tools!
Thanks, Mike.
Roland - Is is a shame. Perhaps they just didn't realize that copying was wrong. I really don't know.
Margaret - I haven't heard of Copy Sentry. I'll have to look into it.
Kathy
Hey Kathy -- AND hold your head up high! You are a true profesional -- that's evident from your sight and evident from how you handeled this tacky situation! Good for you, my friend!
Isn't it frustrating how this continues to happen? It sounds like you handled it very well.
BTW... I really like your new photo!! GREAT change!
Life is short, and how much is the fight worth. There are so many people out there that are totally clueless. I just found a Craig's list that looked exactly like my website. I called the agent and found out that he got in the business 6 months ago. After 5 minutes we agreed on a joint marketing plan that will be a win win for us both. I could have taken the other course of action.
Thanks, Karen!
Melissa - Yes, it continues to happen. But, and as mentioned, it was handled promptly.
Tim - Good for you. I'm sure the marketing plan will benefit both of you.
Kathy
Kathy, thanks for reminding me about Copyscape. I've now set a weekly to-do to check it because I've had SO many problems with plaigiarism on my site. Most of the worst offenders were people I've already alerted to the problem and they've done nothing about it. The worst part is I know 2 of them personally and they are in my area. UGH! Another said her webmaster did it (like yours did), but I've told her it's time for her to take responsibility and have them rewrite it. I also said if they really did charge her to write the copy, she should get her money back! :)