A code of ethics and honor exists amongst most Virtual Assistants, at least with the tremendous women in my network. As entrepreneurs we pride ourselves with strong character and morals, not just because we are business owners and great human beings, but we are also trusted with managing our client’s business. We are privy to logins, credit cards, proprietary information and other business “secrets.” We treat these components with the utmost confidentiality, similar to HIPAA.
I recently discovered another Virtual Assistant who copied some content from one of my blog posts. I was irate of course. I labor over my blog posts, hoping they are rich and valuable to you, the audience. I immediately became incensed with anger and frustration. Those were not her words I was reading, but mine. Her title was even taken from a different post and she also stated the upcoming content of her next post, which of course can found on my blog. Maybe it was her idea, all fresh and new, but it certainly appears a little suspect. She is even a “Certified VA” with a badge on her website and a link to their code of ethics.
VAs are trusted with so much and if one is going to steal another’s content, what else may she consider? I feel very strongly about my industry and the trust from my client base. It is always an honor when Ace is chosen as remote business manager. My reputation stands for itself as does the other Virtual Assistants I know and follow. We work hard and earn our place in the business world. When I see something like this, it just makes me question someone’s business sense and character.
“Character is the firm foundation stone upon which one must build to win respect. Just as no worthy building can be erected on a weak foundation, so no lasting reputation worthy of respect can be built on a weak character.”— R. C. Samselat
As soon as you publish original content, it is protected by the copyright law, even without the symbol. This translates into the fact that people can’t repurpose or publish your content without consent.
- If you want to do a little research about your site and content, try CopyScape. It is a simple tool I discovered many years ago which will clearly display what content has been copied.
- Using Google Authorship also helps to reaffirm what is owned and protected by you.
- Make sure you take screenshots of the offending content.
- Email the perpetrator with the exact details, including the images, requesting that all copyrighted content is removed.
- If your correspondence is not successful, you can also contact the search engines directly under the DMCA Law or Digital Millennium Copyright Act
A little permission goes a long way. Ask. Give credit. Share honestly and professionally.
Know the laws and your rights.
Thank you for the steps you have outlined. I have been requesting other virtual assistant sites to remove or rewrite copy that is strangely identical to what is on my site, which I have had for a long time.
It is indeed frustrating that it is considered okay by business owners, student, and society to ‘borrow’ the written word from others without appropriate credit and/or permission.
Hi Kyle,
Thank you for your comment. It is so far removed from anything I would ever consider. If people are stealing content and professing strong ethics, I really wonder about their moral code. It is just a few steps to ask for permission and give credit. The other thought direction I have is: if you are so passionate about your business and industry, why would you ever need to copy someone else’s content? Write from the heart and if you need to do research, then do it, but don’t steal content. We all learned how to write in high school and cite our sources. Have things changed in the business world?
Hi Susan; thanks so much for sharing on Linked In. Alas, the problem is our young people and what they are taught in school as acceptable, or, truer to the point, what they not taught as unacceptable. Children aren’t even taught hand writing anymore! In our broken world, the only thing we can do is protect ourselves, starting with the excellent suggestions you have outlined above. That’s the way it is these days. Thank-you.
Thank YOU Barbara! I am glad you enjoyed the post and found value.