My New Post On Linkedin

Hey guys i have added my first post on Linkedin. Need your reviews and suggestions. Comments are welcome on linkedin as well. Here is the post:

https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20141209191211-45919956-copywriting-vs-content-writing-indept-analysis-by-alan-smith

 

I'm confused. It looks like you did a rewrite of this article:
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/unconventional-guide-content-writing-vs-copywriting/114408/

Although, in the rewrite it's apparent that English is not your first language. And under your linkedin page it says you're a Senior Content Writer? Also, I'm wondering if Allen Smith gave you permission to rewrite his article and leave his name on it?

I know that's rude to say. I'm sorry. That's just my initial impression.

 

Thanks Rebecca for adding your review on my article, yes i did a rewrite of this article. And you are right English is not my first language. You don't need to say sorry to me, as Ups and Downs are the parts of our lives, and its a process of learning for me. Once again thanks for your response.

 

The original article written by Allen Smith was fabulous. You created a rewritten version, that's not so fabulous, and put his name on it. If I were the author, I wouldn't be very happy about that. His readers might mistakenly believe he wrote that version. Even with a link back, it's not considered an OK thing to do without permission - and I'm pretty sure he didn't provide permission. If he contacts linkedin, they may delete your account. What I would do is delete the blog post. If you write an original article, even with awkward grammar, readers can sense when it's from the heart. That means something. Write about something you know. Use an editor - have friends read it. For your personal page on linkedin, I would create your own content. If you'd rather not, perhaps buy PLR articles to rewrite - that's considered acceptable.

 

Not very nice of you. This is the kind of stuff that can get you banned from anywhere and ruin your reputation.

 

I agree with Rebecca. What you did is a form of copyright infringement, especially given that original author appears to be based in the U.S. No one can authorize a derivative work other than the copyright holder (and a rewrite is a derivative work). The copyright holder in this case would be the author, or SEJ if their contract with the author stipulates a full copyright transfer. It's a common misconception that linking to an original source or crediting the author makes it okay. It doesn't. Unless you get permission up front, you can't legally rewrite or republish the material -- even with the real author's name and link attached.

You can definitely lose your LinkedIn account over something like this. And that should only be the start of your worries. You should probably remove it on your own before they do it for you.

 

Just a question – If someone were to copy/rewrite and publish my work without my permission (just like it has happened here) and I spotted it, whom exactly do I shoot a DMCA notice against? The person's LinkedIn account or against LinkedIn itself? I guess doing so against a big community like LinkedIn won't be feasible because of the hassles and legal complications that might be involved.

 

There aren't really any legal complications involved. LinkedIn is simply protected by safe harbor rules when it comes to user-posted content (as long as they follow the rules on their end, such as not ignoring legitimate DMCA complaints with proof of infringement). If someone posts your content on LinkedIn without your permission, you would send your DMCA notice to LinkedIn itself. Then they would review the evidence and most likely remove the infringing content. They could also ban the user's account for violating their own terms. It's not in their interest to keep people guilty of infringement on their network.

 

So I guess it means that LinkedIn (or any other website that allows its users to post content as far as they follow the rules) is never at risk because of such acts. If someone happens to shoot a DMCA at them, it is ultimately the infringer who gets affected.

 

He finally has deleted the post. A writer is not supposed to do like that, you can have inspiration with someone's work which is good but never involve yourself in these activities, it can spoil your image in the online community.

 

Yes, as it should be. The person infringing on the copyright is the one responsible. There are exceptions that could cause a company to lose safe harbor protections. But it's unlikely a company like LinkedIn would put themselves in that position.