446 - Do you write your own content or plagarize from others?

Plagiarism is a serious issue.

Plagiarism, as defined by Wikipedia is, the representation of another author's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work. In educational contexts, there are differing definitions of plagiarism depending on the institution. Plagiarism is considered a violation of academic integrity and a breach of journalistic ethics.

According to an article by Bill Murphy Jr. in Inc.com - "LinkedIn is an incredibly useful social network, but it can also be a breeding ground for bad behavior... spammy networkers and over-sharers for example--but also full-fledged plagiarism and copying. Yet these kinds of practices destroy people's reputations and even lead to their losing their LinkedIn accounts".

Notice, I copied and pasted that material giving credit to the writer.

Plagiarism occurs when you copy and paste someone's content without giving credit to the source.

There is a lot of it going on all over social media, including LinkedIn.

It isn't difficult to use the phrase, "According to..." and state the source, or "As so-and-so once said..."to give credit to the quote.

It's not only simple to do, it's the right thing to do.

Do you want your content being used without your knowledge and with no recognition?

Most people will say NO, and with good reason.

If you think the content you're reading is not original, it's easy to find out where it came from.

Copy and paste a few lines of content into a google search.

One or more sources will come up.

I once questioned the Rules and By-Laws of a particular non-profit started by someone I know.

I copy and pasted a section of it into Google.

Low and behold, the person had copied and pasted the Rules from a non-profit in the UK.

Nothing was original, which made me highly skeptical of this person's intentions.

Sharing posts of others is a great way to avoid plagiarism because you are sharing the content directly including who wrote it.

How do you feel about people who plagiarize in their posts?