Blogging with Integrity..

I've been sitting on this post for quite a while..should I, or should I not, jump into this very controversial arena? I'm warning ya..this post will hack off a few peeps..I'm sorry in advance:)

I remember the first time that I noticed someone being funny about imitation. I was at a soldered charm class in AZ at this very fun shop. The instructor was talking about designing a entire chandelier out of soldered charms..

"Oh I've seen one of those before!" I gleefully blurted out.

She whipped her cute petite head around and glared right at me..

"Where?"

"Oh, on a blog" I replied only slightly stunned by her animosity.

"It was super fun." (sorry but I just had to push her buttons a little)

"That is the problem with blogs" She hissed and returned back to her sweet normal self..I only witnessed a momentary laps of frustration, then it was gone.

This opened my eyes to the underline problem with blogging that everyone has, yet nobody wants to admit they have.

Instead we just put cute little badges on our blogs that say,
"Blogging with Integrity" which means please don't steal my idea or I will poke your eye out and talk about you in "quotations" behind your back.

The problem with that is, I pretty much guarantee that you, blogger with integrity, yes you too have stolen anothers idea.

I'm sure my sweet soldered charm instructor was not the first person EVER to solder a charm..actually it might have been Sally Jean. I wonder if she sits around all day long stewing about the hundreds of people that stole her idea..oh wait..she teaches classes (that sell out!) on how to solder charms..funny girl. Recently on my very favorite blog EVER The Satorialst, he posted a picture of one of his pictures posted to a uber famous designers idea board..guess what? He was FLATTERED..he did not post some passive aggressive, "I'm a Blogger with Integrity" badge and pout via a post about artistic integrity.

Right now if you go on ETSY and type in Anthropologie you get about a million hits..and listed on some of these fabulous pieces of Anthropoligie inspired imitations are the words..

"ideas are copyrighted"..huh? Because really unless you are actually Anthro...you just lifted their "idea"....

I believe this is where the confusion begins..many of us are INSPIRED by a variety of things..magazines, blogs, crafting, jewelery, clothing, novels, nature...the list goes on and on.

If a person happens to draw inspiration from one of my post's or pictures, should be offended? Should I claim theft?

Because really ladies and gents it's not very often I see something..are you ready..

ORIGINAL

and truthfully the only people who have the right to be upset by imitation are ORIGINAL artists.

The very first person who ever decoupaged anything with vintage sheet music should be really hacked off right now...

Now when it comes to plagiarism I'm not a fan..at all.

Full on copying another blog and taking the credit for it is dirty..yuck.
I'm also not a fan of NOT giving credit where credit is due. If inspiration is drawn from another..please give credit to the source!
Recently I was blog stalking and came across of couple of my very own pic's, I was pretty stoked!! WOW! I thought, this person thinks highly enough of my photog skills to be some pic's on her "semi" (ooh how passive aggressive is that!) popular blog..but oh wait..no link love?
Not Even a "yeah I stole these from Tres Birds, thanks Amber." RUDE!

But here is the thing..is it REALLY that big of a deal?? Am I taking myself sooo seriously that I'm going to throw some tissy in blogland? Really...I need to get over myself!!

I'm not saying I'm immune to the feeling of "Hey that was my idea!" I struggle with it more than I would like to admit..It is in how I react to the feeling that the true.."Blogging with Integrity" badge is earned.

Because somewhere in the world there is a person who has now had to go through extensive therapy saying..
"I was the first person EVER to start a blog..and look..now EVERYONE is doing it."