One of the things I like about blogging etc is the generosity of spirit people show. Content and ideas are shared through the lovely serendipity of links, trackbacks and stuff. But this only works if people are careful about crediting where they found something, and I've been very lucky in people giving me appropriate kudos for stuff I've put up. Frankly, in the case of Urban Spam they've given me too much credit.
But I've screwed up by not giving adland any credits or linkage for pointing out, photographing and talking about this egregious Coke poster. This is bad. And it's especially, ironically, bad given that the title of the original post was 'it's about politeness'. If the gift economy of the web is going to work some basic social rules need to be observed and I didn't do that. Many apologies to Dabitch.
Aaw. Sweet apology, thank you. Now where's that ice-lolly? ;)
Apropos of hat tip linkage, it's true that it only works when done right - not only for linking other blogs, but as back when blogs were born they always linked their source, newspapers or research sites. This is what made blogs accountable - by going to the (often much longer and more detailed) article at the source one could see how "right" the blogger was - instead of just taking their word for it. In the end, bloggers constant linking to the sources made them more trustworthy than newspapers in a way, as it gave the reader a perfect "judge for yourself" opportunity.
Since 2003, when the ad blog and the supported by ads real businesses blogs happened I've seen a steep decline in linking to the source, especially if it's another blog. This is sad, as it ruins the whole idea of "the blogosphere".
Meanwhile content like audio, video and images has travelled around much more than back in email-list days, much to the pleased hand rubbing of viral marketers.
... Don't think I had a point at all... I'm just rambling from my overheated brain. Where is that ice-lolly?
Posted by: dabitch | June 20, 2006 at 10:11 AM
Linking is about politeness AND about accountability.
Alan Rusbridger talked about it earlier this month; "Nowadays readers can assess the original source material we use."
"Back when blogs were born they always linked their source" - what a good point.
The best blogs are like yours Russell, providing links to a wide range of stimulating sources.
Posted by: carol | June 21, 2006 at 12:23 AM