Wordless Wednesday – No words, just pictures. Allow your photo(s) to tell the story.
The Waiting Game
Not sure what Wordless Wednesday is or how to participate? Click here for full details.
Are you participating in Wordless Wednesday? Leave a link to your post in the comments section, and I will visit it and leave you a comment (providing it is Wordless). I will also share the post on Twitter, providing you have connected your Twitter account to your blog.
Have you ever had any of your blog posts stolen? What I mean by that is literally copied word for word to another blog.
It’s happened to me a few times, and it’s also happened recently to James, who blogs at Perfect Manifesto. Read his post here.
Reading James’s post prompted me to update and republish this post from 2019.
Are you protecting your blog posts and photos from being stolen and used without your permission?
Some of my blog posts have been copied and published on other blogs. The thieves gave full credit for the work to themselves. When it first happened to me, I was utterly shocked and angry.
Unfortunately, with the internet being such a vast, open space used by billions of people worldwide, the chance of having your blog posts or work stolen is high.
Don’t think your blog is too small to have its contents stolen. As you’ll see in the comment image below, James felt his blog was too small for anyone to want to steal his blog posts, but he was wrong.
Never assume that nobody will steal your blog posts, images or photos
Whether it’s photos, fiction, reviews, poetry, recipes or gardening tips, everything faces the chance of being copied and somebody else taking full credit for your hard work.
What should you do if you discover one of your blog posts or photos have been stolen?
Contact the blogger concerned and ask them to remove what they have stolen.
If that fails, contact the blogging platform hosting the blog and file a copyright claim against the blogger. Whenever I have filed a claim. I’ve been lucky that the offending blogs and their contents were deleted.
Click here to find out what to do if a WordPress.Com user has infringed your Copyright.
What Can I Do To Protect My Blog Posts And Photos Being Stolen?
What I am about to advise you to do may not stop somebody else from copying your work, but it acts as a warning to anyone thinking of copying or duplicating your work without your permission that they could face the possibility of prosecution, a fine, both, or having their blog deleted by their host.
1. Display a copyright and disclaimer notice
I recommend that anybody with their own blog or web page clearly display a ‘Copyright and/or Disclaimer’ notice.
Some websites offer ‘Copyright and Disclaimer’ notices free of charge and give instructions on how to copy and paste one of these notices to your blog or webpage.
WordPress offers excellent advice and instructions on displaying a ‘Copyright and/or Disclaimer’ notice. Click here to view it.
Click here to use the free copyright notice I use on my blog. Instructions on copying and pasting the warning onto your blog are included.
2. Widgets and menus
If you use a theme on your blog which displays widgets, I recommend you display your Copyright and/or disclaimer notice as one of your widgets. I use the Toujours theme on my blog, and the widgets I use are displayed on the sidebar to the right of my blog posts.
My ‘Copyright’ notice is the last widget at the bottom of my sidebar, while my disclaimer notice (Disclaimer & GDPR) can be found on the menu at the top of my blog. Take a look at them.
You are welcome to use them as your blog’s copyright and disclaimer notices. All you need to do is copy and paste them to your own blog and, where necessary, change some of the wording to reflect your own name and the name of your blog.
If you’re unsure what ‘widgets’ are or how to add them to your WordPress blog, click here for full details.
You’ll see I’ve placed a copyright notice at the base of this post.
When a bot or spambot copies one of your posts, it won’t remove the copyright mark. Therefore, anyone reading the post may become suspicious and realise the post has been stolen. It also acts as a warning not to follow the blog that has stolen the post.
4. Protect your photos and images
Many bloggers also include photos and pictures in their posts.
While you may display a Copyright and/or disclaimer notice on your blog, I recommend you also watermark your photos and images.
Most computers come with software that helps edit photos you have loaded onto your hard drive, but there are other ways to watermark them.
I use an app called ‘Photobulk’ to watermark all my photos. It’s easy to use and costs around $9.99, but it can often be found on offer or free to download from the developer’s website. Click here to visit the website. (The link is not an affiliated link, so I do not receive any payment from it.)
There are free watermarking apps for Apple products, too many to mention here, so check the Apple App Store for more details.
What about Android users?
Click here for a free photo watermarking app for android. As an Apple user, I’ve never used the app, but the reviews for this particular app are excellent.
Don’t forget you can also add copyright notices as a photo caption. Your copyright details will then show under the photo, but it is best to watermark the photos, making stealing them more difficult.
If you have a reblog button on your blog, readers will assume you’re happy for them to reblog your posts. So, remove the reblog button if you don’t want any of your posts reblogged.
6. Remember to update
Finally, always ensure you download the latest updates for any apps or software you use; otherwise, they may not work correctly. This includes antivirus software for your computer and the latest updates for the blogging platform you use.
Of course, if you’re not worried about your blog posts, work, photos or images being copied or used without your permission, you can ignore all the above advice. However, I’d be surprised if any bloggers are not concerned about their posts, work and photos being stolen.
Remember what I said earlier? James thought his blog was a low target for thieves to steal his blog posts, but it happened.
If you have any questions about displaying copyright and/or disclaimer notices on your blog, please leave a comment.
Let’s wrap it up
Don’t assume your blog is too small to have anything stolen from it. It can happen to anyone.
Display a copyright and disclaimer notice on your blog.
Copyright every blog post by adding a copyright mark at the end of every post.
Watermark photos and images with the name of your blog before inserting them into posts.
If you don’t want other bloggers reblogging your posts, remove the reblog button from your blog.
Remember to update apps, antivirus software and any updates your blogging host releases.
Have you ever had your blog posts and/or photos/images copied and used without your permission? What do you do to help stop your blog posts, photos and images from being used illegally?
August 8, 2022, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about “the one who left the dress.” A 1940s-era dress still hangs in an abandoned house. Who left it and why? You can take any perspective and write in any genre. It can be a ghost story. Or not. Go where the prompt leads! Click here for details.
The Ghost In The Dress – by Hugh W. Roberts
The ghost always returned on the night of February 14th. Dressed in World War II uniform, we’d watch as it undressed and put on the dress we’d found behind the wood panelling in the main bedroom.
Our mother didn’t want to keep the dress in the house. She referred to it as an evil piece of cloth, but we couldn’t allow her to dispose of this piece of 1940s history.
“Does it still fit me?” the ghost always asked.
We’d nod our heads, smile and reply with the same answer.
“Yes. And you look so pretty in it, David.”
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Image Credit: Charli Mills
Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.
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Enjoyed this piece of flash fiction? Then you’ll love ‘More Glimpses.’
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32 short stories and flash fiction pieces take the reader to the edge of their imagination.
Wordless Wednesday – No words, just pictures. Allow your photo(s) to tell the story.
Light At The End Of The Tunnel
Not sure what Wordless Wednesday is or how to participate? Click here for full details.
Are you participating in Wordless Wednesday? Leave a link to your post in the comments section, and I will visit your post and leave you a comment (providing it is Wordless). I will also share the post on Twitter, providing you have connected your Twitter account to your blog.
August 1, 2022, prompt: Write a story that features someplace remote in 99 words (no more, no less). It can be a wild sort of terrain or the distance between people. What is the impact of a remote place? Go where the prompt leads! Click here for details.
FromDarkness To Light – by Hugh W. Roberts
Although Fatima knew this remote, off-the-radar place had existed for many years, she’d never plucked up the courage to visit it.
But instead of the darkness, isolation and dread she’d heard existed inside; she found her true self when stepping through the door.
Throwing off the shackles of a life lived as a lie, she swapped it for one she knew she wanted. Gliding toward the lights, she danced while being watched by rainbow-coloured faces.
As happiness finally filled her life and laughter filled her lungs, she decided she would tell her husband she was gay in the morning.
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Image Credit: Charli Mills
Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.
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Enjoyed this piece of flash fiction? Then you’ll love ‘More Glimpses.’
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32 short stories and flash fiction pieces take the reader to the edge of their imagination.
Do you struggle with reading and writing because of dyslexia? Read my recent guest post, hosted by Sally Cronin, about growing up with dyslexia and join the discussion.
July 25, 2022, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story sweet as cherries. It can be about the fruit or something cherries represent. Why is it sweet? Can you use contrast to draw out the beauty? Go where the prompt leads!
Cravings – by Hugh W. Roberts
Life was a bowl of cherries for Vinnie.
Despite what was happening, he still had ample food.
Life was fun, and had given Vinnie a sweet tooth. When he saw Mrs Longacre running past his kitchen window holding a cherry pie and screaming, he knew life was about to get sweeter.
Within seconds, Vinnie was out of the house and sinking his teeth, not into a cherry pie, but into Mrs Longacre’s neck. The sweetness of flesh helped his sweet cravings.
Having been a Zombie for an hour, Vinnie hoped the sweetness of this new life would last forever.
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Image credit: Charli Mills
Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.
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Enjoyed this piece of flash fiction? Then you’ll love ‘More Glimpses.’
***
32 short stories and flash fiction pieces take the reader to the edge of their imagination.
July 18, 2022, prompt: Write a story about floating in 99 words (no more, no less). Who is floating, where, and in what? Is the floating real or felt internally? Whatever floats your boat, go where the prompt leads! Click here for details.
Circle Of Love – by Hugh W. Roberts
Vikki floated on cloud nine for years while dating two men who had no idea the other existed.
As soon as she knew which one to propose and marry, she’d divorce her husband and end the relationship with the other man she was secretly seeing.
But Vikki couldn’t make up her mind.
Eventually, her bubble burst, and she was bought down from cloud nine with a bump when her husband made up her mind for her when she found him in bed with one of her lovers.
It wasn’t long before all four were floating on cloud nine again.
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Image Credit: Charli Mills
Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.
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Enjoyed this piece of flash fiction? Then you’ll love ‘More Glimpses.’
***
32 short stories and flash fiction pieces take the reader to the edge of their imagination.
Hugh's Views & News 