I suppose one could look at this subject of being plagiarized as a bit of a back-handed compliment. After all, if the copy wasn't good and the concept appealing to the reader, no one would be inclined to cut and paste it word for word into works bearing their name instead of mine. Right?!

Ahh, but there's the rub. It is precisely BECAUSE it's good that I'm not happy about it being plagiarized and asked the offending "writer" to apologize, retract, credit, and desist his practice of stealing my work and passing it off as his.

I have been learning the art of attraction marketing now for the better part of this year and my livelihood is determined by my skill as a good copywriter who can turn a good phrase or expound on a good concept mastered and applied. My ability to write directly attracts my target market which just "happens" to be the same target market of my "admirer".

So, I "work hard for the money,..... so hard for it honey...... and he just don't treat me right" as the Donna Summer Disco hit so aptly describes.

So what happened exactly? I'll publish the two pieces of content here and let you be the judge if I was plagiarized or not.

First a little background.

It was in January of this year, 2008, when I read the groundbreaking work of Ann Sieg entitled The Renegade Network Marketer and my life hasn't been the same since. This ebook rocked my world and opened up new vistas of possibilities for how to market, promote, and otherwise conduct my network marketing business.

I spent entire week-ends poring over her book absorbing the entire paradigm shift from approaching a prospect to attracting one. Having the customer come to me to BUY rather than me go to them to SELL. What a difference!!

Next came Mike Klingler and The Renegade University where I learned many practical applications of Ann's teachings such as how to write a Hub like this one you are reading now. Again, many many many nights and week-ends dedicated to the learning curve of mastering Attraction Marketing. I learned how to write with "pull" and target my prospect and speak to that prospect's needs, wants, desires, and ambitions. Really time consuming, to say the least, between all the webinars, writing assignments, and content publishing and bookmarking!

I was definitely guru-vin' and groovin' on my Sunday afternoons and every other spare minute I could find!

Fast forward a few months and I end up on Facebook through one of Mike's webinars social network marketing where I meet another marketing Guru by the name of Brian Campbell. Brian is all about social networking and builiding up friends and groups to market yourself to by becoming a trusted resource of valuable information.

So, I built up a thousand friends and formed a few groups - one of which is strictly targeting my network marketing company's audiences - vitamin takers and entreprenuers. Then spent and spend many hours chatting and socializing and getting to know these nice people and making them my friends and becoming someone they want to do business with. My virtual friends are as close to me now as my real life ones! Fun - but again, contains writing with a purpose.

Which brings me to today's situation - Plagiarism.

Ok, so I'm workin' hard for the money, guru-vin' on my Sunday afternoons and then I find IT. The perfect business. It has everything. Perfect comsumable product, affordable with a revolutionary twist, patented technology, start up ground floor timing, internet marketing lead generators, and a compensation plan that is brilliant.

It is called GeneWize and it markets personalized dietary supplements formulated just for you from your DNA cheek swab sample or DNA Customized Vitamins for short. Awesome, absolutely awesome!

I have formed a group on Facebook called -- Your DNA Customized Vitamins - Affordable! Investors and Customers Welcome! And I regularly write the members of hubs I've published explaining the science or my personal experience:

1. DNA Vitamins: To Boldly Go Where No Genome Has Gone Before
2. Butterflies and DNA Vitamins - "Expressing" the Miracle of Genes
3. The Dallas Divas & DNA Vitamins - "Live Long and Prosper"

Yesterday, 09.25.08, I learned of some truly noteworthy news and I quickly messaged all my members about this. Here is my message :

Breaking News! MonaVie Diamonds Moving to GeneWize!

What do the major leaders in the dynamic mega MonaVie organization know that you dont??

Because they are moving to GeneWize to start new organizations.

This means massive business builders know a great opportunity when they see one. How about you???

Having your DNA tested and vitamins formulated and targeted just for YOUR individual body will become the norm once this becomes familiar and known for being affordable.

DNA customized Vitamins and personalized supplements are simply a better idea than guessing at what vitamins to take, how many, and how much.

The bandwagon is at your door RIGHT NOW and people are jumping on board. Join us! Don't let this opportunity to be in on the next big mega-trend pass YOU bye.

If massive business builders are leaving million dollar incomes to join this company, don't you think you ought to at least take a look??!!!

~Lisa~

817.713.6247

Elvis sang it first and Travis Tritt cashed in on it and I stumbled upon it when checking my emails the next day. Trouble. T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Exactly 24 hours after I published my scoop, my breaking news, my targeted points at my targeted audience that specifically belongs to my DNA Customized Vitamins Group, another GeneWize affiliate who is in that group who started a rival Facebook group sends out this email to his members:

WHO IS THE NEXT STAR?

MonaVie Diamond Leaders met with GeneWize LifeScience Oficials this week to check out the opportunity.

What do the major leaders in the dynamic mega MonaVie organization know that you dont??

They are moving their huge organizations over to GeneWize to start building new downlines. Why? It's very simple: GeneWize has the best Compensation Plan in the Industry and these leaders know it! They always find the best opportunities and they jump right on to get the best possible position. How about you? Are you ready to get started?

Having your DNA tested and supplements formulated and targeted just for YOUR individual body will become the norm once this becomes familiar and known for being affordable.

DNA customized and personalized supplements are simply a better idea than guessing at what to take, how many, and how much.

The next big megatrend is here right now with the right products, the right company at the right time. Don't miss it!

If massive business builders are leaving million dollar incomes to join this company, don't you think you should at least take a closer look?

Check out my website and watch the 14 minute video on the 2nd page. It will change your thinking about supplements. I guarantee it!!

R-----

Well, from where I come from using someone's "theme" and then using their words verbatim without quoting them is called PLAGIARISM and is wrong. Not to mention counter productive. Talk about total Wipe out!

Many of my members are also members of the other rival group and saw my posting first. When they saw it again, on his site, barely changed and not quoting where he got the information from, it looks cheesey, and cheap. People are not stupid. They are smart enough to see a copycat too lazy to come up with his own ideas and too lazy to rewrite the article in his own words and style.

So, my fellow hubbers, this is not a hub to lament poor me but as a great illustration of why we don't use duplicate content in our Attraction Marketing efforts and why we especially don't want to use someone else's content without giving them credit or using quotations.

After attempting to resolve this situation amicably with a nice but pointed email, I was brushed off with the attitude of "dont worry your pretty little head over it, darlin' because it's all in your imagination" email response. Since he obviously doesn't get it, he will repeat this and I'm not going to let that happen. I'm standing up for my hard earned skills.

I am turning this matter over to our uplines to sort out with the documentation of who wrote what when. Even if nothing comes of it, I win. I just wanted my fellow attraction marketers and hubbers to see a good example of plagiarism and to encourage you, too, to stand up and "don't let 'em get away with it" if it happens to you, too.

Below is the wikipediia definition of plagiarism and a poll. I encourage you to weigh in and let me know if you think I was plagiarized or not. I value your opinions. And I welcome your comments, as well.

plagiarism is defined as :

the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work. (italics mine)

Further in the definition, wiki states:

Plagiarism is not copyright infringement. While both terms may apply to a particular act, they are different transgressions. Copyright infringement is a violation of the rights of a copyright holder, when material protected by copyright is used without consent. On the other hand, plagiarism is concerned with the unearned increment to the plagiarizing author's reputation that is achieved through false claims of authorship. (italics mine)

And finally regarding online material:

Since it is very easy to steal content from the web by simply copying and pasting, the problem of online plagiarism is growing.^{[citation needed]} This phenomenon, also known as content scraping, is affecting both established sites ^[3] and blogs ^[4]..........

It is important to reiterate that plagiarism is not the mere copying of text, but the presentation of another's ideas as one's own, regardless of the specific words or constructs used to express that idea. In contrast, many so-called plagiarism detection services can only detect blatant word-for-word copies of text. (italics mine)