Don't Steal Content!

In the blogosphere it is all to easy for a person to rapidly copy and paste content from one location to the next.

Some people do not realize this is bad for them for several reasons.

1. Google will un-index you if they find that you are running duplicate content and this can torpedo your attempts to earn money from your blog.
2. Some of that content may be copyrighted and you may be breaking the law. 
3. Many people have ignored number 2 as there was a perception that its too hard for companies to police the internet, that day is ending.  A number of new technologies and services such as a new service from Attributor Corp in Redwood City, CA, are allowing billions of sites to be indexed each week so that content can be cross indexed to identify duplicate content.  Then they can fight back.
4. Understand the difference between syndication / sharing and stealing.  Syndication occurs when a company provides a feed.  this sometimes includes an option to provide that feed on additional sites offering up a promotional option for vieweres to come visit the original site based on a feed or partial article that they read somewhere else.  Other services like YouTube and many content services share content with thousands of people, sometimes even selling that access so that it can be republished and provided to niche audiences.  Stealing can work in technical practice like syndication or sharing, but the difference is that the person using the information does not have legal authority to do so.