I began writing on the internet in 2007. Since that time we’ve come a long way but we’ve also backtracked a tad too. But if there’s one thing I remember about writing articles, sourcing, taking pictures, all that fun stuff, it’s that we used to give credit to other sources as much as possible. One of the biggest issues we faced in those days and even more so today is the question of “who posted it first?” so that the right person would get credit.
The reality is that bigger outlets today sometimes post popular works days if not weeks after their original sources do. Often times bigger outlets get more traffic and the little guys get pissed off. Unfortunately that’s kind of how it’s always been and may be how it always is. The reality is that if you’re an internet site you’ve gotta be original in some way and stand out. Don’t just repost other people’s articles (unless you’re a giant outlet who has “earned” the right to do so even though no one should earn that right).
Anyway, I thought there was no better way to explain this than a brilliant GIF of Ron Swanson talking to April about Reddit’s relationship to IMGUR and in turn their relationship to 9GAG. And by the way, this is me reposting from Reddit who reposted from IMGUR. See the cycle?
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