I make every effort to make my blog as original as possible using my own thoughts and words to express who I am and to chronicle and curate the things I am interested in. With that said I do “borrow” from sources when my own words aren’t as good as the original. I do give credit where credit is due though. Occasionally I will re-blog a post from a fellow blogger if it fits the overall narrative of my blog.
I get a lot of material for my blog from Wikipedia, YouTube, Google, Websites that features quotes and saying from others, etc. There are images that help tell my story that come from various sources which are copyrights of the holders and creators of their work. My blog is a non-commercial work and I have no intention of monetizing it.
I am influenced and inspired by other bloggers and the culture and attitudes of the moment. Sometimes that influence rubs off and you end up copying someone without realizing it. However there are some who just seem to take someone else’s work and make it their own, which is wrong.
Our world is a mix of open source and copyrighted works so we have to be careful to do the right thing and credit sources as a best practice.
What is your experience with originality and blogging?
As always I encourage you to be original, be yourself, make your blog unique. Keep on blogging.
Many bloggers make a living with their blogs. Making money off ones blog is a great way to bring in extra dollars and to get paid to do what you love. If you are monetizing site please be smart about how your ads display. I worked for a newspaper in their classified advertising department and I understand about advertising being the life blood of many sites. Most blogs need a lot of ads to make money after expenses. Layout of your site and template selection is important. The important question is, what do you do to get all your sponsors on your site?
The Tony Burgess Blog 