Hello everyone,
I have recently posted about a news article, which then got upvoted by @cheetah which I appreciated. However, I decided to go and read some of the information that @cheetah has, and it's an eye opener for sure. I recommend that everyone should read at least this section, if not all the posts related to plagiarism and using 'unique' content for their posts and why https://steemit.com/steemit/@cheetah/faq-about-cheetah
I found out what many already know, that plagiarism is taking someone else's work and passing it off as your own, which I don't believe I'm guilty of because I give the original author credit when I use their work. However, what I am guilty of is using someone else's work and copying and pasting it into my post and not giving my own point of view. Moreover, just because I have given them credit doesn't mean this is alright, because it's not, especially once you understand why.
After reading much of @cheetah posts you begin to understand things better, and that you should be creating new, original content of your own. Simply copying and pasting someone else's work (in cheetahs' words) doesn't add any value to steemit, and it's also not engaging with the community. Steemit is more than this, it's about a community that shares points of view and discusses a wide variety of topics.
Simply copying and pasting a whole article that can be found elsewhere on the internet doesn't give rise to a discussion, because you simply haven't given your own point of view, and you are not inviting further discussion on the topic, something that I am definitely guilty of. Therefore, with that being said, once you find out that you're not really participating in the steemit community, what should you do to change this?
In future I will be writing my own articles, which will be unique and not found elsewhere online, as I realize that this is the way to generate better feedback and stimulate conversion, and in turn, helping to get myself a better reputation here on steemit too. Moreover, this helps steemit become a better place for members to join and interact with and will not end up like other social media outlets where everything is just shared, copied and plagiarized.
Steemit will be more unique in itself, with lots of great unique information that will be found online, but only on steemit, giving people the opportunity to find great topics with useful information that they want to interact with, so they will want to join the steemit community. Now, I have seen many posts that have been copied and pasted without personal opinion and also posts that have been totally plagiarized. However, this could be, because they simply didn't realize.
Therefore, I ask that all who take the time to read and vote on this post here, to at least try to please do the right thing, and try to always use your own words. In addition, if you are going to share other information, be certain that you always credit back the original author for his or her work, too. Finally, I know I am for certain going to change this in practice with all my future articles I blog about here on Steemit for sure!
Good luck all and Happy Easter !!