Friday, August 9, 2013

:: Crazy Ride-- Scraping Update ::


Thank you everyone for your support regarding my blog and the apparent SCRAPING that has taken place. 

I've gotten some really great links from different people and tons of advice from several of you. This has all been so helpful. 
One post in particular that was helpful (and she was quick to give feedback in the matter WHILE ON VACATION!!!) was by Kirsten at Craftiments "How to Discourage Feed Scraping in Blogger"   -- her post was chock full of information. 
Plus, she emailed me right away with some other links. (more on that later) Thank you Kirsten! 

Whew! What a crazy ride this has been.



I think I've taken living in the country for granted.  I used to think "I live in the country. I mind my own business, what can possibly happen to me?"


Well, if you use the internet, a word of caution. We are all susceptible, in this day and age, to having our identity, our reputation, and our lives plagiarized by would be predators.

It is sad.

So, I'm working in the background of my blog.
I'm editing.
I'm adding jump-breaks...




you may have noticed a few of my most recent posts with jump breaks.  Most of the time they say "read more" or "continue reading"...Did you know you can customize them to say whatever you like?  Mine says "more nuggets and insight" ...because you know, I'm all about being cheeky!

I know most people will NOT want to click on that little link to read the rest of my post. But, that's ok. It's a chance I'm willing to take.
If I get my content off that other site... and can keep it from being scraped again, then it is well worth it.  (getting it off their site is something I'm hoping is in the works right now)...I'll be sure and let everyone know how that is panning out for me.


Also--
I've created a new link to my profile by clicking on the signature photo below.



I've clicked on it and hit the link button (this particular signature had it's own link so I had to click the link icon 2 times...and pasted the link to my profile and then clicked the box that said "rel=nofollow" attribute
...and Vi`ola!

now it will show that my blog is linked to this post and that I'm the author.  I think that is how it works.

these are just a few of the things I'm learning. I'm hoping to pass along to you.

Lastly, Gail, from My {re}Purposed Life is the one who found this by accident. She mis-typed my blog URL in her phone; but she notified me right away.  I'm so grateful to her for this.  She has also reminded me to BACK UP MY BLOG.

This is something else I'm working on doing.
You should consider this too.



I just don't think it's safe to put your eggs all in one basket, you know?

Again, Corn in my Coffee-Pot Pat!

12 comments:

Nadine @ Chic with the Kool-Aid Mustache said...

No worries, your fans will click through to read the rest of the blog!

Connie in Hartwood said...

There's really no need to add the jump breaks. This is an annoyance that adds no additional protection and has been perpetuated from blog to blog, and it's not necessary. Shortening your RSS feed so the email subscribers get only a taste of your new posts is sufficient. A scraper isn't going to your blog to steal your content, he/she gets it from your feed. So don't alter how your blog itself functions ... alter the FEED.

Watermarking photos IS essential, and not in a subtle, in the corner sort of way like the post you linked to. Put a transparent watermark in the photo in a spot where it can't be cropped out. (I did a Photoshop tutorial for one way to do this if you're interested.)

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

I had no idea you could customize that. Interesting. Thanks. I'm always learning something.

Anonymous said...

Wow. I do not understand any of this, but I am glad you do! :-D

Diane said...

Thanks for all this info. I didn't know jump breaks were a security device. They kind of put my off, but now that I know the reason why, I can see the need.

Cindy said...

WoW! I had no idea this could happen, I don't know if I have the energy to do that right now, later hopefully and I do hope it won't be too late. Thanks for the info.
Hugs, Cindy

Manuela@A Cultivated Nest said...

So sorry to hear that this has happened to you. What a pain!

Revi said...

Pat, You can take what was meant for evil and turn it into good! I'd LOVE it if you did a detailed tutorial for all of us when you finally get this thing finished. (I know, I'm being lazy and letting you do all the hard work.) Still, I've seen tidbits here and there for things to do, but none have been explicit with screen shots and links and the whole shebang. YOU could do that and be our hero forever!
-Revi

Audrey said...

Hi Pat ... so sorry for this trial period you are going through right now. Hopeful, you will get the problems solved and get back to a peaceful normal. I hope that you can get the person doing this stopped or removed. This is indeed a thief and should be punished in some way.
Hugs,
Audrey Z. @ Timeless Treasures

My Repurposed Life said...

eggs in one basket! such a serious subject, then right at the end you make me chuckle! hahahaha

I'm hoping it all gets fixed real soon!
gail

The Paisley Butterfly said...

I will absolutely click for "more nuggets and insight"!

I put the same breaks in my posts...
I just didn't realize the benefit toward preventing scraping...
Of course, I didn't realize that existed until I read about it here, on your site. So, I thank you for sharing this incredible information.

What is "backing up your blog"? And how does one do it?

Please keep posting all you learn on this. Since I am new to the blogging world (having started mine just this past March), I have been overwhelmed with how to go about finding pertinent information about protecting myself.

Thank you!

The Paisley Butterfly said...

P.s. I just changed my "Read More" to fit my site better! Thanks for sharing that that was possible...did't realize I had missed that fact :)