Content Scraping

Wikipedia says that web scrapping (or content scraping) is when content is copied and mashed up to create a scraper site... for the non-techie... it's simply PLAGIARISM! Rawr!

One of the major reasons why I started blogging is because I wanted to revive my muse. I've been writing since I was a kid, but I stopped for about 8 years and only found my way back again a couple of years ago. I try my best to come up with original content and I hope I succeed in doing that.

I have friends who had to report abuse because their content was being copied in bulk! I have been a victim of content scraping (both for text and photos) as well, but it's nothing really major. I try my best to come out with original content because I think it's quite un-creative (and unethical) to just copy another blogger's post and criticize it on your blog, unless it's a meme (and meme's are usually fun to do!).

Here are some exercises I do whenever I'm stumped: (1) Get 5 objects near you, make a story out of it. (2) Or chronicle everything you did today and ask yourself, "What's the most interesting thing that happened?" (3) List down all your expenses for the day and answer the question, "What purchase gave you the most value for your peso?" (4) Or go answer a survey/meme, I normally do that to psyche myself up for work on blue Monday mornings.

There are days though that my muse totally deserts me, so I just normally don't force the issue and take a break. So, what do you do when you face a blank sheet?