Feedback for Google

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Rio

Google recently sent me a letter thanking me for using adsense. And offering me a deal in Google Adwords. But the fact is that I had cancelled all my ads, and I had seven blogs of which six had been deleted and the other is on its way. Maybe Google is totally unaware. Perhaps they are nothing but a gigantic computer running amok. Have you ever thought of that? The only email I have ever received from them was totally devoid of warmth and rather intimidating, it could have been computer generated.

That is why I am posting this useful feedback; I figure their spiders have to index it, and if there are human beings behind the scene somewhere, they’ll get it. I don’t know. I really don’t know how it all works. All I know is that they are allowing plagiarism, which is tantamount to being plagiarists themselves; and in that case I don’t want to do business with them. I really don’t. They can keep their coupons.

But I understand; if you are making hundreds (or thousands) of dollars (I wasn’t) with Google Adsense you wouldn’t want to do that. You couldn’t! One thing you can do, however, is start looking for alternatives, as I am doing. There are alternatives to Google, you know. And let’s face it, why would you want to do business with someone who allows the plagiarizing of your work? It shows a lack of integrity, doesn’t it?

Another thing you can do is pass this on to Google; if you think there are human beings behind the computers and the spiders.

*****************

Rudyard Kipling’s prophetic words at a Rhodes dinner, Oxford, June 1924:

“For you will be delivered to life in a world where, at the worst, no horror is now incredible, no folly unthinkable, no adventure inconceivable.”

Comments on this post would be appreciated.


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Plagiarism | Google Slacking is Unprofessional, Unethical

Posted on April 6, 2010 by Rio

Am I about to be banned from the most popular search engine? If so please Yahoo me. I love a lot of the services that Google provides but the truth should be told. Their communication and service are not up to par; they are terrible – please correct me if I am wrong. The fact is that I have submitted all requirements that were asked  for (more than two months ago), and still nothing has been done about the delinquent website. They are still there and plagiarizing my content. Any lawyers out there who are willing to advise?

This letter was faxed on Jan. 27 of 2010:

Attn: Adsense Support, DMCA Complaints
January 26, 2010
Fax: 650-618-8507

Dear Sir/Madam,

1. My work at https://rioguzman.com/stalking-castaneda-excerpt-the-eye-of-the-dragon/ is being plagiarized (The Introduction) They are obviously altering the article and not giving due credit.

2. By http://www.athop.com/article/89036-An-Addition-to-the-Eye-of-the-Dragon-Stalking-Castaneda-An-Extract

3. My email is: rsgguz@gmail.com

4. Statement: I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above on the allegedly infringing webpages is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

5. And I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Sincerely,

( I did not forget my signature and I have no clue why the small print – can’t correct at the moment.)

Any suggestions?

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Referring to Plagiarism and Google Slacking

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Rio

Okay, I admit, I have to correct some information I posted before referring to the way Google handles plagiarism (to see all related posts please do a search on plagiarism in this blog).

First of all, do not expect an answer in 48 hours when you complain to Google; it takes weeks. And this is the procedure that Google wants you to follow, and that I will follow as soon as I get a chance. I expect the information will be useful to many.

“Hello,

It is our policy to respond to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the text of which can be found at the U.S. Copyright Office website: http://www.copyright.gov/) and other applicable intellectual property laws. In this case, this means that if we receive proper notice of infringement, we will forward that notice to the responsible web site publisher.

To file a notice of infringement with us, you must provide a written communication (by fax or regular mail, not by email) that sets forth the items specified below. Please note that pursuant to that Act, you may be liable to the alleged infringer for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) if you materially misrepresent that you own an item when you in fact do not. Accordingly, if you are not sure whether you have the right to request removal from our service, we suggest that you first contact an attorney.

To expedite our ability to process your request, please use the following format (including section numbers):

1. Identify in sufficient detail the copyrighted work that you believe has been infringed upon. For example, “The copyrighted work at issue is the text that appears on http://www.legal.com/legal_page.html.”

2. Identify the material that you claim is infringing upon the copyrighted work listed in item #1 above. You must identify each page that allegedly contains infringing material by providing its URL.

3. Provide information reasonably sufficient to permit Google to contact you (email address is preferred).

4. Include the following statement: “I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above on the allegedly infringing webpages is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.”

5. Include the following statement: “I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.”

6. Sign the paper.

7. Send the written communication to the following address:

Google, Inc.
Attn: AdSense Support, DMCA complaints
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View CA 94043

OR Fax to:

(650) 618-8507, Attn: AdSense Support, DMCA complaints

Regards,
The Google AdSense Team”

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Is Google Slacking? | On Plagiarism

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Rio

This is what I found in Glenn Hefley’s blog www.glennhefley.com who used to work at Google: “Google is famous for not messing around with this type of thing. Someone stealing content, will generally have their Adsense account closed in 48 hours. They will not be able to get it back once it is closed.”

But I have reported this site, www.athop.com/tag/absolved for plagiarism  (“An Addition to the Eye of the Dragon – Stalking Castaneda – An Extract. Introduction…”) three or four times since last month and nothing has been done. Is Google slacking? Is that site interfering with my communication? Anybody knows? Most probably, everything they have in the site is plagiarized.

This lack of honesty and integrity shouldn’t be tolerated.  Wake up Google!

Life is what we make it. Always has been, always will be.– Grandma Moses

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Plagiarism, what to do? | Glenn Hefley | The Eye of the Dragon

Posted on September 10, 2009 by Rio

I was checking some of my keywords on Google recently when I came across an excerpt from my book “The Eye of the Dragon, Stalking Castaneda” which had been copied almost word for word without giving me credit. A few words had been clumsily changed (to try to hide the fact that it was plagiarized, I presume), but the only result of the changes was the distortion of the meaning of some sentences; it is obviously plagiarism.

After having tried to contact the support team of the website to no avail, I was wondering how to proceed when I came across Glenn Hefley who has been a free lance writer for years and has experience with these Internet thieves. Not only he explained to me how to proceed, but he also sent me a link to an article he had published on the subject of what to do about plagiarism. Since this is greatly needed information for all of us, I am including it all here for your convenience:

Freelance Writer Tip #2 : What to do about Plagiarism

By Glenn Hefley

So, you were out there on the web, engaging in a little harmless narcissism by searching for your name, or some favorite phrase of yours, and you come across someone who is publishing your articles, on their web site, without credit to you, or a how-dee-doo … no  nothing –  Just blatantly using your work for their profit. Well how about that?

What to do. First, read this page on Responding to Plagiarism, and follow the instructions.

Next :  People who do this type of stuff, generally have ads on their pages, which means, they are making money on your work, without paying you. If there is a Google Adsense ad on there, there will be a link at the bottom of the ad you can click on, which will take you to a Google Adsense Report page. At the bottom of this page, is a form you can fill out, to make a DMCA complaint against the owner of that web site.

Google is famous for not messing around with this type of thing. Someone stealing content, will generally have their Adsense account closed in 48 hours. They will not be able to get it back once it is closed. There are far too many people and companies out there on the Internet willing to run ads on their web site, for Google to risk the possibility of being pulled into a DMCA related law suite. They remove the account.

Most other ad companies, affiliate programs, and the like — do exactly the same thing. If you can find out which ad/affiliate companies the bad-man-site is using, then send them off an email as well.

It is a simple thing to ask permission to use an article. People ask me all the time. If it is an article which is on one of my web sites, I generally say yes, as long as I get a link back. Why not? It is even a little flattering. In fact you will find on most of my web sites I have a function which allows for exactly this type of co-sharing.

However, most of the time this occurs with my work, it is an article that I’ve sold to a client.

Clients don’t like the value of their investments undermined like this, and they will appreciate your effort in keeping their investment in good health. This doesn’t mean you are obligated to play watch-dog for their content (it is thier content once they have purchased it), but if you see this happening, let the client know, at the very least, and send them the information in this article, so they can respond in the most efficient manner.

– you have my permission to do so…

You might even pick up a few more projects from the client that way.

Happy writing.

To contact Glenn or get more information please visit: www.glennhefley.com

“It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us…Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start.”– Mother Teresa

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