You ask yourself, are you just
imagining things or just overly assuming? But just like a photocopy machine,
you post a hobby's pic on your page and one FB friend comes up with something ‘sooo the same’, even the angle how it
was taken. Impressive yet far from unique. You just got your fringe and the
next Friday she has her new profile pic with her bangs newly trimmed, then the blue nails, then the next weekend date… etc… etc… Inspiration
is one thing, imitation is another.
Initially you think it was
coincidence; suddenly you like the same thing or in the same line of thinking (at
the same time). But when coincidences become too obvious and too often even
your vocabularies are reappearing (and
even your mother starts noticing it) you feel robbed and it begins to piss you
off.
While it is so tempting to just
copy, so painless to become an echo or so easy to live under the shadow, there
are dangers of becoming a copycat.
1) It’s
Facebook irritant, again, especially when it is too evident and too frequent but never convincing. So
imagine how many FB friends you annoy.
2) Content
scraping is plagiarism.
3) And doubly
offensive and insulting when you try to rephrase and the grammar gets crazy.
4) A counterfeit
LV bag is a counterfeit LV bag. It will show when it’s not original.
5) You will
not experience failing and falling flat - then getting up and doing better on next try or
if you failed over and over again, having something to laugh about yourself.
6) You miss
the thrill of discovering things yourself; the excitement of experimenting
because you just wait what she posts next, what she does next, what she wears
next.
7) You will
remain a shadow, you will never get a life. You will remain an echo, you will
never have a voice.
8) You will
miss being different, you will miss being the inspiration, you will miss being
real. Your only fan will be yourself.
9) You’ll
get used to copying, it will retard your brain.
10) You
will lose friends and don’t get new ones, real ones.
true! I super agree especially #7 and #8
ReplyDeletemay magsasabi na lang sa'yo pareho kayo ng blog pero mas nauna ka...hehehe
sabi nila imitation is the highest form of flattery daw, pero honestly hindi ako nafla-flatter..hehehe
haha true! they miss the sarcasm i guess.
ReplyDeleteIt's annoying especially when they copy your lines and post it on FB or when they try to rephrase them and suddenly even your interests are the same. :)
But then again, aren't all ideas either just copied, or an improved version of an already existing one? :)
ReplyDeleteHmm, I think not at all times and I don't think is applies to all writers. Especially if your niche or category is personal blogs or write ups. Will you copy your reaction, observation, views or opinions from others when your intention is to express? It defeats its purpose then of why you write. :)
DeleteBe ye original.. Nevertheless, there are certain areas in writing where copying is tolerated say... you are giving a recipe, historical facts and in a point opinion.
ReplyDeleteTrue! I lie this,"counterfeit LV bag is a counterfeit LV bag. It will show when it’s not original." what is with thr branded stuff anyway,that mentality of getting a branded one even if it is counterfeit gets into my nerve.
ReplyDeleteTrue! We sometimes don't realize that we will lose ourselves while trying to become like others. But when it comes to opinions, I think there's an exemption if it happen to be the same. Just my thought! :)
ReplyDeleteThese 10 points serves as really good reminders to not copy everyone's concept, idea.
ReplyDeletevery true i guess you have said all the true part! but indeed one thing is for sure you won't be able to be so proud once you copy other people's work.
ReplyDeleteI used to be a "victim" of this "copy cat" issue and it was too irritating. One of my girl friends kept following me everywhere and copying the moves and decision I made.
ReplyDeleteoh well, so familiar... :)
DeleteIdeas are best expressed when original. Sad that some people just settle to copy other's ideas to progress.
ReplyDeletesuper like the LV counterfeit statement haha
ReplyDeleteand yes it's annoying to see people copying your style.. at first it's nice tothink that someone idolize but in the end nakakairita pa din kahit na they say imitation is the highest form of flattery
true!
Deletetotally agree.. i just don't understand why some people need to copy or plagiarize other person's work.. I think it is ok to get some inspirations from others but they must still come up with their own piece.
ReplyDeleteIt's always important to be original. It's how we create our identity.
ReplyDeleteOriginal will be still the original. You can use someone's work as an inspiration but copying like a xerox machine is bad at all.
ReplyDeletei was raised up not to copy anything and stand out to my originality. i think children nowadays should be taught that way.
ReplyDeleteSome people would really get away with the easy task of copying or carrying counterfeits. They have reasons for it, it's a case to case basis.
ReplyDeleteRather than copy one's ideas, make it an inspiration and make your own mark. Everyone starts from copying but no one should remain a copycat forever. ^_^
ReplyDeleteI would rather buy an item or product that is not branded than patronizing a counterfeit one. NOTHING can beat the ORIGINAL.
ReplyDeletedefinitely #10!! Just stop copying.. if you cannot afford original ones, then go for the unbranded.. at least they are not fake! :)
ReplyDeleteIt is unfair to the original writer! The writer had invested his or her wisdom and skills and copy-paste writers are stealing it from them. Pity those people who can not stand to be themselves and be true to who they are, even to the point that they try hard to compose a write up that does not belong to them.
ReplyDeleteyes.
DeleteHahaha Natuwa ako sa number 4. We all must learn how to be honest and true to ourselves. Wag na kasi maging copycat :)
ReplyDeleteI hate copycats!, well it's okay to be inspired or to get inspiration from one's work but if you're gonna do it like it's like a knock off daaaaaamn! that's bad. I know a lot of Filipino fashion designers who loves to copy works of famous fashion designers and it saddens me because it gives our local fashion designers a bad reputation.
ReplyDeleteDuring friendster days, I made an effort to write a nice "About Me" page. Then friendster was taken down, facebook was introduced. While browsing a FRIEND'S page, I happen to click on HER "About" page and wow! My write up was there! That's very annoying. So we have the same "life" now? LoL.
ReplyDeleteOMG! This is the best blog post I've read today ever! So true and I so love this "A counterfeit LV bag is a counterfeit LV bag. It will show when it’s not original." It feels so bad when you put all your effort to come up with a unique idea then you'll find out that someone copied your work ahhh. I wonder why people are lazy that they don't even what to think at all. :|
ReplyDeleteOh by the way. I shared this on my Facebook Page :D
ReplyDeleteA little originality won't kill you :) love this article, i can relate! :))
ReplyDelete