What A Rip Off

Being an excellent writer, it isn't surprising that my work influences others. However, it's unfortunate when you work is just "re-mixed" into some bastardized version of what you originally wrote. Below are two examples of articles from the Washington Post and New York Times that are very similar to blog posts I wrote before they were published. We've almost got some Jayson Blair shit on our hands here.

Three years ago, I wrote an article for my internship that didn't get a ton of views -- but I see a similar article once a month from a major publication. The piece was about the pitfalls of online identity and the lack of privacy/permanency/availability of this web presence. My internship was about networking and recruiting, so there's an obvious career/professional slant to my piece.

From my article (7/31/2005):
"Nearly everybody has a professional presence online–even college students who don’t realize that their personal virtual presence is also often their professional personal presence. It is increasingly important to protect these representations of ourselves.

Without realizing it, these footprints that we create (or are created for us) are indexed, linked, cited, and sometimes even copied. It is available, searchable, and most scary, perpetual. An incriminating quote or picture can be saved and reproduced on a site that is out of your control."

From the Washington Post (5/2/2008):
"Social networks, which let members share photos, videos and intimate details about themselves and their friends, have pushed the boundaries of how people view their personal space. Now, the younger generations that used to embrace the voyeuristic qualities of the Web are considering the advantages of borders between their public and private lives.

In person, people tend to adapt their behavior to the situation -- talking to a co-worker requires different language and attitude than what's comfortable with a college friend. On social networks, everyone's in on the same conversation."

More recently, the New York Times fashion/design blog The Moment wrote a very similar Axe Detailer piece yesterday morning. I wrote about the AXE detailer last week after I saw an ad for the product in the July Playboy.

From my post (6/12/2008):

"You can see it has a grip, strap, and a different texture on top. But we all know this is a basic loofah. The ad in the magazine has two blurbs pointing to spots on the detailer that say "Scrubs candle wax off your chest hair" and "Washes lipstick off your neck". This way, AXE consumers know that this product is for people with penises who like vaginas. I guess candle wax and lipstick could still apply to a tranny."

From the New York Times blog The Moment (6/19/08):

"The Axe Detailer Shower Tool, I quickly discovered, is basically a souped-up loofah for men: red and black with futuristic plastic molding. “Body puffs are sooo feminine,” one wide-eyed PR woman told me. “I mean, you don’t have one, do you?” I do. It’s white and only as feminine (or masculine) as, say, a MacBook, trees, pencils or the subway."