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Copycat–or Copyright?

No, not Marvel's Copycat! Copyright! (Image courtesy of Screenrant.com)
No, not Marvel’s Copycat! CopyRIGHT! (I don’t think I’d be asking her for permission on anything soon.) 
[Image courtesy of Screenrant.com]
I have been tasked with working on a team that’s in the process of setting up a new standard of practice and a new process for handling copyright documents and multimedia. While many of you may have dealt with copyright issues due to the nature of your work, I haven’t dealt with it very much at all, so this has been quite an education, and I’m still learning the complexities.

I had some familiarity with copyright issues due to some articles by Scott Abel and discussions I’ve had with him. Scott’s one of those who’s brought this same issue to the content strategy world. Scott’s dealt with it from the perspective of content reuse, but also from the music perspective with song mash-ups. The idea is that in this age of content curation, what is okay to lift and reuse, and what it blatant plagiarism–or a copyright violation?

In the case of the company that I’m working with, it’s a little bit complicated. It’s not the same as doing a citation or crediting the creator of the document or multimedia object, but rather using it in other circumstances. Among some of the issues that have evolved include what happens when someone wants to use all or part of an abstract written that has been presented at a conference? Who owns the copyright to that? If there’s a graph, image, or other model in it, who owns it? Under what circumstances? When can we lift images for internal use versus external use like marketing or an instance whereby an external viewer cannot keep a copy (like an image or model used in a presentation or a brochure)?  I’ve been learning many use variations of these kinds of documentation, and learning when it’s legitimate and when it isn’t. Part of the problem the company has had–which I suspect is probably a common problem–is that outside marketing vendors are creating company materials would get an image, but there were instances when the vendor wouldn’t know if the image’s copyright license had been paid or permission received to use it. The vendor would not be able to answer the question of whether permission was received or not, and that opened up the company to potential copyright liability.

The company is smart that they are trying to get a better handle on this, and set down some stricter guidelines than they’ve had in the past. The last time they made a code of practice, it was before the age of tablets and smartphones, so it was time to revisit this. While the company can’t police everything, and much of the responsibility falls on the document author to help ensure that anything borrowed has proper permissions, they are attempting to set down some rules and a verification process that all necessary permissions for copyrighted items used have been obtained.  Part of my job is not only contributing to the establishment of what the verification process will be, but I will also be developing a DAM (digital asset management) system for employees to use that will have images, documents, etc. that the company has already licensed that would be safe to use in company documentation. Another part of my job going forward will be helping the company communicate this new verification process to get employees to follow-through.

While I’m still figuring out how to navigate through this project and understand my contribution to the project, it has made me rethink some of my own personal practices. I admit that I’m most likely a guilty party when it comes to not obtaining or crediting for images I’ve used. I’m sure I’m not the first or the last one to do that either, but often I will try to change an image in some way so that it’s more of a reuse than a permissions infringement, especially if it’s from a common image or source. Perhaps that’s not the best case scenario for reuse, but it’s very difficult to find great images for free that are royalty and license-free that capture exactly what you want to convey. Even so, it’s easier now–more than ever–to lift images or other information from documents or multimedia without proper permissions. Admit it–we’ve all used a snipping tool or did a print-screen capture on our computers at some point (or many times).

In the case of this company, I was finding out that they have very strict rules against this, and in the case of conferences or submissions to professional journals, the abstracts or posters later belong to the conference or the publisher, not the author. So if an author wanted to use part or all of his/her abstract in, say, a book later, he/she would have to get permission from the publisher or conference to use his/her own work! It sounds crazy, but that’s the system. Yet, it makes sense to keep one owner of the work for less complications. The additional complexity arises from the fact that each conference and publisher has different rules. Many have similar policies, but nobody has the same process and policy as another.  And this is what the company I’m helping–as well as other companies–have to navigate through.

I’m sure I’m going to be learning a lot more in the coming weeks about this topic, and it’ll be interesting to see how things unfold with creating this modified process. While keeping abreast of copyright issues is a daunting task, it’s really in our best interest to try to adhere to gaining proper permissions whenever possible. It protects all of us–not just the author or the publisher, but it protects users as well.

What do you think about copyrights and permissions? Do you think some of it is overkill in the digital age? What is your experience with it?

Include your comments about your experiences or opinions below. I’m curious to learn more about this to help me put it in perspective!

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Win an All-Access Pass to Information Development World 2015! Here’s how.

Image courtesy of @InfoDevWorld
Image courtesy of @InfoDevWorld

It’s great to see so many of my readers are as excited as I am about going to this year’s Information Development World conference. This event, organized by Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler, and Val Swisher, Content Rules, takes place September 30 – October 2, 2015 in San Jose, CA. It’s jam-packed with awesome presentation topics (over 80 presentations, case studies, and panel discussions to choose from), plus eight full-day skills development workshops, and two floors of exhibition space. It’s a content creator’s paradise!

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could attend for free?

You can! Here’s how.
1.Login to your Twitter account.
2.Post a tweet explaining why you should should receive a free ticket to the event. Creativity counts!
3.Include these two identifiers (@InfoDevWorld and #WhyMe) in your tweet.

One lucky TechCommGeekMom reader will win a free All-Access pass to the event. The All-Access pass includes your selection of one pre-conference full-day skills development workshop on September 30 and unlimited access to the conference, October 1 and 2. It also includes light breakfast, lunch, coffee breaks, and snack breaks daily.

Restrictions: The free All-Access pass to the conference does not include transportation costs (airfare, train, car, parking) nor does it include accommodations or dinner at the event.

You can enter as often as you like until 1:00 PM EDT on July 15th. I’ll then tally all the entries, and pick a winner within the next day or so after that!

So what are you waiting for? Commence Tweets……NOW!

(Want to learn more about this event? Check out IDW’s homepage.)

 

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IDW looks like an awesome event–can’t wait to go!

"It's just a dream to go to Information Development World, so I can learn more about content strategy! C'mon gang, let's go!" says Barbie.
“It’s just a dream to go to Information Development World, so I can learn more about content strategy! C’mon gang, let’s go!” says Barbie.

Last year, I was really disappointed that I couldn’t go to the inaugural Information Development World (IDW) conference in San Jose, CA.  I knew, since it’s produced by The Content Wrangler and Content Rules, that it would be a top-notch event. After reading all the reviews and commentary from my friends and content strategy colleagues about how great the event was, I was even more disappointed that I wasn’t able to go.

But it’s different this year! This year, I’M GOING! I’m pretty excited about this, because I know this is a conference that is definitely geared towards content strategists who are like me–someone who not only does content strategy, but also does content management, web design, user strategy, works with customer experience, and has a love of localization and globalization issues as well. Of course, the event is also covering other topics like content marketing, data and analytics, digital publishing,  and content engineering. The point of this conference is to help those who touch content in any way, shape, or form and want to enhance the customer experience through content experiences.  Sounds like my kind of conference, as if it was custom-made for someone like me who is still building her content-based career!

I like that there are several workshops and presentations–80 in all–to choose from. I’m sure there will the dilemma of which ones to choose at a given time slot! While looking at the IDW schedule as it’s posted at this writing, there are several sessions I will have a hard time deciding between that I’d really like to see. For example, how does one decide between Work Smarter Not Harder – Remove the Guesswork from Content Creation and By the Numbers: Making the Case for Reuse Based on Facts during the same time slot? Or how can this former Barbie aficianado miss the Mattel Case Study: Maintaining Barbie’s Brand Fidelity Region to Region presentation?  I know I’ll have to make some tough decisions between a lot of excellent topics that I’d really like to learn more about. The fortunate thing for all those who attend is that this group of presenters is the “cream of the crop”. I’ve seen several of the presenters and workshop instructors in action before, so I know that this will be time well-spent, and I will come home with my head buzzing with many great ideas and new concepts to digest!

The main focus of IDW is customer-centric–which is something that will help a lot of information developers. Having originally come from a customer service/client services background before I entered the IT/techcomm world, I tend to have a better understanding than most people, so it comes a little more naturally to me. Today, content strategy really is all about personalization and making content speak to customers in a way that it feels like the content is talking to each customer specifically. That’s not an easy task. The goal of IDW is to help everyone get a much better understanding of how this is done, and how to make it work most efficiently so that content works for you, not against you. How could you not want to learn about that?

I’m not going to miss out this year. I’m going, and it would take a lot to stop me from going. There’s too much to learn and great content strategists to meet–why would I pass this up again? I’m not making the same mistake twice! It’s a fantastic investment in ME and what I can bring to my clients.

Have you registered for IDW yet? If so, great! If not, what are you waiting for? Register today!

You can find out more about IDW by visiting their website at www.informationdevelopmentworld.com

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Online Student Again: Part 2 – SEO is kicking my butt

kick_me
That’s right, SEO. I know you put that sign there. (I wish I looked this good from behind, but that’s not me! I’m much wider. :-S) You win.

The second module of my online course in digital marketing is about Search Marketing and how SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) works. The module is taught by Mike Moran, who crams a lot of information in 3-4 hours of video.

My initial reaction is similar to when I heard Mark Lewis talk about using XML and DITA to determine ROI metrics on tech content, namely that I understand it on a broad level, but ouch, it hurts my brain! Mark is awesome*, don’t get me wrong, and what he figured out with his XML analytics is genius to me, but about 95% of it is over my head. That’s how I feel about Mr. Moran’s talk on SEO Marketing. I understand the concepts without any problem, but I supposed that since I have little practical marketing experience, much like my XML/DITA experience (which is even narrower), it’s hard for me to make the full connection to the information without feeling overwhelmed.

I just took my quiz, and got a 70% on it. Ugh. Not good. I can take the quiz over again many times until I get a better score, but that’s not a good starting point.

I think much of it feels overwhelming not only because it’s taken from a marketing perspective which I don’t originally come from, but also because I’m listening to the information, and the content strategist/writer in me is trying to think, “Okay, now with the content I write, it has to be clear and concise, and written in as much plain English as possible, using consistent terminology and word choices to be able to be reused and translated easily, as well as written in a way that can be globally understood in context, AND now I have to start thinking about keywords in relation to organic and paid searches to my website so that I can have as high a ranking in web searches as possible.” (And I’m sure I’m forgetting a few other things, too.)

AAAGGGGH!

I think my brain just exploded. Hopefully there’s something left, because it feels like a mess inside my cranium. In the end, what’s happened to the actual content? Is there anything left worth looking at after that? How creative can I be to make ALL of that happen?

To put it in context, I’m trying to think about how to apply this information I’m learning about search towards either this blog or towards websites I’m thinking of building for my potential tech comm consulting business I might start this summer. Part of me wants to give up before I even start! How can I compete when it all boils down to keywords in my content, figuring out differentiators (which I can’t figure out in the first place), and other factors that would help drive my listings towards the top of a search? For example, how do I even start to promote myself as a tech comm consultant? I have to figure out what makes me a great choice. Part of that is on me, because I have to figure out what my strengths are, and I still don’t feel as strong as other technical communicators who have been doing this much longer than me. Sure, I understand content strategy, but I’m no Scott Abel, or Rahel Bailie, or Ann Rockley, or Val Swisher, or Noz Urbina, or Sarah O’Keefe…(and the list goes on and on…) But once I figure that out, what’s the one thing that will help draw me to the top of the list, or at least the first page of a search, other than geography?

(Ow, ow, ow…hurting brain….)

I think I need to review the slides again for this module, and start re-analyzing the terminology and conditions of all the topics. From a high level, I understand this. From a more granular level–not even that far down–I get lost. I’m feeling a bit defeated already. Mr. Moran said at the end of the lecture that a lot of this information is overwhelming, and that we should focus on what we can do rather than what we can’t do, and work on one aspect, and hopefully you can grow as you learn and practice. He even wrote a compelling article that digital marketing is a matter of bravery, not necessarily matter of knowledge. While I take this to heart, and will keep pursuing this, it will be difficult since I have no or little practical application for this right now. Fear is my primary motivator in all of this. I’m not a content marketer…yet. I don’t even know if I’ll be any good at content marketing until I have a chance to actually try. All I know is that this is the direction I have to go to better my chances in finding work. I really need to master this better, because I don’t have practical experience to use.

I didn’t go to business school for a reason–I’m not good at it, or at least I know others who are a lot better at it than I am. If I can survive this digital marketing course, it’ll be a miracle, at this rate. 😦

One more review of module 2, then it’s on to Module 3– social media marketing. Okay, that might not be too bad. After all, I have a little bit of practical experience with that topic from promoting this blog and other stuff I’ve produced on other blogs…**fingers crossed**

* Since I wrote the two articles about Mark Lewis linked above, I did meet him a year ago, and that’s why I know he’s awesome beyond just watching his presentations. 😀

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Want to go to the 2015 Intelligent Content Conference? Here’s $100 for you!

ICC_Affiliate_300x250I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since I went to the Intelligent Content Conference in San Jose, California at Scott Abel‘s invitation. To say the least, I have to say I had a marvelous time. This is a conference that focuses on content strategy, and all the presentations were loaded with information that either reinforced what I had already learned, or introduced new ideas and concepts on the subject. The thing I liked about it was that it really had something for everyone at all professional levels–even for somebody like me who still considers herself a newbie.  I also met a lot of new professional contacts who specialize in content strategy–a real “who’s who” of content strategy attended. Over the past year, I’ve learned a great amount from each of these experts and have been able to apply much of what I’ve learned to my job. (That’s important!)

This year, the Intelligent Content Conference  (ICC) changed hands from the Rockley Group to the Content Marketing Institute. But fret not! Ann Rockley and Scott Abel are still very much involved with ICC, but now attendees have the added bonus of the know-how of the Content Marketing Institute and the wisdom of Robert Rose and Joe Pulizzi! Joe spoke as a keynote speaker at last year’s ICC, and he was fantastic, presenting the concepts of content marketing to this content strategy crowd. The merging of these two groups will open up new doors connecting content strategists and content marketers, and it should be great!

The Intelligent Content Conference  is in San Francisco, California this year, and will be held on March 23-25, 2015. It looks like it’s going to be a great conference, and a nice time of year in San Francisco, too!

Alas, due to timing, I can’t go. (Awwww.) I’m immensely disappointed, that I can tell you. But, don’t let that stop you from going if you can! I’ve been in contact with the good folks at the Content Marketing Institute, and they let me know that if you click on the image at the top of this post, or use the image on the right sidebar of this blog, and use the code TCGM100, you can get a $100 discount on your registration. How cool is that? “Ka-ching” for you!

So, what are you waiting for? Go click on the image now, and check out what ICC has to offer this year (which is a LOT!), and register now!