Rotten Scoundrels

Here are some more information for Rotten Scoundrels:

I knew one day it would happen. Someone stole the text from my website and used it on their own website. Dirty rotten scoundrels!

According to the US Copyright Office website:

"Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work."

What Do You Do?

Here are some ways to discover which sites have stolen your text:

1. Find some text on your website that is so "you" that it's unlikely that anyone else would write a phrase or sentence that way. Go to Google and put that phrase or sentence into their search, within quotation marks. For example, one phrase that of my own that I searched on looked like this: "you'll end up struggling to make your business a success, and all your passion and enthusiasm will drain away." (Go ahead, type it into Google and see who's got my text on their site.) You have to put the phrase within quotation marks so that Google knows to search for the whole phrase with all the words right next to each other.

2. Make note of the sites that have the same text as yours. While it is completely possible in millions and millions of websites that someone might have written the exact same phrase, it's worth investigating every site that comes up.

3. Another great place to search for plagiarized sites is Copyscape.

Here are some steps to getting a site to take down plagiarized text:

1. Gather as much information about the offending site as you can.

2. Print out all pages from their site where the plagiarized text resides.

3. Try to find a contact name, phone number and email address from the site.

4. Go to internic.net/whois.html and get all their registration information. If they are not in the USA, go to Google and type in "whois" plus the name of their country. You should be able to find a whois site that can get their DNS record for you.

5. Go to Alexa.com and find whatever information you can there.

6. Finally, write to the offending site owner and tell them that you found plagiarized text on their site. List the URLs of the offending pages along with the copyrighted URLs of your own pages. Give them two or three days to either delete the pages, or re-write them so that they no longer include your text.

This is not the time to play nice guy! Tell the offending site owner that you are copying their hosting company and domain registrar on the letter or email, and do so.

Make sure when you write this email or letter, you don't use any passive language, and do not say "please". Demand your rights. It is illegal and unethical for them to do what they did and they need to stop doing it immediately.

Another great resource is waybackmachine.org. This allows you to check what their websites looked like throughout the years. You may be able to pinpoint the date when those people served themselves with a hefty spoon of your web content.

Someone pointed out to me that sometimes the offender is the website designer, not the owner of the site. If you are an owner of a site, and you did not write your own text, ask your designer where he or she got the text. Make it clear to them that you will not tolerate any plagiarized text and that you will hold them legally responsible in any charge or lawsuit that comes up over the copy on your website.

Some final notes:

Always put a copyright statement on your site. If it took you a long time to write your text, you should be the only one benefiting from it, not some unethical person who is looking for a shortcut.

If the site doesn't comply with your request, you might have to get your attorney involved. Only you can decide if the expense of an attorney is worth it for you.

I have written to the six sites that stole my text. Two have complied and taken down the offending pages within three days of my request. If the others don't comply, I will be posting their websites in my blog. I'm not afraid of a little publicity, but I bet they are.

Karyn Greenstreet is a Self Employment expert and small business coach. She helps you increase sales and profits, and learn practical small business skills.

Get the free audio and ebook, "The Art of Networking and Referrals" by visiting http://www.PassionForBusiness.com

Goal Setting Tips and Techniques

Changing behaviour is never easy. After a holiday break you are hopefully determined to make some changes to your current habits. Here are a few ideas to help you kick-start 2009.

Write down your goals

Write down your goals. Too many people commit their goals to memory. A goal is not a goal unless it is written down. Goals in your memory are merely aspirations. There are mountains of evidence that confirms a goal written down has a far better chance of being achieved than an aspiration.

Use a To Do List

Every day you need to have a To Do List. It works better if it is in your diary. Many people get confused thinking that their computer diary is their To Do List Diary. If you are not putting your To Do List in your software diary then it is merely an appointment tracker. If you don't like the idea of putting a To Do List in your computer diary then just buy an A5 size, one page per day diary for $5.00 and use this for your daily To Do List.

Read more personal development books

All of us have some areas of improvement in our lives. Maybe we are scared of negotiating or public speaking. Maybe our work/life balance is uneven. There is a multitude of books now available in Australia. Borders Books has probably got the biggest development section. If you would like to start reading personal development books then here are some international bestsellers that will get you motivated.

• Who Moved my Cheese?
• Rich Dad Poor Dad
• How to win friends and influence people
• The 7 Habits of highly effective people
• The richest man in Babylon
• Learned Optimism
• Awaken the giant within
• In search of excellence
• Emotional Intelligence
• Calm at work
• The 5 dysfunctions of a team

Get more laughter into your life

It is no secret that the more we laugh the better we feel. Life is too short to be gloomy. Laughter is contagious. If you are not laughing enough then it is time to get started. Try these films to start you off:

• Planes Trains and Automobiles
• Uncle Buck
• Ferris Buellers Day off
• Blues Brothers
• Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
• There's Something about Mary

Give More

Altruism has been found to increase the enjoyment of your life and also to add years to your life. The more you give the better you feel. At the end of 2009 wouldn't it be great if one of your best feelings of the year was something that you were truly proud of. Australia is often labeled as a lucky country. You can help change peoples lives and this will add value to your life.

Just take the following three steps:

1. Think about what charity or cause is most important to you
2. Google your cause and you will find some organisations involved
3. Phone the organisation and say you would like to help

About the Author

Niall Kennedy runs a training company.You can outsource your training program requirements to them and be assured of training solutions that help your people operate more effectively.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels movie?

What is the language and SC in the movie, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels starring Steve Martin?

There is no nudity. A lot of pawing. No F-bombs as I recall.

Broadhurst Box Office Opens March 11 for Enron ; Performances Begin April 8
The box office at Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre opens March 11 for sales to the U.S. premiere of Lucy Prebble's Enron, the highly theatricalized tale of the financial scandal and collapse of the American energy corporation.

Thanks for visiting!