Miriam

http://www.craigslistguide.info

Sarah

http://www.craigslistdecoded.info

Miriam

http://www.craigslistguide.info

I'm not saying it is a bad idea and I think the network you are in is one of the ones that makes the most sense, fewer members, truncated feeds, etc. But there's a lot of ways this can go very bad. Not all networks will be the same here as they will all have different feed usage rules and different membership set ups. From what I see, your network is much better set up than the security one.

I guess what I want to urge is caution. There's a lot of ways this can head south and Webmasters need to think hard before they leap…

The Spam issue and Plagiarism is a critical component for Blog Publishers to both be aware of and consider, and your thoughts on Lijit are appreciated. Bloggers need to think before install of any recycling of content. There is also the simple viability issue concerning revenue based widgets like Lijit. The Bloggers Union currently advises Publishers currently using or considering embedding Lijit Search into their content: Lijit’s viability as an ongoing functioning entity is questionable, and to consider the impact a non functioning widget would have on any foundation incorporating it. It's only a 'win-win' when Publishers are treated as partners through transparency.

P.U.B. basis this alert these facts:

1. Public releases from Lijit and other news sources put Lijit’s total money raised beside live revenue at under $20 Million over the last 24 months.

2. Lijit has refused to offer transparency its financial condition or revenue from advertising on Publisher’s Blogs.

3. The current economic environment demands both transparency from revenue based providers like Lijit; and due diligence from the Bloggers Union on avoiding potential content disaster for Publishers.

P.U.B. continues to take heat asking hard questions for our Publishers, including threats of legal action against the bloggers union by organizations like Lijit, because it’s simply the right thing to do in this economic environment for publishers. P.U.B. would rather pro actively protect Publishers now, then be answerable to publishers after companies like Lijit fail and leave that result for Publishers to contend with concerning their content.

What to do:

1) Have a back up.
If you are a publisher either using Lijit Search or considering it, have a back up plan using a publicly traded search option on your blog or blog network. Publicly traded companies are obligated by law to have a degree of transparency concerning their financial position.

2) Ask the same hard questions of Lijit and other revenue based blog vendors.
Contact these companies seeking use of your content directly. Ask what their financial position is, and what their guidance moving forward for 2009 and 2010 and beyond is.

P.U.B. will continue to post on these issues for our Publishers, thank you for your blog on Plagiarism for our community.

Aggregation is aggregation, but there is something unique here and that is Lijit itself and what they provide vis-à-vis the Blogger Network concept: sophisticated search and content discovery at such a focused level, it is an immense service to a Network’s readers. As a contributing member of the Cycling Bloggers network as an example, I am excited to have my content added side by side with other bloggers and authors I immensely respect, but what is on offer to our readers is absolutely unique. They get to experience a method of social-graph content search no simple aggregator can match. I enjoy the fact that a reader of the Network can search for and find a specific piece of content they desire woven through and across the contributing member social network..e.g. their content and peripheral social-graph. Moreover, we, as content authors, can help refine how our content can be used to expose unique external content, products and services we believe in to our Network. It’s immense. Readers win, the authors win and those we expose win.

So I’m stating the ‘obvious’ here about the uniqueness of the Network and what it offers. You’re right: if mishandled, there could be issues exposed. While this is ramping up, the content network managers need to review and elect all who want to become part of a Network or grow a net-new Network themselves….ensuring legitimacy, ethics, etc. This concept and foundation of trust will, however need to be broadened ATMO to ensure it is scalable to allow wide/global participation. I believe Lijit has this at the core of the Network’s ethos or I wouldn't be involved.

The terms of service creating a network on the infrastructure state that the site editor is responsible for recruiting the individual publishers to the network. Liijit has no interest in moderating the content produced by the network but we will research and remove any feed that the publisher himself did not agree to providing.

Since the press release went out we have been contacted by hundreds of blogger interested in the positive aspects of creating a community around their content, driving traffic, receiving revenue, and being part of the discussion. The concept is designed to be a win/win for everyone.

Thanks for taking a look and feel free to contact me at Lijit if you have any concerns.