Duplication

Duplication

One of the many woes of the Internet, and more specifically blogs, is duplication.

Almost everything you see one Internet is a duplicate of something else, sometimes exactly, sometimes edited a little. I know I am guilty of that (see my last post).

Whether it be reporting the same thing again, and again; or if it be posting the same set of pictures under a new title. Whether they credit the original author; or if they treat it as their own. It is still duplication, and it is still annoying.

Sometimes duplication is good. Take Gizmodo, for instance. Almost everything they post is already on the Internet. My last post simply reiterated the same piece of news I have seen at least twenty other places just this last week (via Stumbleupon). What makes this duplication good? A personal touch and an original approach. Gizmodo almost always relates what they are talking about to their personal life (or their girlfriend). I expanded upon my personal experience about Spore.

Duplication becomes a bad thing when you don't change anything. Take the Spore release date for instance, Almost everywhere I see it, it has been posted as "Spore Release Date Set". It then gives the date and perhaps a "I can't wait", at the end. Tell me something I don't know, post your favorite screenshot so far, explain what you look forward to most, LINK TO SPORE'S HOMEPAGE. Anything but the exact same thing I see everywhere else on the Internet.

Here are some prime examples of bad duplication:
http://www.emmitsburg.net/humor/daily_additions/2006/feb/15.htm
http://www.emailajoke.com/Pics/Redneck-pictures.asp
http://professor-howdy.blogspot.com/2007/02/windows-vista.html
(look for the "portable computer" on each one)

Here is good duplication:
http://gizmodo.com
(Sorry, couldn't find another one.)