Article-Spinning Software Should Be Banned

I write a lot. In addition to my column here at allbusiness.com, there's my personal site, and a blog for team building questions. Plus my syndicated print column, free small business articles and of course my book (new one on the way soon!). Not to mention participating in online forums and social sites like FaceBook and Twitter.

Sounds like a shameless self promotion post, but bear with me here... :o)

If you write, your work -- at some point in time -- is bound to be stolen by some swarmy character looking to make a quick buck online by loading up their website with content. Your content. And some of those people have bought into the fact that it's really cool to take someone's work and use article spinning software on it to make it look like "different content." But you're too smart for that, aren't you?

Here's one simple paragraph from an article I wrote that's been "spun" by an unscrupulous website owner.

Original: You bet a name is important. Many small business owners try to come up with a clever name for their business rather than one that explains what they do. And, nine times out of ten, that is a mistake. Your business name should give your prospects some idea of what your business is about.

Spun Version: You countenance a study is important. Many diminutive playing owners essay to become up with a adroit study for their playing kinda than digit that explains what they do. And, figure nowadays discover of ten, that is a mistake. Your playing study should wage your prospects whatever intent of what your playing is about.

Huh? Doesn't make much sense, does it? The main problem with this is that it has my name attached to it on the perpetrator's site. Ugh! Anyone who reads it would think I was a complete idiot.

What to do? Trying to fight with these unscrupulous people is an effort in futility. Your best bet is to ensure that your main content appears in search engine results and that you have enough of it to crowd out the bad stuff. You can keep an eye on what's happening online by setting up a Google Alert on your keywords.

What do you think? Do you have suggestions for minimizing / eliminating this issue? Leave me a comment.