Don’t Let Someone Else Claim Your Blog

28 Jan

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Photo stealing, content theft, RSS scrapers, people hacking into your blog - we have heard about it all, but have you ever thought your entire blog could even be claimed by someone else?

But that is exactly what had happened to Ramkarthic some time ago at MyBlogLog. Someone else had claimed Ramkarthik’s blog back in August of last year and I remember freaking out about it! Talk about dishonesty on the net. Ramkarthik was able to get the blog ownership back but I can imagine how he might have felt at the time.

So if you have an account with MyBlogLog but hardly ever log in the service, at least now you should go there and claim your blog, just like I am doing right now. There are a couple of methods to claim your blog, either by Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification by writing a post about it or by adding a Meta Tag to your website.

And God forbid, if you are the one whose blog has been claimed by someone else, go here to find out how you can get it back.

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35 Responses

Lee

January 28th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
1

Good advice. They just recently launched that blog verification system didn’t they?

Lee’s last blog post..Add Some Spice and New Perspective to Your Blog
pearl

January 28th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
2

yeah I noticed it a couple of days ago and wanted to verify before some rude surprise, hence this post!
Simonne

January 28th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
3

MyBlogLog did a big mistake by allowing people claim any blogs they wanted, in the beginning. I was lucky to claim mine some time ago, but I had no idea somebody else could steal it like that.

Simonne’s last blog post..Holly Alonzo Needs Any Help She Can Get
Jonathan Bailey

January 28th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
4

I was unaware that MBL had made that mistake and that is pretty amazing that I missed it considering that I had already registered my blog with them.

Fortunately, most companies are much smarter about the process. Technorati, for example, requires you to add HTML to your page.

It is a pretty huge gaff but it is worth noting that MBL will not be the last to make the mistake. Every time a new service such as MBL, Technorati, etc. pops up, we will have to claim our blog all over again lest someone else grab it first. Very frustrating and, over the long run, impossible to stay on top of.

If it doesn’t happen on MBL, there is a decent chance it could happen on tomorrow’s next big thing.

Just my two cents.

Jonathan Bailey’s last blog post..Plagiarism Today at WordCamp Dallas
pearl

January 28th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
5

@Simonne - you are right, they shouldn’t have allowed that in the first place… but I hope now everyone can claim their blogs though… its really a shame someone can stoop so low!
pearl

January 28th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
6

Hi Jonathan - you are absolutely right… it definitely could happen on any of the sites but I guess if you have a claim on your material with some top ranked sites, chances are it”ll be easier to prove you are the owner/author..

I guess thats going to be the way to keep unwanted elements out..

thanks for stopping by Jonathan and hope you visit again
Tay - Super Blogging

January 28th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
7

I didn’t even know that had happened with his blog, but that is absolutely horrible! Well at least the mistake was able to be correct, but MBL should not have allowed it to happen in the first place.

Tay - Super Blogging’s last blog post..The All-Time Best Blogging Articles of January 2008
pearl

January 29th, 2008 at 12:01 am
8

I guess that was around the time MBL was either taken over by yahoo or was in the process, so perhaps MBL team was busy with other things? just giving them benefit of doubt but regardless, that can be a scary scenario!
Ginger

January 29th, 2008 at 7:02 am
9

That’s insane - what kind of person do you have to be to claim someone else’s blog?? It’s not like it’s difficult to get your own if you’re that hard up for one.

Ginger’s last blog post..The Best Valentine’s Day Chocolates
Mihaela Lica

January 29th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
10

Sad, but nothing new here. What I wonder is… what are these people expecting to win from such an action? Blog ownership is very easy to verify… or am I wrong?

Mihaela Lica’s last blog post..Social Network Automation and Why You Don’t Want to Be Part of It
pearl

January 29th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
11

@Mig - I’d think verifying blog ownership wouldn’t be difficult but its one of those types of nuisances that you wouldn’t want to ever experience!

@Ginger - yeah, insane is the word! why do people steal? why do shoplifters shoplift? Its in some people’s nature I guess!

thanks for stopping by guys
IAAdmin

January 30th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
12

Thanks for the informative post.

I tried to follow the links in your post, but couldn’t find the code needed to get the job done. I’ll take another look today.
pearl

January 30th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
13

Hi IAAdmin - those links in my post are for my blog verification… you need to log into your MBL account and verify your site(s) from there!
Lynda Lehmannl

January 30th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
14

Thank you for the good advice! It hasn’t happened to me yet, and I don’t want it to!

Lynda Lehmannl’s last blog post..Peripheral Vision
pearl

January 31st, 2008 at 10:58 pm
15

Hi Linda - hope it doesn’t happen to anyone - thanks for stopping to comment here!
laketrees

February 1st, 2008 at 8:05 am
16

hi Pearl…
I think I did it recently ..thanks for the reminder :)

laketrees’s last blog post..Random Picks !!
pearl

February 1st, 2008 at 4:28 pm
17

Hey Kim - you are welcome~

@ALL - I’m really sorry for the last few days, either my computers weren’t working or the network wasn’t available! I hope things will be better now so just hang in there - and anyone who wrote to me,im still alive and you’ll be hearing back soon…
Aruni

February 1st, 2008 at 9:25 pm
18

That’s so weird. Why would someone want to do that? I thought my blog was tied just to mybloglog account. Didn’t know someone could steal it!
Top 13 Commentators - January 2008 | My lucky number 13

February 2nd, 2008 at 12:48 pm
19

[...] Pearl tells us: Don’t Let Someone Else Claim Your Blog. If this is happening to you, read Pearl’s article to know what to [...]
RennyBA

February 2nd, 2008 at 8:10 pm
20

What? Fake and steal others blog(s)? Haven’t even thought about it, but thanks for the reminder - I’ve checked and at least think mine is safe and sound by me!

RennyBA’s last blog post..Canadian Maple Fudge invading Norway
kaylee

February 3rd, 2008 at 12:46 am
21

JEEZ THAT IS SO RUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Losers do that lol!

kaylee’s last blog post..Hannah’s Journal writing assignment
Hopeful Spirit

February 3rd, 2008 at 1:59 am
22

Thanks for participating in The Seventh Day blog carnival this week. This post has some very valuable information . . . I’m willing to bet that you are providing information that is unknown to many readers.

Hope you will participate again in the future!

Hopeful Spirit’s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday
SandyCarlson

February 3rd, 2008 at 7:39 am
23

Thanks for the scoop.

I’m here via The Seventh Day.

SandyCarlson’s last blog post..Blog Your Blessings: Nothing
Gattina

February 3rd, 2008 at 9:56 am
24

I don’t know what it means “claim my blog” does it mean it disappears or what ? anyway I think if someone puts pictures on his blog he should protect them in a way nobody can copy them, if he/she doesn’t want that they are copied. My pictures are for everybody I don’t care !

This is my 7 day’s visit, lol !
pearl

February 3rd, 2008 at 7:37 pm
25

to all 7th day’s visitors: A Warm Welcome to all of you! and thanks for commenting too… Hope you will visit again!
pearl’s last blog post..How the movie Groundhog Day can lead to a happier and more productive life
pearl

February 3rd, 2008 at 7:39 pm
26

@Kaylee @Aruni @RennyBA - yes, its crazy what happened to Ram and I’m sure it can happen to anyone else - God knows why some people are so desperate for doing things that don’t make sense to most of us! Renny - you have to ‘verify’ your blog to make it known to them

pearl’s last blog post..How the movie Groundhog Day can lead to a happier and more productive life
pearl

February 3rd, 2008 at 7:40 pm
27

@Kim - you are always on top of the things I know
pearl’s last blog post..How the movie Groundhog Day can lead to a happier and more productive life
David Deangelo

February 3rd, 2008 at 8:17 pm
28

I try and CONFRONT them. Usually these types of people know they are doing something not legit, they are usually pretty good about removing it. If not, contact their host! =)

David Deangelo’s last blog post..By: David Deangelo Announces New Live Program
Bobby Revell

February 5th, 2008 at 8:45 am
29

Hacking mybloglog is an easy affair. Type “hacking mybloglog” in the google search bar and find SoeMoney’s post on how it’s done…very frightening.

Although his technique is no longer valid, if you know how to edit a cookie, you can do it. However, it is wrong and only a loser will do things like that.

I’ve had my articles stolen so many times it literally ruined my page rank, because of them having hundreds of articles with my post’s exact same title and content. I personally had 71 sites taken down by reporting adsense violations…what a pain that is.

All I can say, is if you are writing truly valuable information - publish a real book and leave the really good stuff off your blog; it will be stolen and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Some thieves will actually rewrite content and use a completely different title - not linking to you at all and simply using your stuff as their own. They change it just enough to do it legally. That’s why I only publish my mediocre work and am saving my best for print!

Great post Pearl!

Bobby Revell’s last blog post..The Secret - Exposing The Truth and How it was Conceived
Ramkarthik

February 6th, 2008 at 10:26 am
30

Hi Pearl, Sorry for the very late comment. I actually didn’t see the post until today, when I checked Technorati for the backlinks. I was indeed in a very bad position when my blog was claimed. But luckily, I got it back. I hope no one will make the mistake in future by not claiming their blog very soon.

Ramkarthik’s last blog post..Do You Post These Types Of Comments?
pearl

February 7th, 2008 at 1:22 am
31

@David - I think its much easier to log in your account @ MBL and verify your site now - than having to confront someone, after the fact!

@Bobby - that thread is really scary at Shoemoney! I never saw it - although Shoemoney is in my feed reader! and Im really shocked to hear your articles have been stolen… you know, I am sick of those guys too who are stealing content - verbatim… and I wrote to adsense the other day only to get back an email that I’d have to send them in writing and mailing via snail mail - Im pretty sure thats what they said but I’ll double check it now..

thanks for stopping by Bobby - its always good to hear from you

its an idea to leave the best stuff for offline but its really a shame people do that….
pearl

February 7th, 2008 at 1:24 am
32

@Ramkarthik - I was wondering what happened and thought you must be busy with your exams it was horrible time for you indeed… glad everything worked out

pearl’s last blog post..Measure your productivity to keep up with goals
Ramkarthik

February 9th, 2008 at 7:35 am
33

Pearl, yeah I had exams and also I was learning few things about Internet Marketing. Glad to meet you again and happy to read your blog.

Ramkarthik’s last blog post..Do You Post These Types Of Comments?
pearl

February 11th, 2008 at 10:26 am
34

@Ram - guess all bloggers are moving to IM niche, who is going to talk about the real life? take care Ram… always good chatting with you!
Iluzjonista » Blog Archive » The Seventh Day: Sixth Edition

March 6th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
35

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