If you read almost any “tips” about blogging or posting news information they will tell you to post “Unique Content” don’t just spout out what everyone else is saying. You need to post a fresh angle that your competitors missing out on.

What’s funny is that most blogs and news sources just regurgitate (copy other information and post it) to their blogs or news and make it sound like they have a scoop!

In doing so, they are increasing their readership because most everyone cannot track all the news or information that’s going on.
So it makes the blog or news source appear to be “In the Know” when they really are not, they just have a good RSS reader.

Here is some examples:

Slash Gear posted this about new pictures of a new Slingbox, found on the FCC site. They make you think they know something about it by posting… “While no one from Sling was ready to talk about the upcoming device just yet, you can likely expect to hear some sort of announcement in the near future.”

They have no clue about what Sling Media is going to announce. They are just saying this so you think they are “In the know”

Here’s some more examples.

Crave posted this.
The MobilitySite posted this.
SlashGear posted this.
Slippery Brick posted this.
TV Squad posted this.
and GearLog posted this one.

All of them posted basically the same information, made it sound like they had the ‘Scoop” or the “Inside” information and all they did was regurgitate news from other sites and make it look like their own.

Granted, no one can go to all the sites, specifically for each and every gadget that comes out, but these types of sites need to tell their users where they got the info and that it is a news item. Not pretend they got the scoop!

Naturally they are looking to gain users and page views, it’s nice to be known as a source for inside information, but these sites fake you into thinking they are the source when really they are using a RSS feed or equivalent to make you believe they are “Unique” but what they really are is news regurgitators.
You can do the same thing by going to Google News or using your own RSS reader program.

We have no problem with sites putting out the news, it has been done in some way for centuries.
We do have a problem when they make you think they have the “scoop” when all they did was re-post information from someone else.

So, how can you tell if they are just regurgitating news from other sites? Easy!
If they do not have a reference or quote from an actual person, they are just saying something they found on another website.

Here is an example.
I recently posted the news about the new upcoming Slingbox on the SlingCommunity in this news article.

I mention that I had SlingCommunity’s Editor, Matt Whitlock, contact Sling Media’s Dave Zatz regarding the new Slingbox.

Every Blog, news source or even Newspaper will cite their sources, especially if they have a good qualified one, like I had in the example above. When they don’t mention names or say “We heard that”…. You know they are just saying what someone else said in their blog. They have NO inside knowledge!

So watch what you read and interpret their information accordingly.

Remember it’s a lot easier for them just to “regurgitate” the news than contact me, the Sling Community or Sling Media to get information.

Lastly, why would they contact us?

Simple, I am the lead moderator for the SlingCommunity! A simple Email or phone call would get them more credibility than just reposting the news, of course, that would require more work, and maybe they just think they public at large are easy to fool.

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