Credit Your Source
It’s not a matter of split-the-appreciation pie. Others may get credit for the idea, but you get credit for knowing when, where, why, how, and if to use the idea in any given circumstance. Plus, you get the credit for providing this value to your audience.
It’s much safer to make your source known up front than to take credit for someone else’s ideas and have others discover the truth later when someone else points out the idea’s true origin. Preachers, playwrights, and politicians through the years could have headed off charges of plagiarism had they taken this tip to heart.
Consider Twitter an excellent forum for such attribution. It’s nearly impossible to follow everyone else, or to read all the tweets if you do. When someone you’re following says something profound or posts a link to a site people in your network might find interesting, “retweeting” gives credit where it’s due. Your followers will appreciate your sharing ideas they may not have seen otherwise. They may even retweet you, letting their followers know that you’re a good source for valuable information.
Be a source. Follow a source. Praise a source. Just remember to reveal the source.
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