Wisegeek - 100% Unique content

[cassandra]

I don't work there, but on TB I had one sent back to me for too similar wording... the client wanted me to list the attractions in Orlando. Come on, 47 million visitors to Orlando every year there is no way to list the three major attractions without being tripped up by something on the world wide web.

[shescrafty]

I also recommend CS. I've been using since a client on TB sent an article back for revisions bc I gave a similar definition of shingles as web md. I thought that was slightly ridiculous considering it is a medical definition that can't really be altered much, but whatever. I think it's a great tool, though.

[MoneyMakinMama]

I've never received one, but I've heard about other writers who have.

Without fail, I pass every one of my articles through Copyscape before I submit them. Occasionally, a keyword phrase will trigger a match and I always attach a note to bring it to my editor's attention whenever it happens. In my note, I highlight the fact that it's a keyword issue and that I don't want to change it without permission, but that I'm happy to do so if such is WG's preference. So far, I've only received thanks for bringing it to their attention and have never been asked to change a word.

This isn't to say that I could never receive such a note, just that I try to reduce the likelihood by covering my bases ahead of time.

[MoneyMakinMama]

Originally Posted by Ccook

Because of things like that, I'm planning to invest in copyscape. I'm just wondering how fast the 200 credits goes down? Isn't that like just 10 articles? So $10 for 10 articles? Argh.

200 credits = 200 article searches

You can also just buy 100 credits for $5.

[khristal23]

It happened to my brother and they just gave him a warning, like you. He started using Copyscape and a few other plagiarism checkers religiously after that though.

[CJWrite]

Originally Posted by khristal23

It happened to my brother and they just gave him a warning, like you. He started using Copyscape and a few other plagiarism checkers religiously after that though.

That's the thing. I DID use copyscape.

[AdAstraPerAspera]

Apparently using Copyscape to check your articles means nothing to WG; I, too, received that message with a warning that if it happens again, I will be let go. Guess what happened? I got let go.

I ran the article in question through Copyscape and the search did not yield duplicate content. I wrote to them and asked them to provide an example of what they thought was "plagiarized" and they sent a snippet back...I guess the way my article flowed was too similar to another, but the topic at hand required such a format.

Yuck.

[Kiernansmom]

Ugh, that sucks. Yeah, it sounds like CS and maybe a couple other article checkers may be the way to go. However, it seems like sometimes it's unavoidable. I'd search for other clients just in case. While I like writing for WG, it's not the be all, end all, so if they do let you go for something like that, it's their loss. You did everything you could.

[Jonelle]

Wow - that is crazy - with all the content that is out there, it's just not possible that in some way, anything isn't going to be like something else. (Kind of convoluted statement, I know!)

[hexemaus]

When I first started with WG, I had two articles with "non-unique content." When I asked my editor, he explained that it's not just straight plagiarism or similar phrasing. If your articles follow the same order as another article on the web, they'll ding you for non-unique content. The idea is to keep people from taking an already published article and just rewording it line by line without adding any new or different information. You have to change up how you present a topic (compared to other sites/articles.) Sometimes, that's impossible with some topics and from my experience with my editor, they know that and get it, most of the time.