On 30 Jun 98, Julian So wrote:
> The article recommended that beginning Webmasters should "look for pages
> you like on the Web, save them into your page-making program, then cut out
> the content on the pages and put yours in. Don't forget to change the
> addresses behind the links."
This appalling advice was credited to Kevin Maney, who as it turns out is a "money
& technology" columnist for -- surprise -- USA Today. You can see his smiling mug
at http://www.usatoday.com/news/comment/colmane.htm, where you will also
(hee hee) find his e-mail address.
I got to pondering what a longer article about intellectual property and the creative
process might have sounded like had M. Maney penned one; here's my take.
* * *
JUST FILL IN THE BLANKS: Being Creative is Easier Than You Think
-- by Kevin Maney, USA Today
Many people believe that creative stuff -- music, writing, painting and so on -- is
the exclusive domain of pointy-headed "artists" who have to study hard at their
chosen fields, and also have to be born with some talent to boot. But as today's
column will show, anyone can be creative and earn big profits too, by following a
few simple pointers.
The main thing to remember is that *all* artists borrow creative ideas from others,
and you should be no exception. After all, why waste countless hours inventing
original works when there's a whole host of great templates just waiting to be
lifted?
Take music for instance. Have a great idea for a song, but are utterly tone deaf
and can't write a note? No problem: just take a song you like on the radio and add
your own words to it. Former Beatle George Harrison did just that when he wrote
the popular hit "My Sweet Lord". The clever mop-top took most of the chords and
melody from a song called "He's So Fine" by the Chiffons, changed the words, and
then earned scads of money in royalties. He was later sued for $580,000 by the
original artist, and lost. Oopsy... well, maybe that's not such a good example.
Or take books. Heck, no one *owns* the English language: so who's to say that
just because some fancy-pants novelist happens to combine ordinary words
together in some special way, he has any particular rights to them? Not me, that's
for sure. Alex Haley knew this: his smash bestseller "Roots" borrowed entire
sections from a 1967 novel called "The African", but Haley laughed all the way to
the bank regardless. He was later successfully sued by "The African"'s author for
$650,000... darn, another bad example, huh?
Well, you get the drift here. No sense reinventing the wheel every time you create
a song, book or Web site... look for stuff you like, then cut out the content and put
yours in.
* * *
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Brent Eades, Almonte, Ontario
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Town of Almonte: http://www.almonte.com/
Business Web site: http://www.almonte.com/brent/
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