December 2013 - Eshé Nayo

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I do not disagree, with the exception of theft. If someone does not attribute their imitation to the source, they are lying. Plain and simple. In this, the Internet age, it has become far too easy to co-opt an original work. There is a word for this, it is called plagiarism.

pla·gia·rism
ˈplājəˌrizəm
noun

the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own.

What prompted this thought? I had something on my heart and Googled a phrase. Within the top three search results were two separate blog posts, one from 2013 another from 2009, with identical content. The 2013 post was clearly masquerading as original because it made no mention of the earlier post. This made me quite angry because, as a blogger, the thoughts I share are often personal and shared from my heart. Were I to repost content that I did not write, I would be sure to identify it as such, anything else would be disingenuous.

When I encounter an injustice, no matter how small, I do not sit idly by. I sent an email to the original poster alerting him to the plagiarized post. The kicker? Both of the blogs were written by church Pastors.

“For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.” – Matthew 4:22

I am a skeptic. Not with everything, but when it comes to any form of marketing, especially those that do not name a specific company or entity and make unsubstantiated and vague claims about available offers, I am (skeptical).

I just want to post a PSA. I received this “notice” on my door today:

My suspicion was immediately aroused. I did a reverse look up of the phone number on the Yellow Pages, but it yielded no results. I then researched the Arizona Renewable Energy Standard, which states that utility companies have until 2025 to generate 15% of their energy from renewable resources. Clearly, I am not a utility company. I was greatly annoyed that someone would attempt to bait me into calling by posting an official looking notice on my door stating I was eligible for a rebate. I figure that they papered the entire neighborhood in the hopes that some (poor soul) would call. I am not the one. In fact, quite the opposite. I have filed the following complaint with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office:

To Whom It May Concern:

I received the enclosed letter from an unnamed company/entity on or around December 4, 2013. The letter does not state who they are, however, the language used is both deceptive and incorrect.

As a private residence, I do not qualify for any form of incentive under the Arizona Renewable Energy Standard, which states that utility companies have until 2025 to generate 15% of their energy from renewable resources. Moreover, the code cited, AAC R14-2-1801, explicitly defines “Affected Utility” as “A Public service corporation serving retail electric load in Arizona.”

I would like to file a complaint against whomever is posting these letters on the doors of homes in my community. I did not call the phone number, but strongly suspect that if I did, I would be subjected to a hard sale, attempting to use an incorrectly cited law to lure me into purchasing a good or service under the guise of receiving a rebate.

I appreciate your attention to this matter.

If you receive this notice, or anything like it, I would advise that you also file a complaint. We have protections as consumers. I will not be lied to or bullied. Civic duty for the day — done.

Eshé Nayo

Month: December 2013

Plagiarism

Deceptive Marketing