I had an entirely different post prepared for today, but I need to take a moment and acknowledge something that happened this week, which will change the course of how I blog going forward.

I started this website in July 2017 without much knowledge at all of what I was getting myself into. Sure, I took a few free online courses and read a ton of material about best blogging practices, but nothing quite teaches you the ropes of blogging than a tough lesson learned.

On Thursday afternoon I had just laid our youngest daughter down for her afternoon nap when I heard the doorbell ring. The postal lady was standing there, certified mail in one hand and a digital scanner in the other. I immediately got the feeling that this was bad news. After signing for the package, I said “I’m nervous to open this!” then closed the door and walked over to my dining room table.

Inside, just as I suspected, was bad news – a letter from the legal counsel of an online presence with proof that I had infringed on their copyright with a graphic that I had used in one of my posts. They requested that I remove the graphic immediately and send them a large monetary damage settlement.

This felt like a punch to the throat.

Here I am, less than a full year into my blogging journey – being dealt what felt like a giant blow. It took me a second to really wrap my head around what I had just read. It was true. I HAD used their material in my post, there was absolutely no denying that. In fact, I hadn’t even tried to hide that the material wasn’t my own.  In the post I had included a link back to the original source of the graphic, which in my ‘baby blogger’ mind was what I was supposed to do in order to be sure that nobody reading my post thought that the graphic was my own.

That was naive reasoning, and it bit me back big time.

My next step was to get in touch with my blogging friends, and ask them if they had ever been through anything similar or if they had any advice. One friend pointed me to this blog post – which scared the living daylights out of me.

I immediately removed the graphic from my blog, then contacted the email address listed in the letter to beg for forgiveness. I’m thankful to report that they agreed to show me mercy and reduced my fine significantly. The check is in the mail.

So, what dos all this mean you might ask?

It means that I spent a good portion of Friday scouring through my past 93 blog posts and picking out the 14 that have material that could be considered questionable. It means that I will be spending the next couple of weeks contacting the owners of these images/graphics and asking them for permission to use them on my site.

It means that from this moment forward I will be strictly using my own photographs and graphics, or paid stock photos from reputable sites. Be expecting a lot of original content from this website from here on out!

It means that I have learned my lesson. And as tough of a lesson that it is to learn, I am actually very grateful that this wake up call came now – when my blog is still establishing itself – and not in the future when I have 993 blog posts to sort through instead of a mere 93. Goodness, I’m grateful for that.

I hope that my mistake can be a lesson to you as well. Do your research and know the rules.

Behind every image on the web, whether a photograph or informational graphic, is a person who worked to create it. They made the effort, and they have the right to choose where it is shown and how it is portrayed. And as I work to add more original content to my website, I will want the same protection and rights. Lesson learned.