“Duplicate content", a topic that has had much debate for a number of years now  . A topic that has plagued SEO for years is this idea of a penalty for duplicate content. The question being asked is; “Does Google, or any search engine, penalise duplicate content?”

Is scraped content a pain for you? Is your site being scraped of its content on a daily basis? The internet is a vast and magnificent place for knowledge. It has been a place where you can find almost anything. It has been said, if you can't find it on the internet, it does not exist. That being said, the internet is also a sewer of fraud, theft and corruption. Many original content sites have had their content scraped or stolen, then posted on some other site without their express consent or any credit given. For many years there has been debate as to how to stop this, if it can be stopped.

Every year on Heritage Day we attend a Volleyball competition. I have been playing volleyball for years, but age is now creeping up on me, so the speed and agility is not there anymore. Yet our team won both the men's and the mixed groups. Quite an achievement. What then has this got to do with blogging?

Welcome to the September 21, 2009 edition of web developers. We have a wide variety of posts to read. From Cybercrime and Social Networks to Education Technology for parents. Have you ever used WolframAlpha, well read the post about 25 tips for WolframAlpha.

Have dun and enjoy.

A while back I wrote some posts on speciality search engines. Where I outlined some neat search engines that one should always have in your research arsenal. Some were Topic specific some were product specific, like the list of PDF search engines. Well here is a search engine that you will either like or hate. Not because it is a good or bad search engine, but because of what it does.

It is called TinEye. TinEye is a “Reverse Image Search Engine”. It has an incredible ability to find images on the web that are strikingly similar no matter how that image has changed or been used.

From their website: “TinEye is a reverse image search engine. You can submit an image to TinEye to find out where it came from, how it is being used, if modified versions of the image exist, or to find higher resolution versions. TinEye is the first image search engine on the web to use image identification technology rather than keywords, metadata or watermarks.”

Check out more information on their FAQ Page.

TinEye is still in beta, but it has some very promising features. At the moment TinEye claims it has over 3 billion images in their database. This database is being updated on a daily basis.

TinEye is the type of application that you either love or hate. If you are an artist, Graphic Designer, or anyone that posts images to the web, it is an excellent tool for finding how your images are being used all over the web. Because copyright infringements are so rife on the internet, this tool will go a long way in finding those infringements. What you do about that is your problem.

If you are one of those guys who steal images from the web, and I am talking about probably...

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I recently wrote a blog post on Things I wish I knew before I started blogging. It is a great resource on things to do and consider before you even start a blog. But once you decide that blogging is actually what you want to do. You have actually started your blog. Then what kind of thing do you do? When I started blogging I jumped in blindly without knowing what I was getting into, or knowing the do’s or don'ts. If I knew some of the stuff then that I know now, things would be a whole lot different. But then hind site is a perfect science.

That's why I am writing this post. To encourage, warn and help those who are starting out blogging, as well as those of you who are veterans. Being a seasoned blogger does not mean you know everything. We all make mistakes. We all can improve on what we do.

This is such a broad topic, and there is just too much to say. So much that I have learnt in the past that I cannot possibly share it all in one blog post. I will share with you my personal highlights. Then as you continue to read my blog, I will, over time, share other lessons I have learnt. So stay tuned.

So lets get started and look at what you should know when you first start blogging.

1. Write compelling content. If you get nothing else out of this blog but this point, then you have achieved a lot, and I will be pleased that I have helped someone. Blogs are all about content. What distinguishes one blog from a great blog is the content. But not only just any content, content that is compelling, thrilling, helpful. Remember this, Content Is King. But relevant Content is King.

Anyone can just assemble...

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Every blogger, whether your are a professional a-list blogger, or a casual blogger, had to start somewhere. But like me, many just jumped into blogging without even a thought as to what blogging is all about. There are things I wish I had known before I started. Things I wish I had done before I started.

Found this on Winston the Pigeons Facebook page. Brilliant.

Related Reading:

Can Winston the pigeon fly faster than you can send email?

Pigeon beats Telkom

According to reports and blogs on the web, IBM is dumping Microsoft Office in favour of its own version of Open Office, Lotus Symphony. It has issued a ban, prohibiting it’s employees from using any Microsoft Office software.

History teaches us that history teaches us nothing. I’m sure we have all heard that. But why does it have to ring so true. If you have been blogging for any amount of time, you would readily admit that you have made many mistakes. That's not bad in itself. What is sad though,  is when you do not learn from your mistakes.