Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Thoughts on Linking Back

I would like to extend a big THANK YOU to those of you who have linked back to Counting Coconuts within your own posts. With the extremely large (and ever growing) number of blogs out here, I think it's so very important that we support one another and give credit where credit is due. And a very special thank you to those of you who create lists full of links just for the sake of spreading the word about the good ideas you've seen on other blogs! You're the Good Samaritans of the blogworld! :)

I feel extremely lucky to be surrounded by so many clever and creative women and men. I speak for myself when I say I know it's some times hard to come up with uniquely creative ideas what with so many amazing ones already out there. It's not too often that I actually come up with an entirely new idea, so one thing I've tried hard to do is to make sure when I use someone else's idea, I put my own personal spin on it. Of course that's not always possible, but in any case I do my very best to make sure I provide a link back to the original idea. (Please let me know if I've missed you somewhere along the line!)

We're all busy people and I'll admit it's time consuming to add links in, but I consider it an unwritten rule for the blog community, don't you? Even if there's an idea that's been all over the blogworld, I say pick a place where you've seen it and share some linky love! :)

This is just something I've been thinking about for a while now and I recently had the motivation to finally write about it. Thanks for reading and again THANK YOU for linking back to my blog when necessary.

UPDATED TO ADD: You guys are awesome! Thank you for your input and feedback regarding linking back. You made some excellent points and I just wanted to include them in the actual post for those that don't read through comments...

Re forgetting where you got an idea: With so many fantastic blogs out there it's super easy to click from link to link to link, all the while seeing wonderful ideas, but not remembering which of the links they come from. When I first started blogging I kept all of the ideas in a notebook devoted to just 'blog ideas'. Then I moved that over into an Excel spreadsheet. THEN I switched over to Google Reader and now I just star an idea when I see it. The beauty of Google Reader is that you can search entire blogs for key words. As a last resort I've found myself hunting through my 'History' tab to find certain blogs. I know it sounds like "extra" work, but as I mentioned above, I just think it's really important.

Re having similar ideas: no doubt about it, great minds think alike! Especially with so many creative individuals out there! To me this is where we simply enjoy the fact that we've met a like-minded person! I have a few "bloggy twins" out here in the blogworld and I adore their blogs because we have so much in common. With regard to Montessori works like spooning, pouring, etc. - obviously these kids of ideas are well known and just a part of Montessori. I don't usually link back for these kinds of things, but I will if I've learned about a unique way to display the work (e.g. tweezing spiders for Halloween). I guess the point here is that you know whether or not you truly came up with this idea or if you have, in fact, seen it somewhere else.


~Thank you for your comments!~

18 comments:

Emy said...

I love your blog and I have found so many great ideas here! My blog is filled with ideas and links to other blogs and I sometimes tip others out there about your wonderful ideas and I try to always provide a link back to you, please let me know if I forget... But like you, I believe you should give some linky love to the person coming up with the idea.

I hope you'll have a great day!

/Emy
forskollarare.blogspot.com

Sippy Cup Central said...

Thanks for that...I know I can do a better job as well. I love when you discover a great blog through a link. Have a great day. Karen
Sippy Cup Central Mom

M/T.A. said...

Mari-Ann, I so value your creativity. You are filled with so many gifts. Thanks for what you do, and for sharing this important message :)

Jennifer said...

You have some great Ideas! It is only right to give you credit... and let others know where to find the creative master mind! ;-) Ps... Do you have any arts/crafts appropriate for a 10 1/2m. old? I have some of your projects saved for when he is older.. but I would really like to introduce him to some things now.
thanks!

Andrea said...

I agree that linking back is important however, I have seen the same ideas all over the blog world that it is difficult to see who had that idea to begin with. Also spin offs from ideas are recreated all of the time. For example I have seen the button turkey on several different blogs. Do we really know who had that idea in the first place?
Your blog is an exellent resource for ideas and I thank you for posting about your journey with montessori. I have and will link back to your blog:)

Counting Coconuts said...

I hear you, Andrea! That's why I think it's a great idea to just pick the blog you saw it from and link back there - so at least SOMEONE is getting the credit they deserve.

As for the button turkey, I actually DO know who had that idea first! :) It was Anne, from Itty Bitty Love.

I guess my point is that it's only fair to give credit wherever you believe credit is due.

Jen said...

Well said! As you know I don't really keep a blog anymore, but I still keep up with reading others and I see your ideas all over the place. It always bugs me when I see you're not mentioned.

I think some times people want other people to think of how creative they are so they don't bother to show proof that the idea came from somewhere else. What can you do, there's always someone who has to make thing difficult LOL!

XO
Jen

Anonymous said...

amen sista! I so agree on this! I know I have missed some in the past but I always say that I know I got the idea out there somewhere.. if anyone knows who it is let me know so I can share some love :-)

3G=Growing Godly Girlz said...

Yes, Mari-Ann,thanks for the post! I am a new blogger, but will continue to keep this in mind as I move forward. Your blog is an awesome inspiration and I am certain I will be linking back to you an awful lot;) God bless!
Aria,
Growing3godlygirlz@blogspot.com

Michelle Gibson said...

I really, really like your point about putting your own personal spin on things ~ I really try hard to do this. Ideas are great, but more wonderful when they are an inspiration ~ a spring board for more creativity.

I agree on your linking point as well ~ so nice to share {and receive} linky love!

Jess said...

Totally agree! the hardest thing is to remember sometimes where one saw the great project one does 3 months down the track. LOL!! I now always bookmark anything I think I want to o some stage so can link back to it as needed. Yes, I think its important to link back as much as one can to support each other. I think it is also always nice to see others that have used one of your own ideas. (:

The girl who painted trees said...

Sometimes I saw the idea so long ago that I just don't remember where it came from. I would just hope that someone would be kind enough to mention it to me if their idea was one I didn't link to. Then I would add the link to it with pleasure.

What I am having a problem with is people who don't link back when they join a linky. Now that is unfair! They link up on your site, but someone just reading their blog would never be directed to yours to find it.

The girl who painted trees said...

Mari-Ann, Thanks for referring my blog to Jennifer.

Valerie @ Inner Child Fun said...

Yay for link-love!!! :-)

Caz said...

Yeesh, I feel terrible! I havent read your Blog in awhile because of limited computer time (read as baby who won't sleep :-D), but it's on my bookmarked list and Im glad I checked in to read this post.
I always try to link back to Blogs that inspire an idea, but sometimes I definitely miss opportunities to do so. Reading through your comments I can see just such an example.
I made my DD a 'button pouch' recently and thought Id seen something similar during my Blog travels but couldn't think where and exactly what - Im glad to be able to link back to the button turkey craft now!
I often see things Ive done with my girls on other Blogs, most Im not surprised to see because they are pretty universal, but others are ideas I thought were unique until I see they have been done elsewhere as well. Overlap of ideas without necessarily copying is inevitable when there are so many creative people doing the same thing I think!
Off to link up to your fabulous button turkey craft right now :-)

Counting Coconuts said...

I agree! That’s very unfair, too! I've tried to link back to large groups of linkys in sort of a "lump" format, but decided I didn't like that and now link individually.

With regard to forgetting the idea, I think all it takes is a little organization – write the ideas down somewhere either in a notebook designated for that purpose or in an excel spreadsheet or star them in Google Reader or bookmark them in your favorites. Takes a bit of effort, but as I say, I personally think it’s worth it. :)

jess_hak said...

Here is my question. I am totally new to the blogging world. I do believe in giving people credit though. I have included a link to your blog at least once...maybe twice. My question is other than copying and pasting the URL how do I do the 'linky love' thing that everyone is talking about? If that is too hard of a question to answer than just let me know lol. I just want to make sure that I am doing it right...and if there is an easier way other than copy and paste than I would like to know. I like the look of of saying, 'this idea was found here' (with the link included in the word here) rather than 'this idea was found here: www.countingcoconuts...etc.' does that make sense....am I missing something....or do I just need to get a blogging for dummies book? lol

jess_hak said...

Thanks for visiting my blog and for replying to my question. I'm not very cpu savvy...so I appreciate all the help I can get! I will definitely be trying what you said in my next post! Again I really appreciate you taking the time to reply! :)

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