Imitation vs differentiation
Starting a business isn’t easy. That’s a given. But when people have tread the path before you, it’s tempting to imitate. After all, if they’re successful, why not do it just like them and be successful too? Thing is, you’re not like the others. People don’t do business with you because you work like someone else. They choose you because of who you are.
A follower, or an initiator?
Think about what makes you stand out. Your higher quality product. Your excellent customer service. Your attention to detail. Use that to show your potential clients that you’re the right choice for them. Not how similar you are to someone else.
If you find that others are imitating you, take solace in these three valid reasons to never fear being copied. Here’s a quick excerpt from Dwight’s timely words.
“Chinese automakers BYD (Build Your Dreams, seriously) and Geely have been blatantly ripping-off designs from Mercedes-Benz and Rolls Royce, two of the most prestigious auto brands in the world.
“It’s shameful.
“It’s undignified.
“But does it even matter?
“Do you think any of the world’s millionaires will one day wake up and say, “Oh, I’d love to buy a Mercedes-Benz CLK… but the BYD S8 is a cheaper alternative, so let me buy that instead.”
BYD S8
Mercedes-Benz CLK
It’s the brand that people associate with. You know… the story. And if that wasn’t true, we’d all be proud Skoda owners.
Imitation around the blogging circuit
An example closer to home relates to design blogs and the “top whatever” lists that increasingly crop up. Everything’s good in moderation, but say for example you see a post referencing the “top 20 designers on Twitter”, you can bet your life that if you add your own 20 picks and republish as a top 40, it won’t be long before someone “betters” it with a top 100, 200, or 500. Where do you draw the line?
It’s not a competition to see who can copy and paste.
It’s all about you.
As a blog author, differentiate yourself with compelling, personal, unique content so you won’t lose your audience to the next 100+1 list.
As Seth says in reference to the video below (worth three minutes of your time), “guy #49 is irrelevant“. It’s the initiators people remember and forge a bond with.
Are you promoting what sets you apart, or are you seduced by imitation?
Pencil photo by Jill Murray
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Hi David,
Very relevant topic in the flood of today’s social media. I see the seduction of imitation which breeds redundancy all too often now. I too become sucked into the seduction until I focus on my personal goals and passions.
I laughed when I saw the Sasquatch Music Festival video here b/c I tweeted that last week sometime for the same reason you are using it here. Well, because it’s pretty funny too.
It reminds of @obox “David Perel” from “From the Couch” ranting yesterday about the Letterpress design trend along with all the web 2.0, etc trends out there. He’s right…imitation, redundancy, complacency…whatever it’s called, it’s boring.
So thanks for the jolt and making the design world wake up. Including me :-)
Pam
This is very timely for me – I’ve been putting a portfolio site together, and it was all going so well… until I got creative block after reading about a dozen too many “10 web design trends for 2009″ articles. So thank you for reminding me to be myself and stop worrying about what the rest of the world is up to.
The one thing we have to get over is the comfort of imitation. It makes us feel safe. Everyone else is doing it so if we do it we will not look like a fool/idiot/etc.
The first guy dancing is a risk taker. He put himself out there because he wanted to dance to the music and he did not care so he went right ahead and did it. We don’t need more Guy #3′s as Seth put it. We need more Guy #1s.
But I won’t say Guy #49 is irrelevant. Each of those people got the chance to have a good time and experience it safely. Next time, those people who followed should have gone with their hearts/guts and just been up there first and take the risk.
You make some very good points.
Something else to consider.
(in reference to the video) If someone were to get in there who could actually dance, a circle would quickly form around him and they would hoop and hollar and cheer at him completely owning their dancing skills. Though the chances of a circle forming around a pro dancer quickly drops as the crowd’s number grows.
Also. Does anyone see the instigator in that crowd? Or do you think you could find him in there? Or remember who he is? During the early stages of the dance, the instigator could easily be seen, recognized, and praised. But as the crowd of dancers turned into a mob, he was quickly lost.
Ultimately it comes down to constantly being an instigator. When the small group turns into a crowd that turns into a mob, it’s time to move on.
I think the most appealing part to following someone like that is being noticed without taking the risk, and putting yourself out. Whenever someone new jumps in, there is a moment of the thought, “Oh look! Someone else joined in, too!”
The downfall is that no one remembers the followers for very long after they join in.
And even though it’s staged, the T-mobile commercial filmed at the Liverpool street station demonstrates the same idea with steady cameras :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM
David, awesome perspective! I do think it’s a tough balance to find between being original and being inspired by others. In fact, you might say there’s nothing truly original – we’re always building on the creativity of others.
At the same time, I do think we should stop copying elements and begin transferring timeless principles.
Anna: If you liked the T-Mobile one, there’s one from the central station in Antwerp, Belgium that was also staged but will bring a smile to your face. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k
‘What do you reckon?’
What do I reckon? Well, I reckon it is yet another interesting post, and one certainly close to home.
David, when I notice those repeatedly (not just a one off), copying what you are doing here at davidairey.com, I shake my head.
Sure, I know that ‘ole saying, that there are no new ideas under the sun, but there are ideas… and there are ideas.
And hey, designers are supposed to be creative. Isn’t that the whole point?
And if they can’t even come up with their own ideas for their design business blog, how are they managing custom products for their clients?
So here’s a BIG thumbs up from me to David Airey, the Rolls Royce of design bloggers. You are, without a doubt, a class act (with more patience than I ever had :-)
Very interesting post. I try to distance myself from the crowd but it can sometimes be hard as clients typically want whatever is “new and exciting”, not what is particularly usable or good-looking.
Jon: That one is very well-done, also. But as excited as I would get to see one of those performances first-hand, they become progressively less impressive every time I see a new one pop up on YouTube. Comes back full circle to David’s original topic, yeah? :P
From what I understand, T-mobile got their idea from the group “Improv Everywhere.” They just took it far above and beyond what anyone had ever seen.
Very interesting article, and especially timely for me personally at the moment.
I’ve just completed my website etc, and I often had to remind myself of these principles.
It’s far too easy to be an imitator, but ultimately more rewarding to be yourself and do your own thing, even though it is much more difficult.
great post, i think when you are looking for inspiration maybe you can be tempt to imitate someone work, but the personality you put in your work must be the most important thing, when you copy others you are not really designing. Create something from scratch is not always easy but you must stay on you style.
Hi David,
Interesting topic.
With regards to the ‘top whatever’ lists, it is hard to not post some of these as they get such good traffic. We try to throw one in every now and then on our design blog to attract new users but we balance these out with more personal written articles.
And just to re-iterate what Catherine has said, I have seen many a DavidAirey.com clone and it seems like some time when you try something new (like the video post) very quickly these were popping up on other sites. It is a shame that these ‘creative’ people can not come up with their own ideas. However, you must take it as a compliment as when people see things done well, they want to copy it!
Good post!!
Steve
Seeing that video has really cheered up my day – thanks =D
I think imitation is driven by the desire for instant results, to instantly get to the top of digg, to instantly have 10K hits a day, to instantly have fame and fortune or to instantly look cool in the crazy dancer gang.
In reality success is harder than that. It takes brave decisions to go out on your own, often looking like a fool and being mocked – as our hero dancer undoubtedly was.
Hi Pam,
I’m new to From The Couch, so thanks for mentioning it. I’ll be sure to watch a couple of David’s videos.
Kate,
Don’t be discouraged, and do show me your portfolio site when it’s finished. I’d like to see.
Jon,
Top point about safety. We don’t like putting ourselves out on a limb, but the rewards can be so much greater, and the downside? It’s hardly life-threatening. You get it wrong, you try something different. And I fully agree — we need more of guy #1.
Brian,
You sound like a guy who can dance. Tell the truth, you’re that guy in the middle of the crowd, aren’t you? I’m the one tripping over my feet, not caring about those who are saying, “Who’s this idiot?”
Also, continually moving forward — spot on. You don’t want to stagnate by getting complacent.
Anna,
Interesting how you bring the T-Mobile commercial up, and how the idea came from somewhere else. It reminds me of the amazing Ok Go video for “Here It Goes Again” that was copied by so many others for adverts and various promo activities. Every time I saw an imitation I was like, “Stop. You’re ruining it!”.
Brandon,
I agree. It is tough. But only the most gifted will say it’s easy. I’m glad you like the perspective of the post. Cheers buddy.
Catherine,
“Designers are supposed to be creative.” Absolutely. And those thumbs up are much appreciated, particularly given your know-how.
Mads,
There’ll always be some clients who insist on the latest fads, no matter how much you try to persuade them otherwise. That’s why you need to clarify the project scope before choosing to work together. The client must understand they’re hiring you because you bring something new to the table, and not simply to implement their own ideas of what makes effective design.
Ken,
I like your BBC Radio 3 concepts. Good of you to drop by and comment.
Steve,
I’m another who has posted “top whatever” lists, with my top 50 design blogs post being a big traffic draw. Moderation is important, though, and you have to ask yourself, is the traffic you gain the traffic you want? After all, such lists attract lazy visitors (not all, of course) who are expecting freebies, or “inspiration” for their own imitations.
I enjoy a decent list as much as the next person, but have recently culled my RSS subscriptions due to overload.
Aaron,
More than happy to oblige, and you sum things up nicely with your quote:
Thanks everyone.
We see this all the time and I am sure you have felt much of this copying with regards how you do things. We see the same tings over and over, it’s boring and lazy. There are so many imitators and very few innovators. I suppose that is always the way it will be. Keep up the work david.
It’s encouraging to see so many comments here thanking you for such a “timely” post. Let’s hope more people, and especially designers, wake up from the crowd-pleasing mentality and make more efforts on being original.
And to those who say that it’s almost impossible being original these days, someone already done something similar before, think about all the other synonyms that apply to the word ‘original’: genuine, authentic, creative, imaginative, individual, nonconformist, unconventional, initiator, maverick and even eccentric.
David was not the first designer who started blogging in order to build up his business and credibility in the industry. But it’s his sincerity, his imaginative approaches to blogging and writing, his transparency and genuine interest in his readers and involvement with the community, what made him and his blogs stand out, despite of all the david-airey clones out there.
Thanks for this post, David. I’m subscribing to all its comments. Perhaps you can do a follow up to it with the readers’ input on this subject. There are some very insightful comments here that are worth spreading further.
P.S. Btw, David, what did you end up using for adding Twitter field to the comments?
I love the thought provoking question, David. Seduced by imitation… I think we all are, to an extent. For example, as a woman, when I see another woman wearing a beautiful dress, I want to have one just like that. As an artist: when I see a beautiful sunset, I want to capture nature on my canvas just like that. But the examples you give here go beyond this form of imitation. Copying someone’s work is not only unethical, but pointless and stupid. Nothing good can come out of this in the long run. I know people who came out with ruined reputations after imitating others.
David,
Very good post. Being original and “yourself” does not only apply to design, but life as well. Also, in regards to imitation and being “copied”, my mother always quoted the adage “imitation is the best form of flattery”. So I guess if you see other designer blogs popping up imitating you, you must be doing something right! Keep up the good work.
As someone who’s been an originator* (started an internet media company in 2001, blah, blah), I will say this:
It’s awesome to be different, but you can’t be too different. You must strive to look similar enough so that people can understand what you’re doing. Originality is only understood when it’s just one or two steps to the side of normal, not when it’s 50 steps ahead.
When you’re 50 steps ahead, you spend most of your time trying to educate people on what you’re doing, how your doing it and why you’re relevant. That was our experience in the Open Grove.
We would have done well to have been just one off, and not so very original.
*It’s sound arrogant to my ear to say, “I’m an originator” but truthfully, I’m just the freaky weirdo who doesn’t mind trying new things. If you knew me, you’d just nod.
Youssef,
Like you, I don’t see things changing anytime soon, but it’s worth talking about nonetheless.
Vivien (inspirationbit),
I’m always encouraged by reader comments, no doubt, and those synonyms you mention are definitely applicable. A follow-up is a good idea given the response so far (thanks a lot for joining in the chat, and for the tweet). The plugin I use to pull Twitter profiles is WP Twitip ID, and the little blue “Twitter” text you see beside each comment is my own modification (it’s usually just black) — not convinced. Maybe a bit too bright?
Mig,
Likewise, thank you for spreading the word on Twitter, and that’s a valid point about us all being seduced to some extent. I see a nice car and think I’d like one, or see a nice house and picture myself living there. The difference between those scenarios, and the ones I’m referring to, however, is that in one case you’re the buyer (wanting a car / house / dress etc.), and in the other you’re the seller (offering a product / service).
Imitating as a seller is taking an easy way out. The same product can be sold in many different ways.
Aaron,
You’re right. These principles can apply to more than just business, although where the old adage about flattery is concerned, I’m sure that even the most patient of people can get fed up with a talking parrot. ;)
Claudia,
That’s a good perspective, and brings us back to Vivien’s alternative ways for being original (in her comment above):
Many thanks for the feature David. Your posts are as thought-provoking and positively disturbing as usual. Thanks as always.
Hi David,
Great post and well worth the read, I was about to make a post on my blog about my version of the top 20 designer but this was going to be different to most. I see lots of creative people including myself that are, shall I say different to the masses. I like to think that my blog is different to everyone else and try to keep my content as my interest in design and not just competing with every blog post under the sun. Your site is informative creative and extremely helpful when it comes to freelance contract design. So far I have been getting lots of work and happy that my other site mossbankgraphics.com is going well, and I have to thank you for showing me some insightful ideas and ways to achieve success.
Anyway back to the lists of endless lists, Im now going to make the post about why I like certain sites not for the site but for the design or Art shown on them. For example: humandescent.com which will hopefully give coverage to sites that create rather than replicate.
Take care
Mali
Wow, you got me thinking deep thoughts before noon – thanks for that :)
My thought is that the Mercedes theory only goes so far, and probably doesn’t relate too well to the design industry as a whole. Very few things are branded with recognition of the designer. Logos don’t have a little ‘Designed by David Airey’ at the bottom, so theres very little chance of the billion dollar business saying “Oh, I’d love to buy a David Airey” unless they have actually done research into the design community.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) the design industry is now saturated with a lot of low to medium quality designers, so designers worth their crust are going to stand out above the crowd, BUT I believe that the state of the industry is such that few companies are willing to go out on a limb with the (expensive) pro when they can get a hack to do it for next to nothing.
If you’re in that mindset of saving a buck, then you look for the cheap designer with the ‘good’ portfolio. If your portfolio is full of ground breaking and post modern design the chances of attracting that client are small. I think Claudia hit the nail on the head with “Originality is only understood when it’s just one or two steps to the side of normal, not when it’s 50 steps ahead.”
In reality, clients tend to play design work safe. In an ideal world we’d all get clients that trusted our opinions, but when was the last time that a client gave you free reign of a project and accepted the first thing you gave them? It happens from time to time, but not enough to suggest that our businesses should be based on that model of expectation.
Sorry, I think i jumped around a little in that. Hey i did say it was pre-noon!
Excellent article.
Reading this make me think, I recently launched my design studio web site, and before that I spend a huge amount of time searching the web, just to see other web sites similar to the concept I have for my web. Soon I get burring seeing the same flavored web sites on CSS galleries and list of hottest portfolios etc. Then I realized, the truth is that design is about communicate and is more productive spend time searching the best way to say something than try to be “just cool and trendy”. I’m not saying that trends are not an issue to consider, but only if you really understand the basic concepts behind each visual element involved. E.g. the 960 grid is the most used but that is because of the superior monitor’s resolutions, larger font sizes are a trendy topic too and so on.
My philosophy is simple: get advantage and be informed about technology, listen what user have to say about their experience on your webs and the more important thing be creative.
I think this topic is the Achilles heel of many originators, specially the ones who are constantly having the nightmares of their work being blatantly copied. One reason of such a worry can be attributed to the fact that it’s relatively easier to “improve” upon a concept than think of it from scratch, so people hop on to the bandwagon thinking that the originator is a myopic who couldn’t see the obvious improvements.
In such a scenario, it becomes imperative for the starters to keep on their toes all the time and keep on iterative improvement both for the creative part plus the business acumen.
I I tried holding back my opinion on this but couldn’t stand it anymore.
But first, I must say I’m far beyond inspired by your blog as well as your work. I’m trying hard to not leave you with a 2 page comment. But what really attracts me to your site is the open conversation and friendships that seem to form in something as simple as replying to a comment.
As for the topic, as a designer I do find it difficult to tread the path of inspiration without unintentionally falling into imitation every now and then. I mean who here doesn’t need their daily dose of Borders inspiration.
But I remedy this by stepping back and looking at the work and injecting a bit more of myself into it, until I create something completely from scratch anyway. The first design is just the launching pad and transforms into something completely different anyways once I get the ball rollin.
We all need to shed the embarrassment of trying out new ideas. I think that’s the #1 source of these creative blocks we all have. When I feel that way, I start doodling with my left hand (I’m right handed) and I post them on my wall at work for all to see. Its a good way to shed that “Oh my god, they’re all looking at me” feeling when designing. Because yes, they all wonder what the heck is that thing, when they pass by my desk. That a true judge of character and how others respond to creativity in the workplace. After that the ideas are free flowin.
We have to learn to let go of how others see us, be it our work or personal life. I take pride in being that dancing dude in the vid but in the realm of Heavy Metal. I’ve been trying to jump into the world of concert photography. I give myself whiplash nightly while watching bands play but I do so while taking photos.
(Hope this isn’t too off topic, but found it relevant to the discussion)
Everyone points, stares and mocks me at first while I’m thrashing around on alone. But slowly the floor will start trembling into a frenzy of headbanging and flying bodies because I destroyed that embarrassment other people may have had. Musicians have told me time after time that they play better when I’m up front taking pictures not giving a crap how people see me.
And this “not caring” actually got me into quite a few concerts to shoot and I usually produce my best work like this. Its a great feeling and is real test of you truly are.
David,
Imitation is the highest form of flattery.
Its amazing how many people give in to the list formats. Its not that any one site sets out to do lists. But have you noticed that compilations are filling, and take very little effort, and its gratifying to see the traffic? Not everyone has the patience to churn out good prose, and neither do the readers have patience to read through the same. When anything starts out as fun and ends up being a numbers only game, it definitely has outrun the novelty value, and pioneering position..
But I do know several designers who hang out at smashingmagazine.com only, and that mag is the king of lists..
Great post, relevant topic.. But as a creative, you should be glad for the mediocrity running around.. It helps showcase you uniqueness :)
The whole lower class vehicles making cars that look like the high class ones is one of my biggest pet peeves. Another is seeing that people actually buy them.
It’s like buying knockoffs, whats the point? It’s a lie, you’re not wealthy, you’re just pretending to be.
But that’s on a whole new subject.
I’ve had work not only copied, but stolen.
Someone told me it’s the greatest form of flattery. I told them to suck it.
Jackie: I hope you told them to suck it with a lawyer :)
Hi David,
Great article, interesting!
Another question for you:
In what way did/does social media influence webdesign?
I’m currently researching this question for my final thesis at school , and i’m looking for a couple of professionals who can share their insight on this topic.
Awesome article! This reminds me of a post on LinkedIn about creating portfolio websites. I would link to the site but I believe you have to be a member of the group.
And speaking of imitation vs. differentiation… I came across a logo that has an element very similar to your logo David (if I may call you David). :)
(Link removed due to required registration)
I’m still brushing up on my type skills… but is the interchangeable “a” and “d” a well known typeface?
Again, thanks for the awesome articles! Keep ‘em coming!
Sincerely,
Susanne
Very interesting read. As a freelance web designer myself, I’ve often found myself gazing through pages of wonderfully designed “top 30 design sites” or similar thinking that my own work could do with “a bit of that” or a “bit of this”. It’s a seductive idea, but ultimately, my work has “a lot of me” in it, and that’s what’s important. (I would just end up being the “imitator” anyway)
Very good post. I think in this day and age especially online it is difficult to set your business apart from the others, but if you work hard on developing a service that has not already been created you will stand out. One example that comes to mind is twitter.
Mali,
Glad your other site’s doing well, and that you were able to pick up a few tips for it.
Nathan,
You didn’t jump around at all, and made some good points. You say there are few companies willing to go with a pro when a hack can do it for cheap. I don’t think that’s true. In fact, I think there are a lot of people prepared to invest in design, but I would say this is a small percentage of the total number, which I think you were getting at.
Raul,
I’ve made a lot of friends through the comment section of my blogs, definitely, and it’s what keeps me motivated. Great to know you can see these relationships by reading / joining in.
You’re right. Trying a new idea can lead to embarrassment. I find by laughing at myself, not taking myself too seriously, that when something embarrassing happens, I’m a lot less likely to get defensive.
Lakshmi,
Smashing Magazine is the best example of successful lists, and Sven and Vitaly certainly have their imitators. I’m sure much of their content is replicated again and again, and although I stopped subscribing, I do visit occasionally.
I wouldn’t say that compilations take very little effort (at least not the worthwhile ones I’ve created), and whilst seeing traffic can be gratifying, how many times do we hear people say not to focus on the numbers?
Jackie,
I’m with you on the “buying knock-offs” front. Pointless.
Lars,
I reckon you’d be better asking a web designer for help. Good luck with the thesis. Hope it goes well for you.
Susanne,
Your link required registration, but where similar logos are concerned, if you’re exposed to enough you’ll see likenesses everywhere.
David
Great article. I don’t follow trends because what is trendy now won’t be later on.
I look at other designers work to get inspired and see how they solve problems, but to imitate them is not cool.
It’s very hard to not be influenced, especially with everything so easily accessible on the web. Is getting inspired by a certain designer imitating or not? I’m confused… Love the site, strikingly similar to Jacob Cass (www.justcreativedesign.com) site or was he influenced by you?
‘Love the site, strikingly similar to Jacob Cass (www.justcreativedesign.com) site or was he influenced by you?’
davidairey.com was created from scratch by David Airey. It took many painful hours and continues to go though insightful tweaks.
And with David’s attention to detail, we are sure to be at the receiving end of many more.
And… (deep sigh) … they will most likely be copied on the other sites as well.
Catherine, In the timeline history, David came first, then Jacob Cass. His layout [not content] is eerily similar to David’s. And I have bumped across another designer, whose logo is ditto David Airey’s logo.. I was trying to locate that person on the web, but unable to do so. His name had the same initials too i think..
Comme ci comme ca..
Hi David,
I’m pretty new to blogging. Unlike most, I don’t do it to promote myself or my business. I used to be a teacher, and I miss it — so I try to give advice and be helpful to design students and new designers through my blog.
I found quickly that there are many many MANY design blogs out there, and no matter how hard I try, I’m not going to be able to be completely original. If I write an article that is thoughtful and opinionated (like this one), I see versions of it popping up on other blogs, even some direct and complete copies. When I do create an “inspiration” list-type post, I create it myself, from scratch. Although this might not be the easiest (or the fastest) way to go about things, I feel better doing it this way. I created a round-up of Twitter backgrounds by literally clicking on hundreds of designer’s twitter profile pages. But, after my post was complete, it became obvious that I had chosen many of the same backgrounds as some other round-ups, and I’m sure they felt I was copying them.
In the end, I’ve decided to just be me and write for my target market. Sometimes that will mean creating lists, sometimes it will mean lengthy articles full of advice. I’ll write what I’m good at, and link to what I’m not. I can’t worry about competing with every design blog out there. There are just too many. As long as I’m being helpful to my young readers, I’ll call it a successful day.
Fantastic article. I do admire your work and your blog — but will do my best not to copy :)
Actually, I think the commonality in website structure is more due to the limitations of (x)html and css rather than a lack of originality. Add in the additional constraints that browser engines and it further limits the field. And, given the standardization, the CSS rules are going to look very similar.
I am sure a lot of us can testify to the fact we work hard in (insert name of web design software here) to get a CSS layout to work in one browser, test it in another to find out it does not work. Then, when you fix it in the second browser you re-test in the first and find you broke that one. In the end we all arrive at what works and, thanks to standardization, it generally is the same thing.
It kind of reminds me of an episode of Barefoot Contessa where Ina Garten makes her “Company Potroast”. In it she explains that pot roast is not something you normally serve to company because it is more of a company food. But she jazzes up the recipe to make something that is good enough to serve to dinner guests. And while it looks (and people say tastes) absolutely delicious, it still is a pot roast underneath. It is what she did with the potroast that makes it uniquely hers. So while this 3-column white-on-black each site is a common structure, each person seasons it with their widgets, content, etc.
My own site will most likely have the same 3 column structure as I like that for organizing blogs and I will most likely have black text on a white background too for legibility issues depending on what I can find in research. For example Both David and Jacob put their “About” and other such links as well as pictures of themselves at the top of their left sidebars. Do a search for eye maps on web browsing and you can see that this is the spot on the sidebar where people’s eyes spend the most time directly so the “About” and “Portfolio” links are probably best put there.
And yes, you may have similar content posts on the same topic but that happens in many blogospheres. I mean how boring would it be if we read political, tech, or some other genre of blogs where only one blog could offer a specific news story/opinion/review?
Sorry this turned into a novella :).
Coming from an other world, the world of perfumes and perfumery, where everyone seems to copy everybody else: What worries me sometimes is to see how the little door openers, the initiators, the advanced niche, get copied by the bigger ones. Entire concepts are copy/pasted without at least referring…
And contrary to Mercedes being copied where folks know the original: They might easily forget about the small starter.
It’s not about two or three column. And it has nothing to do with being mind-boggling original.
It’s about the very real fact that when David puts something in place (even small tweaks), they are immediately copied. Time and time again.
And if you haven’t noticed, just watch the next time David makes a change here…
If I find it tedious, I can only imagine what David thinks as he’s been on the receiving end all this time. David, you have the patience of a saint!
Cathrine: I have not seen it myself first hand, but then again normally I see David’s site how Sage renders his RSS feed which is how I read most of these things. It is only more recently that I have become active in commenting that I actually see it.
I also just chalk it up to the fact I came into design from a hardcore research science. I see replication as a good thing because in research we need to replicate in order to rule out type 1/2 errors in earlier research. It also means the research was interesting enough to get someone to replicate it… or it ticked someone off and they want to prove you wrong :).
Andy:
I see it in shoes too. One spring/summer we had a shoe by Guess that was a patent leather ballet slipper with these fake jewels on it. They did their run on our sales floor and just after we sell the last of them on clearance, another brand ships us ones virtually identical to it. Ironically it looks like Guess is even starting to copy Coach’s signature “C” pattern with their own G which is why I think we are starting to get more graffiti patterns from Coach.
Seems like my name popped up a few times on here so guess should clear things up…
Kirin, Lakshmi
Yes, David’s site came first… in fact David was the reason I originally got into blogging as I mention in a number of interviews online. It was through David that I first got to know about WordPress & Social Media so I have a lot to owe him for that. (David, guess I owe you a Guinness… or a few).
The thing that makes David’s blog unique is that he shares the improvements he does to his blog – for example the TwitterTip plugin just last post – a great addition that gives back to the whole Twitter community. It is the same for any other blog, if you notice a feature or function that works nicely then of course you want to include it somehow into your own site.
Thanks for the great community discussion again David, comes as a timely topic for me too as my work has been copied yet again.
another nice post , grats on the engagement btw :)
while I mostly agree, I think there are some exceptions. Take Aaron Wall’s post 101 effective link building strategies for example, it’s THE most linked too link-builing post despite there being famous posts in the same vein previously
But the reason our 101 link building post was well linked to was in part because I had built up a lot of social capital and was not leveraging all of it…and when we launched that I begged a lot of friends for coverage. That created tons of coverage on lots of blogs that lead to many follow on links. The same strategy today would mainly lead to a bunch of Tweets and little to no lasting ranking advantage.
Great post.
From a branding perspective it’s not who does it first, it’s who does it first and people buy into it. And then who has momentum.
Then there is the blatant rip off (some own brand ‘i can’t believe this isn’t I can’t believe it’s not butter’ where it’s about conning people into buying an imposter.
The virtual world is lightly different when people are always looking for the next big thing. Facebook got taken over by Bebo, then Myspace, then Facebook and now twitter. The internet is littered with IT has-beens partly because they have been taken over by large corporations who don’t know what to do with them. They become covered in advertising and loose their edge.
That’s why Davids blog is so good. He involves people in it, you feel as if it’s not just Davids blog. It’s also ours.
Keep up the good work David.
Thanks, Lee.
I hope the new job’s working out well for you.
Its the way you take your inpirations i think
I think the real trick, is it shouldent be forced.
If you feel inpired by somthing, it should change somthing inside you and motivate somthing in you
and become a smart part of you but with your covering on top
Theres nothing wrong with becoming inpired and immitating others, aslong as you value
it, respect it 100% truley to take it into somthing of your own and not just repeat what there doing
Very interesting article I’m writing a dissertation at the moment about the difference between innovation, inspiration and imitation in advertising, It’s unbelievable how many copy cat campaigns there are. There are so many different opinions about this topic as well Have you ever thought about advertising campaigns, that have been imitated, but yet improved and ended up being more successful that the original one (exple. white caste /mcdonalds).It’s always easier to improve something that’s been done when it has been tested, but then again is it imitation or inspiration with a slight injection of innovation….