Whether we’re clicking through a list on buzzfeed, browsing articles on reddit or pinning on pinterest, everything we interact with online has an original source. And unfortunately, that source is not always given proper credit. This is a problem for two main reasons:

1. Missed Credit = Missed Connection. Any time we are not able to get back to the original source, we are losing any opportunity for a relationship to be built. If we cannot access an original designer, writer, educator etc, we are unable to glean any more knowledge or insight from that person or organization. In addition, when we don’t know the origin of something, we cannot truly know the content and intent.

2. Loss of Original Ideas/Creators. When things are not properly credited, the originator of the idea or design is not getting recognition, publicity, monetary gain, etc. This unfortunately can lead to plagiarism (even unintentional) and the inability to credit an entire body of work or style. In addition, without credit and lack of promotion, creators may lose their ability and drive to create, meaning that future ideas may never come to fruition!

Are you crediting the sources you utilize? In contrast, what are you doing to insure your images and information are being credited back to you? Consider adding a watermark to your images or direct links back to posts. Even better, make it easy for your posts to be shared directly from you by adding post icons for popular social media sharing sites such as pinterest, twitter, and facebook. You never know what connections may be made!