I’m actually going to keep this post simple.

You don’t really own anything you put on the web, but there are various things like Creative Common licenses and what not to make you feel as if you do.

Get Real!

This is the internet and quite frankly, EVERYTHING is for the taking, whether you wish it to be or not. With that being said, you don’t own your audience, so you don’t own the comments, so you don’t own the conversation.

If I started talking to Louis Gray about something Sarah Perez said to me, even though she started the conversation, I’m more than free to pick it up and take it all the way to a friend in India if I want. I’m in no way, shape, or form, obligated to bring any of the continuations of the conversation back to Sarah Perez and she’s not obligated to demand them FROM me. Though, she’s more than welcome to ask.

If Shyftr wants to display my content in full front to their users, as long as I’m getting my credit, I don’t see what the problem is. You’re going to miss things! You won’t catch every comment. There’ll be comments about conversations that you started months ago and you may or may not see them! SO THE HELL WHAT?! At least you can sign up for Shyftr to get them, even if it is somewhat wrong.
It’s all in the eye of the beholder at the end of the day. Personally, Shyftr is marketing me and have provided me with another way to reach an audience that I may not have reached otherwise. I don’t think they’re stealing my content at all.

Think About It Like This:

If anyone read your work and they wanted to tell you what they thought about it, they would! No web service, software, or application is going to take that power away from any individual. If they want you to know, they’ll find a way to let you know. Sometimes, comments aren’t for the conversation starter.

If you don’t like it, hell, make your entries private then.

Louis Gray does it again with “Should Fractured Feed Reader Comments Raise Blog Owners’ Ire?”