What About Copyright and this Virtual Life?

It's been about four years since I started my blog, and updated my website, and then there's Pinterest. Lots of changes on the internet. Lots of changes in our culture and lifestyle. If someone had told me eight years ago that I would be doing much of my interacting with creatives and teaching online, I would've said, "No way! I'm a hands-on, face-to-face kind-of-gal."

Honestly, it's been a mixed bag for me. On one hand, I have had the privilege to connect with a creative community of people all over the world. I've seen so many creative ideas, beauty, and concepts that have sparked my imagination. I have access to almost any information at my fingertips, and I love to learn... On the other hand, people tend to think that anything online is available for them to use whether it's theirs or not, and for free, without permission of the artist, author etc. Some people do it on purpose, lack integrity, and don't care about others, forgetting or not caring that they are stealing from another person. What I've also found is, some people don't know they are infringing on a copyright of someone else, and don't know how to find the original source of an image. As I'm educating myself, I thought it would be a good idea to pass on the information so we can play nice, give credit where credit is due, and to respect the intellectual creative property of one another.

How to see if your photos are being used on another site:
Here is a post about how to see if your photos are being used on another site or to locate an artist/source of an image.
http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/tutorials/how-to-see-if-your-photos-are-being-used-on-another-site.html

How to find the original source for an image:
This one is short and helpful too:
http://asubtlerevelry.com/how-to-find-the-original-source-for-every-image

How to find the real owner of a Pinterest picture:
Here is a YouTube video that shows how to find and correct the original owner/artist of the pin on Pinterest.

What Steps to Take when your Copyright has been infringed:

Okay, This site is the best for laying out the steps to take if your images have been stolen. It gives step-by-step instructions for each provider such as Facebook, Google, Yahoo etc. Good advice to follow. Here's the link:

http://picturedefense.blogspot.com/

Here are two other copyright information sites:
http://emptyeasel.com/2008/03/18/copyright-information-for-artists-how-copyright-laws-protect-your-art/

Here is a good article on what you can do about infringement.
http://www.photoattorney.com/help-ive-been-infringed/

One thing I think is important to remember is that there is another person on the other end of the computer. We need to respect each other and the creative and intellectual property.