"Originality" in Blogging

"Originality" in Posting

What Brought This On:
I don't know if people know about this. It was pretty "hush hush", even though it was posted publically on twitter. I got into a ...scuffle with another blogger. She posted something that I joined in on. And then she said she was writing a blog post on it. I said "I might have to do one too!" That' when it went to hell. I don't want to go into details and put her on the spot, but she pretty much called me out for being unoriginal we both got pissed (I had a panic attack.) Meh. Whatever.

But because of that, I now have what I think is a really good idea for a post.  

I want to note that my personality is very nonchalant and easy going. If you aren't like that (or are), you may not agree with this post. These are my two cents. Feel free to give your own! I want to hear your opinion too :D

I think that once a blogger posts something on their blog as a topic, it's no longer original. You can't scan through the web and make sure no one else is going to do the same. And worst part is when you think you've created an original idea that someone's thought up already. Great.

As a blogger myself, I do my best to think of fun discussion posts and features. That or I try to give a unique take on a familiar post. "Novel Melodies" is something I do where I draw parallels from music and books... line by line. I don't think it's original. I'm not going to hold some kind of special claim over it. Anyone could've done that. But if someone wants to call it "Novel Melodies" too and use the exact same format as me, I would only mind if they didn't credit me or tell ask me (with kindness) in advance. I don't see a reason to be territorial over a post idea; I see it as "holy crap! Someone wants to use MY post idea *flattery all around*"
See, that's the thing for me. If I find something on the blogosphere that I like, I'll almost always ask the blogger (unless it's a discussion post, which I think needs to be discussed.) and then fully credit them, whether they created it or not. And even then, I would never "copy" their post.

Example being: "This discussion post was created from ______ when I was talking to them on twitter last night." 

I found "Song Reviews" off of Eileen from Singing and Reading in the Rain. She called them Tuney Tuesdays which I found was really clever. Song Reviews aren't something original like book reviews but because I was going to use the name "Tuney Tuesday" which was hers, credit was given where credit was due.

My main thing is with discussion posts.
Asti of A Bookish Heart has a compiled list of Discussion Post topics for everyone to use. And there are bloggers who get angry when their topic ideas are copied. I'm not trying to offend anyone, but when it comes to discussion posts directly, nothing's really original. I find Discussion Posts to be a topic that everyone shares and everyone writes their own two cents about. Don't stake a claim over a discussion post; you are pretty much missing the entire point of the word "Discussion."

I think of it like a review. It's one book that everyone gives their opinions on. Not one person has claim over it. But every review is still original. Every review has facts, opinions and arguments given by different individuals. And I know it might not "be the same" but for me, that's how I see it. 

Discussion post ideas are not original (and if they are, someone else will probably use them... hence Discussion) but the content within it, always is. (That or plagiarism.) And I think that's what people should start looking for.

Have you ever thought of something someone else liked? Imitation is the highest form of flattery, after all. Are you okay with people using your ideas and giving credit where it's due?