In the Brink of Losing my Blog Site (Almost!)

I consider writing in my blog as a source of relaxation and personal growth. If there is a notable change other than my commitment to post an entry every month, that is I don't want to overthink about the contents anymore. Meaning, I just want to treat this as an online record of my experiences and hopefully it can capture the appropriate market. It would be a bonus to extend inspiration to would be bloggers to just come out and write with their hearts' desires. Eventually, it will lead us to where we are destined to be heading. Just a few months ago, I encountered quite a number of page views. I ecstatically celebrated this small win but it doesn't stop there. Everyday is a work in progress. In a world where it's harder to influence others to read blogs anymore (vlogs are so much on trend nowadays), I do not even expect an international viewership.

After 46 articles, to date, I am doing fine. Or was it purely made up? Just until recently, I received an unexpected email..

My initial reaction was, "Is this email legitimate?" I read it ten times, opened the link the same number as well and thought, it really is damn legit. Not to sound biased or defensive, I did acknowledge the link where I got the image. But apparently, using images on the web and citing the source still counts illegal. Consider this as a warning, my fellow bloggers, when creating your articles, use your OWN images. If you have a limited portfolio, look for photos that have Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licenses or those that you can download for free. You can also modify it, cool right? Thank you to a college friend for that advise. 😁 But if in case, you still cannot find a worthy photo under that license, then buy those you will acquire on the web. So what was my final action to my problem? I bought the license of the photo for $15. I was thankful it was not costly and the company who owns the photo was lenient enough to offer me an option rather than immediately taking legal actions.

Oh boy, I thought I was going to lose my blog. I don't know how I'll be able to rebuild it afterwards if it really happened. But the good news is, I learned my lesson. Sharing experiences is a two-way learning. You are able to impart knowledge to others and you will never forget it yourself. My main takeaway: use your own captured images, find photos that are CC0 licensed or simply buy the license of the photo.