Like any ‘futurist’ type I try to keep up with the various present day developments to see if my own personal road-map is playing out, and it helps re-orientate if it is not. Anyway as predicated a south east asian version of Second Life came out a few weeks ago and I have been keeping an eye on its post alpha progress.

Anyway I went to look at the HiPiHi front page a while ago. They have a nice dissolving ‘adobe captivate’ slide show ticking through and on the 3rd screen I spotted a chart that well was very interesting. It caught my attention because it was basically an exact duplicate of a chart I created and posted on this blog over a year ago. A copyrighted post I might add.

For those who didn’t click to look at the year old post here is my original chart again (note the copyright):

Web 1-3

and the reversioned/copied/ripped-off one used to sell HiPiHi on its home page…

HiPiHi Ripped off chart

Now the important thing here is that the chart is cited as its source a blog from a Kunzelnick. In fact a Martin Kunzelnick who is a student at Stuttgart University amongst other things I can gather from his German profile. Anyway, I could take this as flattery and roll over, indeed the original chart has been cited in hundreds of other places and its original source credited, but for someone to recreate it, concept, axes, dates, labelling and call it their own is one thing – for it to be then placed on a corporate site and referenced back to the ‘copiest’ is another. I looked on Herr Kunzelnick’s site but the image seems to have disappeared? I wonder if he became aware that this might cause a finger pointing? Who knows.

I contacted both HiPiHi marketing and Martin Kunzelnick who have both remained silent. I, like many others, happily share our ideas and concepts via blogs and forums etc: on the premise that anything of substance will remain attached to its original author especially with a copyright over the top of it. Creative commons and web 2.0 etiquette should prevail. Perhaps I am being very nieve here?

OK rant over – at least I have set the record straight my end. It does now make me think twice about publishing anything that can be ripped off in the future and the actual reason I posted this was I was about to post a lovely, juicy cross-reality chart. Hey what the hell. I know who is in the wrong – now you do!

© Gary Hayes 2007