After forking out $23,000 on a SIA Suites Class ticket and blogging about his luxurious experience, travel blogger Derek Low finds himself being accused of plagiarism
Frankly, I don’t understand the hoo-ha about the plagiarism allegations. So what if Derek Low isn’t the most creative writer around? He’s a blogger, not a writer. Do we really have to hold him to such high journalistic standards?
I personally don’t have the luxury of travelling the world like Derek Low, and it satisfies me to be able to be an armchair traveller by following his travel blog. His photos are exquisite and the destinations are of great interest to me.
That said, the writing style of many lifestyle bloggers tends to be conversational and even at times ungrammatical, but they still have a huge following because they share unique experiences not easily accessible to the average Joe and Jane.
I don’t know Derek personally but to my knowledge, many bloggers aren’t trained writers. Where blogs are concerned, interesting content and timeliness are all that matter. I follow lifestyle blogs for entertainment’s sake. If I want fine literature, I can always read Huffington Post or Margaret Atwood.
Yes, travel bloggers like Derek Low may seem like they’re living the high life and having it easy. But blogging about their experiences in a timely manner is not a piece of cake. After all, this is something they do on top of their day jobs.
Unlike journalists, they write solo and do not have the reinforcement of an editor to copy edit and proofread their work. The internet never sleeps, and blog followers expect breaking news or new events to be reported in real time.
Derek Low should be given a break. The recent public outcry would have been a good enough lesson for him. After all, how much of what you’ve read is 100% original? Even acclaimed writers develop ideas based on what they’ve read somewhere, sometime ago.
By Runbin Yew
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