Pinterest, guys. I feel like it has taken the blog copy-cat decor movement and given it a seven Tour de France winning (too soon?) injection of mimic-enhancing power. Before Pinterest, you might see something familiar on a blog, but you probably wouldn't be able to remember the source, and it was easy to give the person the benefit of the doubt. Like, that blogger schemed up the idea on her own, but maybe that other one did, too.
Like inspiration in clusters to ensure that a good idea reaches critical mass. Providence maybe is thinking, "OK, if I tell her to paint her pantry door a bright color but then her blog doesn't have the correct SEO to really get the idea out there...oh screw it, I'll just tell seven bloggers to paint their pantry door a bright color."
But then we got Pinterest, and well, that is no longer necessary. A good idea gets pinned one time, and before you know it, it's mainstream and maybe even a little passe.
So the deep thought is, who are we really copying? If I have a gallery wall, and 10 people I know have gallery walls, but gallery walls are also big on Pinterest, can I say that I'm copying Pinterest and not my friend? And if I got the idea to do a gallery wall without seeing anyone else's house or ever seeing it online, am I really inventing the concept?
In the Internet age, I don't know what originality is or if it even counts anymore.
And if I am copying a bunch of people, does it really matter? When people copy things I do, it makes me feel awesome.
So I guess what I'm saying is, if I copy you on something, just follow the admonition of Neil Patrick Harris:
"When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story."
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