Two days ago, InvestorPlace Media, for whom I provide daily guest contributions, published an altcoin article that I worked diligently on. Featuring some of the best Bitcoin alternatives, I also included STEEM and the Steemit network. I genuinely believe that no cryptocurrency portfolio is complete without exposure to this blockchain social-media platform.
Here's the link to MY original article -- https://investorplace.com/2018/01/4-bitcoin-alternatives-that-you-need-for-2018/#.Wll5iXlG2M8
Nevertheless, one of the ugly effects of a decentralized platform is that you can get away with bloody murder if you fail to protect your own work. I discovered this when Steemit user "lokeshlgl" blatantly ripped off my work, and made money with it. Were it not for my flagging, and reporting the issue to 
Sadly, this is not the first incident, and I doubt that it will be the last. As a professional financial and business columnist, I live or die from the traffic that my content generates. Yes, I get extremely angry about plagiarism because it forces me to compete with distributed copies of my own articles.
I already have a hell of a time competing with CNBC, The Street, or Seeking Alpha. I shouldn't have to compete with my plagiarized "self."
Another source of frustration is that STEEM enforcers, such as
My biggest issue with this latest incident is that I wrote a mainstream article (it's also been picked up by Yahoo Finance) featuring our Steemit network. Lately, I've witnessed an explosion of traffic for my InvestorPlace pieces, so I've definitely positively impacted STEEM.
It just rubs me the wrong way that, as a thank you, I'm plagiarized, and not given due credit. I will have to seriously reconsider my position in promoting Steemit should this plagiarism epidemic worsen.
Remember, I'm not just getting hurt: I work with an amazing team of editors, administrators, and technicians, all pushing to promote world-class content. By stealing others' original work, we are hurting everyone involved in making that work possible.