(C) copyright , (cc) creative commons, and now (i) inspired by ...

Like it,

or dislike it,

know it or not,

this is about use, abuse and re-use of author's works and rights of creators. It is one more way to connect leaders and followers.

(C) Copyright by ... - all rights reserved,

(cc) Creative Commons licensed by ... - some rights reserved.

How to say 'thanks' -  easy

So, we have restriction and we have permission, for pay and for free. Yet, easy attribution is missing. We have no symbol to conveniently say "thank you" to others we recognize as our personal thought leaders. After all, we choose them to inspire us, and on their work we build a piece of our own new world. People like to share freely and general thanks are in order, but outside of web tools like blogging we have no convenient back link, no universally understood pointer or TrackBack to our thought leader's prior art.

Symbolically Thank You

Here is a new symbol you can use to do that if you want:

(i) Inspired by [whom] - sharing appreciated

 

A text example.

(i) inspired by commoncraft.com
Copyright (C) 2008 by CoCreatr - (CC-BY-SA)
Sharing appreciated http://tinyurl.com/6hsa6q

The symbol i in the circle combines elements of the common circled symbol © for copyright, the i for inspiration and the dot shape on the i representing a dripping drop, repeated irrigation of goodwill in small doses.  It may also appear like the flame of a candle. See it as you wish to see it.

Is this for you?

This is a first draft. It may not be that interesting for bloggers, they prefer hyperlinks because it gives them authority on search engines like Technorati. The (i) inspired by ... symbol may work better on more traditional media products, or just as a different way to make your way of sharing appreciation stand out in a crowd.

No, this symbol it is not part of a font, and neither is (cc) for Creative Commons as far as I know. You may be able to change this. Just use the symbol. Bigger, smaller, in color, as you like, just do not change it.  Give thanks to others on whose ideas you build to help you on your own way. Do what only you can do.  Spread the joy. Freely use (i) inspired by ... [link your inspirators here].

Thank you, dear inspirators

This blog post inspired (i) by The Commoncraft blog and refined through John W. Furst. The last drip, (i) inspired by Seth Godin's blog. Image processing through http://www.reflectionmaker.com.

If you like this idea, share it, steal it, play with it, spread it, no permission needed. Just: attribution appreciated.

My name is CoCreatr and I create with others.

P.S. Commercial use is OK

It is fine with me if you want use this symbol commercially.  Here is the blanket permission. Just say thank you in some way. I hope I made that easier.

 
(i) inspired by ... by CoCreatr is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at cocreatr.typepad.com.