Thanks to my sister, I can count myself among the watchers of Dora the Explorer in the early days of the series. All of these years later, I can still hear “Swiper, no swiping” ringing in my ears.
While stealing is wrong, a colleague recently reminded me of the value of swiping. No, “aw, man” here. Swiper, today is your day! Thanks, Graham!
Stealing vs Swiping
All content created for an organization becomes its intellectual capital. Outside of work, materials made for portfolios or for fun remain the author’s. As drilled into writers in high school and college, unless something is your express original work, cite it! (Paraphrases, too.) Disregarding and disrespecting the above constitutes stealing.
Swiping, on the other hand, can have many faces. This is because to SWIPE is to “Steal With Integrity, Pride & Enthusiasm.” Some alternatively say that SWIPE means to “Steal With Integrity and Pride from Everywhere,” with roots in lean six sigma.
In certain fields, including HR, L&D and leadership development, little is new under the sun. The differentiator is how similar content is presented. If we are working off of common base resources and best practices, swiping necessitates that we put our spin on things and give credit where credit is due.
When something is found admirable and does not necessitate purchasing a license to use, one could consider “SWIPing” a form of flattery.
Integrity:
Continue to cite the originator or entity who inspired you.
Blend original content with swiped content to create a new unique product or service.
Pride:
Ensure your actions would make the originator proud.
Adapt the content to be unique enough that you can be proud to put your name on it. Exercise creativity to produce a distinct final result.
Enthusiasm:
Only swipe when the content is a point of passion and not when it is simply easy or convenient.
Consider: Are you enthusiastic about the subject matter? Is this the absolute best way to present the idea? Does it light a spark in you and others?
Extension Application
How can one put this cute acronym and nuanced approach into action? Allow us to borrow a page from Anna Sambramowicz’s treasure trove of advice. I love this idea!
Anna recommends saving a swipe folder of images, templates and projects that we admire as future inspirations and best practices to model. If we were to use something we save verbatim, that would be stealing. If we use them to spark future projects – a seed that we water into its own flower, that is swiping.
My reference file is officially getting a new name – my SWIPE file. Feel free to swipe the idea, too. Thanks, Anna!
To the Point
Let’s unmask the appropriate way to SWIPE, one that is built on integrity, pride and enthusiasm!
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