Tynt Tracer, said to help you discover what’s being copied from your blog or website, is yet another tool to help you manage copyright infringement. As of 3 weeks ago, I started testing the Beta version of Tracer on this blog. Partly because I was asked to review the service, but more so, because I’m always looking for ways to protect my intellectual property (ie, my knowledge and thoughts that I place here on the blog). I was pleasantly surprised by the information that Tracer provided me in such a short time.
What Tynt Tracer Does and Does Not Do
Tynt does not follow the path of those that copy your content, hunt them down and regulate them. The service, once installed can tell you what is being highlighted and copied from your site. In their own words, they say:
Each time users highlight or copy/paste content from your site, we record that user action and the copied content giving you unique insight into how users engage with your site. You learn exactly what content users are interested in. Page Views and Time Spent on Site are only part of the engagement story – when a user is moved to take action on your site, you know they are impacted by that content.
Whether copying content really has to do with “engagement” is another story, for the purposes of this post and my testing, I was more concerned with learning what is being copied, tracking and knowing if copyright infringement has been done you’ll have to track with other services like Copyscape.
Tracer also claims to “drive traffic” by automatically including a link to the copied material on your site. The link is easily removable, although its feasible that traffic will come for those who are quoting you and leave the link in place.
Now, with all that said, Tracer will tell you which content people are most interested in… copying. Now, that doesn’ t mean content that isn’t copied isn’t relevant to your readers. But, understanding what people thought was worth copying, can be helpful in developing future content.
Installing Tynt Tracer on Your Wordpress Blog
It’s super easy, if you know how to insert code into your Wordpress template. Let’s take a look.
1. Sign up for your account and Tracer will generate the necessary javascript code that will need to be inserted into your template.
2. You’ll need to insert that code into your template before the < / body > tag, which will likely mean placing it in the footer.php file of your Wordpress design template.
Tracer has instructions for Blogger, Ning Networks, Typepad, and Wordpress.
What I Discovered About Content Being Copied Here
First, it appears that when people do copy, they aren’t just pulling quotes or bite sized information. For the most part, when people copy from my blog, they copy large chunks at a time. When getting a feel for what’s being copied, in relations to how much is being copied, it’s clear that most copying is being done to quote me on other blogs or places on the Net. Still, I have no way of really knowing.
Second, most of the content being copied came from a concentrated focus of topics. It seems my review posts were copied quite a bit, my guess, is that those companies and services I’ve reviewed are quoting me, or others who are reviewing services are quoting me… or, at least quoting my comments.
Lastly, I’ve now got information about what topics are being copied most. With this and other analytics data, I’m able to determine what are the “hottest” topics on my blog, so that I can take advantage of those hidden opportunities — rather than just posting content as I think of it.
My Thoughts on Tynt Tracer
The biggest reason for installing Tynt Tracer is to track and understand what’s being copied on your blog. Period, all other reasons are just not applicable for the most part. It’s super easy to install, a 5 minute process for someone who knows your Worpress template (or following instructions they provide), and worth the look at the data. Once you set it, Tracer does the rest to help you have more information that makes you a better blogger.
Blog Herald did a 3 week study before reviewing Tynt Tracer, good information was gathered.
Most other posts I found online, announced the service, said they were waiting for Beta access, but never followed up with information about actually using the service and the data they collected.
Give it a whirl, it looks as though Tracer is allowing you to simply sign-up, rather than waiting on a Beta invite. And, did I mention the service is free!
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… looking forward to connecting with you!
Maria 
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