When I first got online about six years ago, I was pleased with the things you could learn from websites.  Always a lover of new information, I have gotten some really good use out of the Internet.  But recently I have been noticing that a lot of people don't really use the Internet to explained their own knowledge base, but rather as a tool to gain information ABOUT information. 

     For example, in researching the Stone Fun Facts every week, my usual procedure is to look up "[name of stone] properties" on search engines, pull up lots of resulting websites, and compile information from there.  I jot it down, organize it in relevant groups, and write it out in my own language.  I also usually try to interject a personal tidbit here and there--my own experiences with the stone, an odd fact I remember from childhood, a particularly alluring feature, etc. 

     But in pulling up these information websites, I have noticed that a great many of them are not original.  So many times, I go from site to site, finding the exact same information, not just in content, but in exact execution as well.  The fact that many sites share the same wording, phrasing, and even occasional spelling or punctuation errors, is proof that too many people offering information about gemstones on their respective sites are only copying and pasting things they discovered on other sites.  In other words, many of the people who provide this information didn't really use the Internet to gain information about the STONES, but to gain information about INFORMATION about the stones.  Too often, copying and pasting is taking the place of actual research, experience, discovery, and discussion.

     I am thoroughly pleased to assure you that all of Ephemerala's Stone Fun Facts are the result of actual research, learning, and discovery on my part.  Each is 100% unique, incorporating my own wording and my own organization.  The Fun Facts you read in this newsletter and on my site have never appeared elsewhere, and are completely my own words, based on available resources.  You will never find any of my Stone Fun Facts, exactly as they are written, anywhere else online.

     (Unless, of course, someone eventually copies and pastes MY stuff!)