As social media consultants, we often tout the benefits of "google juice" to our clients who are seeking to boost their search engine rankings.

But, can putting content on the Internet hurt you in the end? It can if you continuously plagiarize, leaving a trail of proof behind for anyone to find.

Presidential aide Tim Goeglein was recently outted by blogger Nancy Nall Derringer who found multiple cases of plagiarism. At last count, Goeglein was found to have plagiarized 27 of 38 submitted columns from 2000 to 2008.

It raises the question, is content that’s put on the Internet available for the taking? Some claim that everyone does it, and we can argue that it’s all part of the idea of the generous web. On the flipside, content scrapers and sploggers provide a serious drawback to the generous web.

This particular question of ethics comes down to the simple fact that giving due credit is the key to avoid plagiarizing.

His story shows that although he committed a crime by publishing someone else’s words and thoughts as his own, the real takeaway is that anything you publish on the Internet is there forever. Take care in what you say, what you do, and how you present yourself. Make sure to represent the most important brand out there, yourself.