Lately, I'm seeing a disturbing trend on Twitter: people copying someone else's tweets and presenting them as their own.  I'm not talking about retweeting.  Retweeting references the author of the original tweet, either with "RT" or "via" and the author's name or handle.  Retweeting is a sign of respect.  It serves to not only propagate ideas, but lends weight to them with every post.   

Yes, 140 characters is a limited space.  Sometimes editing has to occur.  However, the author's name is the one item which should never be omitted.

Intention is irrelevant.  Omissions of ignorance damage the shared creative process which supports and nurtures us all, as much as deliberate presentation of another's idea as our own.

Both the Health 2.0 and Government 2.0 movements are focused on transformation.  Our ideas and thoughts are our resources and capitol.  They are the discoveries which drive innovation.  Viewed in this light, we are scientists and entrepreneurs.

However, we are also activists.  We are not creating ideas, as much as we are creating change.  Shirky said "revolution doesn't happen when society adopts new technology, it happens when society adopts new behaviors."

When we support each other, we achieve so much more collectively, than we could as the sum of our individual efforts.  We are pushing forward; disrupting and creating.  Together.

Be proud to be an information source, as well as a creator.  Don't remove someone's name from their tweet.