Discussion

Curate or Create? Which do you do?

When we talk about our Twitter and Facebook updates we often see patterns to our behavior and the behavior of those we follow and friend. How often do you see the same news from different people on your timelines?  Are you one of those people who shares content from websites or are you someone who takes pictures and shares the more personal aspects of your life on social media?

Content Creators

Statistically there are less people who create content to share on social media than those who consume the content. However with the rise of mobile phones and ease of access to the web whilst on the go we are seeing more and more content being created.  The social networks such as Facebook and Twitter want us to share more as well. You may have heard about Facebook embedding video into your timeline when it is uploaded there and Twitter have also just announced that you can now comment on re-tweets as well. This trend is only going to grow on these social networks. The more you share the more valuable your insights are to others.

Content Curators

Some people don’t like to share their personal thoughts, experiences and feelings online and these people tend to be more interested in sharing things that they find elsewhere on the internet.  They share interesting things that they have read or seen online.  These are the content curators. Everyone should follow a few of these types of people as they bring some interesting insights and news direct to your social media timelines. There is a bit of a content curator in all of us.

Curating content isn’t as hard as you might think, just use the sharing buttons on your favourite websites and add your comments when you share them. The only word of warning here is that you should only share content that you find interesting and that you think your friends and followers will find interesting. There is no point sending things that will offend others as that just damages your own reputation.

What type of social media user are you? A creator or a curator?