Passionate Sharing: The ultimate practice of curation

When I was a child, I remember going to museums and being completed amazed at the breadth of knowledge that the volunteers who led the tours had.  Never did a trip go by when I did ask my parents ‘how do they know all that?’…. having both my parents be educators of course resulted in the stock answer of the importance of education and why I should pursue my schooling…. Which of course I’m proud to say I did.

As time has passed – and I of course got involved in the Web – I discovered a new form of what I like to call the ‘digital docent’… or curator of content.  One of the most wonderful activities that I get to engage in each day is opening up my Flipboard app and asking the question ‘ what’s up in the world today’ and getting a wide variety of answers, delivered from all corners of the globe, by folks that I consider now to be my friends.  That flow of content each morning (and I would add something that continues throughout each day), leads directly into a practice that I believe is changing the human condition for the better over time and that is the idea of passionate sharing.  Just as in my museum example, one of the key ingredients in passing on any kind of content in a compelling way is being passionate about it.  Have you ever watched someone talk and thought – I could watch this person read the phonebook?  Of course you have, and online these are the folks that we all ‘follow’ closely.  People who are passionate about a particular cause, type of content or topic are always easier to listen to and interact with (watch for a posting on that topic in the coming days) and online you are quickly able to tell whether someone is simply sharing content to get attention or is truly interested in that field of endeavor.

One of my favorite examples of this is Mari Smith (@MariSmith on Twitter) who in my opinion is the leading expert out there on ‘all things Facebook’.  Mari doesn’t just share random content, but instead adds here own thoughts at the end of each tweet via a [ ] marker.  Why does that matter?  It adds that extra element that shows that this is something you should look at…. Or at least not just skim over it.  What also contributes to my paying attention to Mari… is her passion for her topic.  Whether its major changes in the way that Facebook is dealing with privacy or the latest update to the newsfeed, Mari is my go to source for all things Facebook because she’s passionate… and I trust her.

Herein lies that importance of ‘passionate sharing’ and why it matters for marketers and companies trying to reach consumers.  We (that would be consumers) can see right through you.  If you are using any of the social platforms to simply talk ‘at’ me…. Your success is going to be limited.  If you engage with me, make me feel like I’m important and that my business matters to you (both online and off), you may reach the holy grail…. Which of course in the creation of a raving fan.

What are you and your Team doing to create passionate sharing?  Do you have the right people in place to drive your message forward?  Are you messengers on these platforms true believers or just doing a job that they’ve been assigned?  Drop me a line in the comments section if you've got some examples of where you’ve seen curation taken to the next level… via passionate sharing.