Get on the Content Curation Bandwagon with Scoop.it

[Eric Suesz]

Our Network Creators are always so great about adding tips for others, and I figured it was about time I added my own tip. My tip for you is to consider experimenting with a new content curation web app called Scoop.it.

If you're not familiar with curation, it's kind of what people do on Pinterest. It's all about picking out choice content while you surf the Internet and collecting it in one place for others to enjoy. Some people call this "social bookmarking" but the high-minded term "curation" sure does make you sound smart — so curation it is.

What can Network Creators do with Scoop.it? Here's a few ideas to get you started....

Curate a "what we're reading online" feed

If your site is all about Tea Party politics, your members are no doubt highly tuned to the news they find around the web every day about their most beloved and hated candidates. Use Scoop.it to collect the articles you know will resonate with them. You're probably already an expert or authority on your topic, and this is a good way to be seen as a collector of good content around that topic.

Group curate inspirational stuff

Scoop.it offers a handy bookmarklet that you can use to grab content as you're surfing around in your browser. If you run a knitting or crafting site and have a team of admins or preferred members who like to go out and find inspirational content online, you could all use their bookmarklet to group curate the most inspirational photos or techniques you find in your daily or weekly browsing. 

Collect PR that's all about you

If your site is big and successful and talked about online regularly, why not collect all of the mentions of you and your successes? You can put a Scoop.it badge on your site to show the press coverage you're getting. 

Save time finding content

What's most handy about this service is that you can plug a ton of Google News searches, custom RSS feeds, and all kinds of other search results into their system, and it will present you with a bevy of results to choose from. Thumb through and click-and-pick the content you want in your feed. If you already use an RSS reader for this purpose, you can upload your OPML file. You're in business as an expert curator!

There are plenty of other uses for this novel new service, and I look forward to hearing how you might use it. I've been using Scoop.it for the past few weeks, and it's pretty handy for my weekly digest of content found on the web. You can check out the badge on the Main Page of Creators if you want to see how it displays content from your Scoop.it feed.

[Kim Strand]

Hi,

I'm fairly new to Ning and was able to use Scoop it.  Now, how do I get the scoop it information on my Ning network.  I can easily post it to LinkedIn group, a facebook page but there is no option for a Ning network.

Any help is appreciated,

Kim

[Eric Suesz]

Hey, Kim. I use their widget on the main page of Creators. They have widget code you can grab. Check it out on their site here.

[Kim Strand]

Thank You.

[Kim Strand]

I made the suggestion to make a 'ning' button on scoop it to make it easier to share.  They sent me a note to vote for this to be added to their site since it has been suggested before.  Here is the link to vote if you are interested.

http://feedback.scoop.it/forums/137223-general/suggestions/3275426-...

Kim