Sharing (Today) is Truly, Caring

So many catch phrases or quotes of yesterday are extremely more true today than when they were created. Two of them at the top of my mind are:

"Knowledge (information) is Power"

and

"Sharing is caring."



Yes, the advent of the internet has made information the most valued commodity there is today. That is why GOOGLE is at the top of the information food chain because they began the collection of information even before they realised just how monolithic they would become. Because of this mere netiznes, such as ourselves, are left to our own devices and resources when it comes to dealing with the information we gather. The most second nature action for us is to share what we know on our social media platforms. But wouldn't it be nice to know why we share?

I read up on reasons why we share and here are the common reasons I found that constantly pop up in articles:

WE SHARE BECAUSE

We are capitalists and we have what we call "social capital" basically if you have a new car you take it out for a spin so you can show it off. Similar to your knowledge or the information you consume, you share it because it adds value to your persona or your image. It affirms your relationship with certain topics, ideas, things and people you like or want to be associated with.

NEWS GUY Shares News things...

FASHION GIRL Shares Fashion things...

HUMANITARIAN WOMAN Posts about altruistic things...

We want to be remembered. From the day we are born we are told that you must leave a mark on this earth, no matter how minuscule (but preferably grander in nature). On social media we are given a chance to make our "marks" almost on a daily basis and we naturally seize the opportunity without knowing it no matter how fleeting the lime light be. Here are some ways we seize the opportunity to be remembered:

We anchor on to things, trends, people.
#ThrowBackThrusday



















We reciprocate the memorableness of certain things.
#HappyBirthday

We archive milestones to caress our self esteem.
#Graduation

We find practical value in the knowledge we collect or posses and we feel the need to share this practical knowledge with others so it may be of use to them as well.

 #LifeHack

lastly..

We naturally respond to beauty. I use beauty instead of the word "quality" because it is a word we all understand in our own way. We share a quote because we find beauty in its imparted wisdom or message. Some of us share photos because we find the composition, the saturation, the framing quite intriguing, so on and so forth.

SOMETHING FUNNY

DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY

TOUCHING MOMENTS

I am no social media expert, as I religiously explain, no one is. The medium we are trying to capture is still developing and we as social media (marketers / specialists/ analysts et.al) grow with it. But these 4 Reasons Why We Share could be proven by their own universality, it doesn't take a genius or an "expert" to see how these reasons for sharing apply to all of us weather in the online or offline world.

#TIL

Different Resource Materials:
Why Do People Share?
Why Do People Share Content?


Calling things as I see them,
-smartaleck