Week 4: Shareable Media

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

What is shareable media? Shareable media is content that is posted on a social media platform, creating a large enough interest to be: “shared” “retweeted” “pinned” …etc.

For example, here is the first shareable media type post that I found just scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed:

To no surprise, it’s Buzzfeed. The king of shareable media. But what I like about this? It’s short, to the point, and makes your mouth water. Seriously… I want to eat that thing right now.

But the real question is, how does a newsroom do it?

It’s not like they can just share a cooking recipe. Well, they could but that’s not really what the news is about. The news is about sharing local and national stories that are important to the viewer. The only problem? Generation- y’s are not interested in watching the nightly newscast. It’s not captivating, and in my opinion, has a formal feel that is going out of style. People want personality.

Thats why websites like Buzzfeed and Elite Daily are such a success.

These website do not only have silly shareable videos and blogs that users attract too, but they also have real news stories too. Ultimately, having one go-to place for everything.

So what does this mean for news? Well, they are figuring it out…

News stations are now prioritizing social media to connect with younger generations, creating more shareable media options and links to short videos that attract users who want to quickly be informed.

Here is an example:

But is this shareable media? Not exactly. As you can see from the likes and retweets, this was not something that became a trending topic. Topics news related typically are not shareable media topics. Topics that interest viewers are relatable.