12 Reasons to Write and Share Genuine Content
Those of you who have been creating content for some know from experience there’re people out there who have no problem with “borrowing” (to put it nicely) others’ materials to post on their own sites.
This would be an acceptable practice if your site had a creative commons license, or if those who “borrow” your content follow your re-publication rules (in both cases mentioning the original source, you). However, it’s not acceptable when someone tries to make your content appear as theirs. Period.
But we all know these things happen. It has happened to me quite a few times. In fact, on one of those occasions, the person who stole the content didn’t hesitate a second to say the post was his, and didn’t even bother to change the pictures and infographics.
Nevertheless, I’d say that creating and sharing content is a way of life. So here are some reasons why I keep doing it.
1. You have to do some research
If you want to write a good post on any given topic, you need to do a little research. It might imply a couple of reads or a lot. Or it might imply the opening of an account on a service, or installing an app, trying it, and then talking about it.. You can only talk about the things you’re talking about when you actually know what you are talking about.
2. It helps you structure your thoughts
You have a lot of ideas but when you start writing things down, you need to give your ideas a basic coherence and a thread so that anyone who reads you can follow your thoughts. Writing helps you think better.
3. You learn a lot
I don’t know about you, but when I write, I tend to memorize things. It happened to me when I was in high school and university. The act of writing things down helped me get a fix on the basics of what I was studying and anchor those ideas in my mind. If you’re writing about a topic on which you are not an expert, it will help you absorb what you have already researched, so you’ll complete the cycle.
4. You become a better writer
It might happen that you write about things that are in your field of expertise. In this case, be careful with jargon (those expressions that are so common to you, but that everybody else would struggle with). You need to reach your audience and you need your audience to understand what you’re saying.
5. Because writing
I love writing. I write naturally about things I like. When I need to write about things I don’t know, I do a lot of research, I use hyperlinks, I ask some experts…. When it’s time to fair-copy what you’ve written, black on white, when you are in front of a blank piece of paper… ah! That moment!
6. Because sharing
Writing is cool, but sharing is cool too. Sharing different points of view, and knowledge with people who will also share their views on what you write with you is a great feeling. It’s always a great pleasure to check how people react to your writings, how they find your posts useful.
7. You meet very interesting people
You never know where you can meet someone who’s interesting. It might happen at a night club at 2 a.m., it might happen while having a crazy chat on Twitter, or it might happen after watching a YouTube video…. There are thousands of ways to meet people, and one of them is when you write. Because it’s possible that someone is looking for the things you’ve written about, and you’ve already found a topic to discuss.
8. Your content is your business card
The CV as we knew it is dead. If you work in communications, design, software, etc., your best CV will be online, as a portfolio of your works and creations, as a selection of your best pieces of writing. You are not just what you share — Google your name and tell me what you see.
9. It helps you grow professionally
I know lots of people writing fantastic blogs, whose professional reputation goes along with the content they share. That’s just the way it is. We’ve already seen on point #8 that what you build might become your online CV. More than this, what you build is interactive and gets bigger every day.
10. It widens your horizons
When you share your point of view, when you’re open to new opinions, you can recycle them and make them yours. And this helps you open your mind and widen your thoughts on any topic. There are a lot of ways to widen your mind, but one of them, undoubtedly, is by the conversation created after you give your opinion.
11. You become more tolerant
You get used to receiving comments and views from others that are different than yours; you get used to slow debates; you get used to thinking about what others tell you. This makes you a better listener, and more tolerant towards others’ thoughts.
12. Not doing it would be selfish
If you are savvy, why not let others know about it? Why keep it to yourself? Human knowledge grows because people share what they know about things. It spreads, it boosts, it widens, and voids get filled.
And you? Tell us why you keep on writing and sharing content.
Previously posted at unadocenade.com in Spanish.
