New Online Toy: Scoop.It

A colleague introduced me to a new online tool that I absolutely love. Scoop.It lets people gather and distribute content from around the Web based their interests.

Scoop.It, from my experience, serves two main purposes.

First, its a great place to share internet stories you like on topics of your choice. For example, I currently have five topics on Scoop.It:

• Language News & Information (of course)
• Social Media & Content Marketing
• PR, Public Relations & Public Opinion
• Diversity & Inclusion in Marketing & Communication
• Photography: Inspiration & Technique

When I find pages, blog posts or articles that fall within these categories which I really want to share (but don't necessarily want to write a blog post about them), I just click my Scoop.it! bookmark button and a menu pops up. There, I can pick how the story will appear on my Scoop.It page, which is designed to appear as an attractive topic page or online magazine. There is also have the option to share it simultaneously on social media platforms of my choice (for me, mainly Twitter).

Second, its a great place to find articles, photos and videos relevant to your Scoop.It topics. It makes suggestions on content it thinks you might be interested in, based on the keywords you entered for your topic and content you've already shared. You can even add sources you like or subtract sources you don't (though some of the more advanced features like this require a monthly subscription).

The only thing that I can think of that I'd like it to do that it doesn't is to utilize my Bit.ly account when shortening links to Twitter. It doesn't do it yet, but it seems there is a possibility for it in the future, according to a response to feedback.

When I started using Scoop.It just a few weeks ago, it was invite only. However, it has now opened to the public and anyone can get in on using this content curation tool. The company is also beginning to experiment with a premium model that will allow users to embed their topic page onto their own websites.

For me, it is just a fun new online toy to share some of the interesting things I find on the internet. :)

Do you use a content curation tool that you particularly like? Share it in the comments.

See also: Pinterest