We are all curators of the world.

photo: eleanorhartwick

We are defined by what we share.

There’s a lot of talk these days about people being “curators”. Brand curators, journalistic curators, and, as I like to say, curators of the world. We come across all this stuff in our day-to-day life, stuff we find helpful or interesting or entertaining and we share it with our friends. When I tell people who don’t know about Social Media that Social Media has changed my life they look at me like I’m a little insane (which is ok, ‘cuz that’s part of my brand.) But the reason it’s changed my life so much is because I have learned to share. I give away everything I can – every idea, every bit of business advice, everything I learn, everything I find interesting. I’ve come to find that it’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I just didn’t know how.

Here I share with you Damien Basile’s Tumbler Account, which he shares with the world.

8 Responses to “ We are all curators of the world. ”

Heather says:

June 24, 2009 at 3:14 am

I love the phrase “curators of the world”. I think sharing is where it is at these days. I too didn’t realize how much I loved it, until I found Twitter. Thanks for sharing

Philippe says:

June 24, 2009 at 3:26 am

Thanks for this article, I have decided a little while ago to start my blog to start sharing my ideas with the world; I find it a bit hard to do but I think it will become easier with time and practice.

Wish you health, peace and love Or anything else you truly want or desire.

Kelly says:

June 24, 2009 at 3:27 am

What a cool idea, that the social networking craze can foster altruism rather than just egocentrism! Great post!

Lisa Hickey says:

June 24, 2009 at 12:14 pm

Hi all, thanks for stopping by. Yes, Phillipe, it is hard, it does get easier — mostly because people help you along the way. And fostering altruism, yes! I have had many people tell me that they have become better people by seeing the sharing and generosity that goes on in Social Media. It’s the “mushy” side of Social Media, the part of it that some people feel uncomfortable with. Just for the record, I’m a big believer in results and ROI as well. But, imagine, if it could do both…and I believe it can.

Charles Bayer says:

June 25, 2009 at 1:53 am

Luved your May post, but I can’t help thinking that we’re all taking the advertising/marketing/social media thing too seriously — at the end of the day
it’s not a cure for cancer — gotta be a bigger picture out there, cheers Charles.

Lisa Hickey says:

June 26, 2009 at 12:02 pm

Charlie, I’ve thought about your comment from numerous angles, and I have to say I disagree. I think back to the story on CNN a few months ago, about the surgeon who was trying to remove a tumor from a patient without success. He broadcast the story on social networks, and within two days someone sent him a knife that was specifically designed to get at the rare type of tumor he was removing. You can’t tell me that patient doesn’t believe social media can cure cancer.

The reason I think it is so powerful is not because of the tools themselves and not because of the fact that we are getting more ‘advertising’ messages out there. It’s because I’ve seen again and again what happens when people who have an idea or a problem get connected with the person (or place, or company, or country) who can solve that problem or make that idea a reality. To me, that is the “bigger picture”, and yes, always think bigger. I’m all for it. But it starts with knowing what is possible.

Nobody would doubt that the Internet changed their life, and I would add in my lifetime such things as laptops, cellphones, google, mapquest, gps, ipods, atm machines. When each of those things rolled around, I could intuitively see how they made things easier, more interesting, less frustrating for me. I feel the same way about Social Media. Am I guilty of over-evangelizing it? Without a doubt. I find that I’m constantly apologizing for my enthusiasm. Can’t help it, sorry : )

But the difference – for me personally — between when the Internet first came into being is this: This time around, I’m not adopting a “let’s wait and see how it changes things” attitude. I’m actively trying to define what is possible. Enthusiastically. : ) Cheers.