Yes, hello! It’s me again and to follow on from my last post ‘Are You are Giving Out The Right Social Signals’, I thought I would follow it up with a wee post on ‘Tool of the month’ This, unfortunately is not about my best friends new boyfriend – as I could write several posts about him- but it’s about my favourite new social tool called Storify.
Storify is actually not that new as it has been used by the public since April 2011 but it’s sure as hell new to me and I have been jumping around like a small child pumped full of candy.
So what pray, is this Storify tool? Well, funnily enough it’s a social network service that lets you create stories using snippets of information from various social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and a whole host of others even including Soundcloud! Yipee! (more small hyperactive child jumping) I suppose it’s a social media content curation platform which easily allows you to search for snippets of information across multiple platforms based on the search terms you put in to make your story.
It really is so simple to use with its drag and drop method; which also makes it really versatile when it comes to editing the story as you can drag, drop and essentially re arrange to your heart’s content. The bonus here is that it is not only social media platforms that you can pull information from but it can be anywhere across the web.
The beauty of this tool is that it also allows you to write your own content around all the snippets you have pulled in from other sources, meaning you can weave together some fabulously creative stories with your own scintillating twist on things. Even better is the fact that you can embed hyperlinks which, to be honest, in recent times seems to be becoming increasingly harder to do!
Another lovely little feature is the Storify browser button which is easily added to Chrome, Safari and Firefox. This means that when you are browsing the web and come across some interesting content that you wish to include in a ‘story’ you simply click the button and your content is easily added to your page.
Your final post can not only be integrated with the likes of Facebook but can be embedded anywhere on the web, integrating nicely with other sites too such as WordPress, Drupal, Tumbler and Posterous, which is fabulous news for the likes of avid bloggers. Journalists are also very much favouring this platform as they can create stories on the move (normally using the iPad app) and upload them onto their online magazine or newspaper .The editing feature means that they can allow others to access their stories and polish them before finally posting them live. Interestingly, media organizations such as CBC and Al Jazeera use Storify to cover news events and collect different perspectives on these events.
Once your post has been published you are offered the option to notify all the people whose snippets you have used in your story which is not only just basic politeness but it opens up the opportunities for your story to be shared and remember what I said; it’s not only good to share but it’s even better to be shared and this delightful tool does both!
Finally, I would like to add that I am really digging using Storify not just as a platform for new content but I am totally enjoying using the search button for any research I need to do as it enables me to find a wealth of interesting information across social media platforms. It’s so much more fun than just popping a search term into Google and brings up much more unique content.
To be brutally honest, it’s the most engaging and enjoyable platform I have had the honour of writing on in quite a while and if the future of SEO and content lays in the hands of social media and just how much we all share and get shared , then Storify is the platform to be seen on.
My ‘Mystic Trace’ prediction is that this platform is going to grow in leaps and bounds over the next few years, so go have a play with it. Mark my words, the future is bright and the future is social and you would be a right ‘tool’ to miss out on it!
Go on! Find out more about Storify and do let me know how you get on with it! Leave a comment or come pester me @ThoughtShiftUK
