Why Aren’t You Using SlideShare?
Confession: I mulled over whether I wanted to include something about being a dad blogger in the headline because I thought it would be cool to write a post about simple ways you can generate content and do so in a way that might have some SEO benefits but the headline was too long.
So what we have is a simple question, Why Aren’t You Using SlideShare?
I answered it by embedding the Slideshare presentation that Slideshare includes on their About Us page.
Why?
There are three primary reasons:
- I received several notices from Slideshare about new followers and I started thinking about whether I am missing an opportunity by not producing more Slideshare content.
- Many colleagues have said that Slideshare is very effective and I thought it might be useful to start a conversation here.
- I am jammed for time and needed to update the blog. Embedding the presentation was an easy way to repurpose content in an ethical fashion and still update the blog.
Work Smarter Not Harder
People often talk about the value of a good work ethic. I agree about the importance and value but I also think it is important to look for opportunities to work smarter and not harder.
That doesn’t mean you take the lazy way out but that you look for opportunities to make the work easier. The caveat to this is that it only works if it doesn’t have a negative impact upon the quality of your work.
Slide #10 in the presentation talks about how SlideShare can help your work go viral but I am not a big fan of that. Or maybe it is more accurate to say I think the push to produce viral content can have a negative impact upon quality.
SlideShare contains some great content but it also contains some awful material too. If you choose to embed a presentation you really need to make sure to vet it firs or you risk looking foolish.
What about you? Have you used SlideShare? Do you like it?
Adrienne January 21, 2014 at 8:48 am
Hey Josh,
I’m pretty lazy too, I haven’t done it yet myself and the reason is that it’s time consuming. We have to create the slides and in order to “stand out” as they are always telling us then they need to be unique and creative right! My goodness, it’s hard enough to just write content consistently and put myself out there and now I have to be a graphics artist.
I agree that it can probably benefit us all so now I have to find the time to include that as well.
Thanks for this reminder and have a great week.
~Adrienne
Joshua January 21, 2014 at 6:17 pm
Hi Adrienne,
I don’t know if lazy is a word I would use to describe you ever. I think it is hard to maintain the various platforms we have so I understand why people would be reluctant to try another.
Frank Strong January 20, 2014 at 7:35 pm
SlideShare is definitely a great tool Josh. And I’d venture to say one of the most underutilized. To that end, LinkedIn could probably do more with it too!
Joshua January 21, 2014 at 5:42 pm
Hi Frank.
I see it as an excellent resource for pushing out messaging that can be used and reused multiple times.