Web feats 2: Slideshare

Yesterday I published the first of my Web feats - the social bookmarking tool Delicious. Today, I want to talk about another of my favourite Web 2.0 tools: Slideshare.

Sharing wasn't just something we were all taught to do as kids. It also has a place in professional life and in the spirit of the social webm, has become something I do naturally each time I create a new slideshow. I have even shared my slides before I present them (but usually only on the same day - I don't want to give too much of the game away!) I first discovered Slideshare about 2 years ago when I was looking for somewhere to store all my content. I quickly discovered that once my slide shows were posted on Slideshare, people came in to view them, and sometimes even commented on them. I found this to be a rich source of feedback from people who are equally as passionate about my subject as I am. The great thing about Slideshare is that if people are interested in your slideshow, they can show it in a number of useful ways. They can 'like' or 'favourite' your slideshow, download it for easier reading, or even embed it into their own blog or website using the coding the site provides for each individual slideset. Recently other widgets and tools have started appearing on the Slideshare site, including the tool that allows users to share a link on Facebook and Twitter, or embed it into a blog post if it's powered by Blogger or Wordpress.

As with all social web tools, Slideshare has a rich social dimension - you can create your own network using its tools by following people back who are following you or who leave comments. You can also find people who have similar interests to you and subscribe to their feeds so that when they post up a new slideshow, you will be the first to know. Slideshare is a very useful tool to guage the mood of the community - some of my slideshows have attracted 3000 views in a single day. When that happens you know you have hit a nerve. It's good to share.

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