Twiiter. Facebook. Linkedin. For some, even Google Buzz.  Social networks have become a mainstay for many of us. Just a few years ago, we depended on news channels for most of what we consumed. Now, we actually get into broadcasting the news ourselves. From the Facebook “like” button, to the “retweet”, we just LOVE to blast out information we get from the four corners of the Internet. But besides doing it to fickle our interests, what is our reasoning behind re-purposing content? The likelihood of  getting a story first or even 100,00th is slim. For instance, if your Facebook or Twitter feeds resemble that of the folks you post to, re-purposed content can almost be considered nil. Re-purposing “old” content can give the appearance of you or your company being out of the loop. It is true, however, that re-purposed content can show expertise, and on that note these points:

*comments count
The true way to make your expertise known is to add your two cents. Most re-purposed content comes from a main post or article anyway. If you agree, say why. If you don’t agree, say why. We all love new information, give us some of your own.

*don’t re-tweet like a machine gun
Twitter users, you know where I’m going with this. Machine Gun re-tweeting may work for a sports event, but end it there. When you re-tweet in spurts and not spots, you show how little original content you really have in your arsenal.

*give credit, give credit, give credit
Put the shoe on the other foot. If you write something, would you want someone else to get credit? Nuff said.

Original content trumps all other. Never forget that. So be aware of how you use re-purposed content. That said, get to writing!