Leave Breadcrumbs
encourage exploration and independent thinking
You may have noticed the prolific use of links in any number of my pieces. Here a link. There a link. Everywhere a link link. [sung to the tune of Old MacDonald]
Most recently The Covertly Disempowering Teachings of Gabby Bernstein and It’s Always About Free Speech were riddled with them.
Want to guess the reason for this? No, it isn’t the cute pops of pink scattered across the page. It’s so that you can explore for yourself and draw your own conclusions. What I’ve offered is how my brain synthesizes and aggregates information, but I never want you to simply take my word for it. Poke at things for yourself!
It’s entirely plausible that you’ll draw different conclusions than I did from the same source materials. Brilliant! Vibrant conversations are born from this!
I want people to do their own examinations and to think critically about the topics at hand. This is one of the reasons that I repeat links with every mention. Why should I make you scroll back a few paragraphs when your interest is finally piqued enough to visit something I’ve referenced? Backtracking is a deterrent to you clickity-clicking.
If I’m keen on how someone’s brain works, referencing a favorite book or movie makes me want to engage with it too. Show me your inspiration! Cite the sources that lead you to this line of thinking. Let me flip through the pages with you.
Beyond exploration and critical thinking, here are my top three reasons to be the human version of “if you like this, you might also like…” by tagging and linking in everything that you do.
Give Credit Where Credit Is Due
We’re inundated by information so our brains don’t always retain what sparked an idea. When the credit is obvious, state it for all to see.
Share the article that prompted your post. Tag the account that got the ball rolling with your riff on a topic. Let people see your inner machinations while elevating other people who have influenced you — for better or worse. This is how we build networks of awesomeness on our various platforms.
Cite Your Sources
Are these your words? If the answer is no, then cite your source. I find it maddening when large accounts fail to do this.
If you’re going to take the time to capture screen grabs and share them, build in an extra ten seconds to attribute their origin.
Let your audience in on what’s inspiring you (or riling you) to a point that you want others to see it. Was something taken out of context? Allow your readers decide for themselves.
Connect Your People
If you’re doing interviews or podcast episodes or anything that involves featuring guests, links to their work belong front and center.
Don’t make your audience do their own hunting.
You’re highlighting your guest because (presumably) you like what he or she has to say and think your community will too. Connect them!
Why are you making your listeners do their own legwork if they found the interview compelling? This always baffles me.
You Wanted Me to See This
Now, your intentions can be misinterpreted. No biggie. Link the heck out of things anyway.
A while back I received a message reading, “Hey, you tagged me because you wanted me to see this. Is there something that I can clarify for you?”
Our exchange was polite, and with a sizable following, I was impressed that the woman behind the account initiated the conversation. Except, I didn’t tag her because I wanted her to see something. I tagged her so that those engaging with my stories on Instagram could seek out information first hand and draw their own conclusions. (I’m a broken record here.)
It wasn’t about her. I wanted to make things easy for you!
I am liberal with links and tag the heck out of stuff because I want to share what excites me. Social media is like one ongoing show and tell. Look!! Look what I found!! Yes, for me it’s always a rock or a bug or a flower, just like it was when I was five. Still, we can all share in that joy.
Tracing the journey of thoughts and ideas and inspiration is an incredible way to expand your own horizons. The coolest part is that those same dots connect differently for each of us and spawn offshoot after offshoot.
But mostly, I don’t ever want you to simply take my word for it, whatever the topic. My thoughts are my own and not representative of this television station. Go read things for yourself and draw your own conclusions. (There, I said it again.) We can even disagree. How LIBerating. See what I did there? Get it? Because I’m Libby.
What are your favorite ways to leave breadcrumbs across the internet? Hopefully ours won’t be scooped up the way Hansel and Gretel’s were.
Want more links than you can ever click?
