If You’re Not Having Fun, You’re Doing It Wrong

“I hate school”.

How many times have you heard (or said) that?

After graduating, unless heading straight into higher education, most of us tend to stop actively learning. Don’t get us wrong, you’ll be learning on the job in whatever role you get. However, you may not seek out new knowledge and information aside from that.

It’s no surprise really. For many, the idea of school is being stuck in the same chair for 6 hours learning about subjects you may not enjoy or be particularly good at. We may think it’s ‘learning’ we don’t enjoy but as we get older, it’s clear it was down to the wrong subjects.

Content curation is all about learning the right subjects that are unique to you. Subjects you probably didn’t even know you were interested in until you stumbled across them.

We at Quuu are on a new journey focused on content engagement, consumption and continuous learning. We want to put the enjoyment back into content by building you a new hub, with hundreds of categories from a variety of mediums.

And hey, if you end up bossing your next pub quiz due to the amount you’ve learned – the next round’s on you.

Source: GIPHY

The spice of life is…

When you think of content, you probably think ‘blog post’.

This is why we want you to branch out! 

No matter your level of education, wall to wall text is never easy to digest. 

In saying that, with a mind-boggling topic and easy-to-read formatting, this can still work. Here, retired scientist and Quuu Promote user, Charles Stephen had us hooked!

The screenshot above is what our Content Team now sees when they’re reviewing Quuu Promote submissions. Whether approved or unsuitable for that particular platform, everything now has a place on Quuu Discover.

• Videos 

We, humans, are visual creatures. That’s why we find videos more engaging, memorable and why they’re the most popular type of content out there. According to Cisco, by 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic – 15 times higher than it was in 2017.

If you’ve seen Dollar Shave Club’s ads that led to a billion-dollar sale, you’ll get it. (Warning: naughty bleeped out word included.)

However, everyone learns differently. From seeing to listening and doing – and you can be a blend! (If you’re unsure check out this quick quiz to find out what kind of learner you are.)

The result? We all absorb different types of content to varying degrees. 

• Infographics 

You may prefer reading but don’t tell us an infographic doesn’t make digesting a load of facts way easier. As the name suggests, these are a visual representation of information or data, e.g. as a chart or diagram.

Here are some of our favourite stats:

• The brain processes visual information 60,000x faster than text.
• Pairing a relevant image with audible information increases the chance of remembering it 3 days later from 10% to 65%.
• 65 percent of the population are visual learners.
• Visuals have been found to improve learning by up to 400 percent.

If you’d like to try creating one, you don’t need to have any design experience either! Try Canva or Visme.

Was that not easier to take in?

• Slideshows 

Think slideshows are only for boring work meetings? Think again! Take some time to ‘Explore’ presentation site, SlideShare. Choose one of the categories and start learning! Or if you’re using Quuu Discover (which of course you are) – filter down to our ‘Slideshow’ section.

Source: SlideShare

• Podcasts

We’re living in the golden age of podcasts. These are perfect for long car journeys or playing in the background when you’re pottering around the house. One of my personal favourites (me and the rest of the word) is The Joe Rogan Experience. The amount I learn about subjects I’ve never even thought about is wild. If you want to build a bank of impressive facts for social gatherings, this is the one.

Source: Spotify

Apple and Spotify are the big names but there are tons of independents out there making waves. Like this series from another of our Quuu Promote customers – Startup Happy Hour.

• Future content

These are just a handful of the most popular types of content in use today. 

“The Internet of Things (IoT) was at the heart of 5G’s focus, while the goal of 6G is to deliver multisensory experiences that will be almost inseparable from reality. This has been coined the Internet of Senses.”

With technology progressing at mind-blowing speeds, it will only get better. Virtual reality? The Internet of Senses (IoS)?

Who knows what’s next…

Create a list of your favourite creators

Now you know about the ‘what’, it’s time to focus on the ‘who’.

How do you find the creators of your favourite videos or podcasts and never let them go? Metaphorically, of course, we don’t condone the kidnapping of content creators (…shh Joe.)

Source: GIPHY

These are some of our favourites to get you inspired:

• Search then follow those you know of on your favourite social network. Try using the discovery/related sections on each site to find similar accounts to those you already ‘like’. 
• Create Twitter Lists to streamline the accounts you follow. Interacting with the same people repeatedly is a great way to build relationships and could lead you to other creators. (Beware, those you add to Lists will be notified and able to see the name of ‘Funny but Dumb’). You can also browse lists other users have created.

• Ask your friends and colleagues for recommendations.
• Join Quuu Pods so other users can share their favourite content with you.
• Get involved on sites and networks that you haven’t tried before. Create a Pinterest account or visit Growth Hackers or the tech section in the New York Times.
• Check out community sites like Quora or Reddit for user suggestions.

Source: Quora

• Sign up for curated email newsletters like James Whatley’s ‘Five Things on a Friday’. (With Quuu Discover, you’ll be able to one-click sign-up to those on MailChimp, as well as adding your own to your profile!)

So easy, your grandma could show you how

• Set up Google Alerts for breaking news
• Check out trending topics on social networks (hashtags on Twitter and Google Trends are good places to start).
• Explore Quuu Discover – of course!

RSS feeds – Really Simple…huh?

You’ve probably seen the term thrown around online or come across it on Quuu.

We get it, it sounds and looks complicated…despite the name.

An RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed is a wall of code that contains details about every piece of content published on a site. When something new is posted, the feed is instantly updated.

Still getting Matrix vibes?

These have one objective: to allow you to easily keep up to date with your favourite sites. That’s it!

If you’re a Quuu user, you may have tried our RSS feed section.

Browse categories or search for keywords you’re interested in. Once you’ve exhausted those you know, try branching out to a topic you haven’t explored before. Type in a random keyword and see what you get – go wild!

Talk about multi-tasking

You don’t need to read or share everything immediately. By clicking the ‘Read Later’ button, everything is saved in that section for browsing at will. 

Why use sites like Feedly and Pocket when you can get everything they offer in one place…but better?

Source: GIPHY

Some content a day keeps spamming away

If you’re a Quuu user, you’ll be a pro at using a scheduler to share your curated content. Whether it’s Buffer or Socialchief, they’re integral to the service and make it easy to keep track. 

With Quuu Discover, it’s not mandatory. However, we still want you to know they can be really handy.

We know you’ve found 36 of the most interesting videos, podcasts and white paper reports known to man but keep your cool. Rather than spamming your network with everything at once, why not drip-feed the knowledge?

Now we know we’re biased because we think our kid is the best-looking and the coolest…but come on. Socialchief has kept things simple, yet slick.

[Angels singing]

Set your local timezone, choosing your posting times and you’re good to go.

Just don’t forget to add the link to the wonderful content you’ve found to share the love.

Sharing really is caring

Conclusion

Hopefully, we’ve given you some food for thought on the whole ‘learning sucks’ thing.

Take some time today and expand your mind. Heck, why not get the kids or other half involved and put that screen-time to good use?

Our screen-time is currently geared towards Quuu’s future. We’re going to provide the home of content where learning isn’t planned, it just happens.

For example, have you heard about zombie stars? Dead stars that suddenly come back to life as if nothing ever happened – a phenomenon that has baffled scientists.

No? Get reading!

Find it.

Create it.

Promote it.

We’d love to hear who your favourite content creators are or something new or random that you’ve learned recently. Hit us up in the comments!