Client Q & A: “Should I Use Scribd’s Readcast Feature to Hare My Articles on Twitter + Facebook?”

A client recently asked us about Scribd.com’s Readcast feature. He has various articles published on Scribd and noticed the footer toolbar for each article has a “Readcast” button.

Client’s question: “I notice at the bottom of my articles a link to “Readcast” pops up, offering me the ability to send links of my Scribd articles to Twitter and Facebook. Do you recommend this and if so, is there any special format or language I should use when sharing these documents?”

Our answer: “Yes” but with caution.

Our expanded answer below:

Specifically, Readcast is meant for sharing what you are documents you are reading on Scribd. The likelihood that you are spending time on Scribd reading your own articles is very slim, right??? So … the deal is this … use Readcast to share your articles on Twitter and Facebook but remember the following:

• Our team has already shared your articles on Twitter and Facebook previously. Therefore, if you plan to share again, be mindful of this fact. You can share again but I am not sure I would use recasting in Scribd for sharing articles I’ve already shared. I might aim to find a unique way of letting folks know (with my original way of expressing myself vs. the automated announcement that Readcast posts). I would opt to use Recast for new articles you post vs. articles you’ve already posted.

• Another factor: Readcasting is to SHARE INFORMATION ON WHAT YOU ARE READING, which would include items or writings that are NOT your own. So if you use Readcast, it might be nice to use it to share info about other items you found of interest on Scribd besides only stuff you have written.

• If you publish something and use Recast, the auto-message to go out is as follows:
  –> Published Article Title Goes Here on Scribd http://url.goes/here #readcast

  If you are reading something on Scribd and use Recast, the auto-message to go out is:
  –> Reading Article Title Goes Here on Scribd http://url.goes/here #readcast

So as you can see, there is no customization and the only thing that gets plugged in the end using a hashtag is Scribd’s Readcast platform via #readcast and NOT the topics of your article such as #backpain #chiropractor #health #fitness and so on.

The title of your task here says “Sharing article and videos” but the Readcast platform for sharing is only exclusive to Scribd-published documents and not videos.

So the answer, in the end, is yes you surely can use Readcast but do use with (a) caution and (b) great care. Be mindful of these details and read the extra info Scribd has on its FAQ (link below) so you can make informed decisions on how you wish to proceed.

For specific information about Readcasting set up and capabilities on Scribd, FYI only:
http://support.scribd.com/entries/143884-sharing-your-activities-and-more-with-others