Why sharing inspires us?

Thanks to new technologies and social sites like Facebook and Twitter, our world is openly connected. No matter where you go, I'm sure you'll find people on their smartphones or other devices - chatting, taking pictures of what they're eating or posting something they hope will be clever to get a lot of people I like. Let's face it: we are a culture with an addiction to sharing. But why is that?

Bryan Kramer, the first expert in Shareology [sharing science], recently explained in a talk at TED@IBM that personal branding is what drives us to share. The truth is that we care just as much about how we see ourselves and how others see us. And in this seemingly flat world, what we share gives shape to how others see us and connects us easily with people with ideas similar to ours. Sharing gives us the possibility to collaborate in ways that were not possible before.

Bryan told us during his speech at TED@IBM that he was dissatisfied with his career, however successful. He discovered that sharing helped him find a greater purpose and reinvent his personal brand, and turned it over to the social world to connect with others who shared his passion and redefine his future.

To show how powerful sharing can be, Bryan asked his audience to take out their gadgets and think about how sharing inspired them to re-imagine the future and positively change our world. On your marks, ready, share!
During a full day of sharing through the hashtag #sharinginspires[sharing inspires us], Bryan achieved about 21 million impressions with tuits generated in countries around the world, reaching more than 500 attendees at the TED@IBM in San Francisco.

Byan's experiment really demonstrates the power of sharing, imagine what we can do! Take a look at some highlights of #sharinginspires.