Use Themeefy to Create an Online Magazine on Any Topic

I’ve written in previous posts about several online curation tools that allow users to collect and share online content in a variety of ways, but Themeefy distinguishes itself from the pack by offering a very different way of sharing on any topic. With Themeefy, users generate an online magazine within which they can organize and comment on items of their choice. Items in the magazine can include websites, photos and videos and can be rearranged once they are added to the magazine by dragging and dropping items on the Table of Contents. Items can also be edited or commented on with ease since each item is given its own page. Themeefy is currently in beta and it is free to register.  Once registered, users can create up to five magazines and thereafter it is possible to “earn” more magazines by inviting others to join the service. Completed magazines can be shared via Facebook, Twitter and email or embedded on a website. Themeefy tries to make it easy to find sources on the selected topic by allowing users to search directly from their Themeefy account, though I had limited success with this feature for my topic. However, Themeefy also provides a bookmarklet that makes it easy to collect items found throughout the research process, even when the user has navigated away from Themeefy’s page.

As others have noted, this seems as though it could be a fun tool for teachers and librarians who are teaching students about curation and guiding them through the process of collecting reliable sources and giving proper attribution. The final layout of Themeefy collections is likely to be far more engaging for students than many of the other available curation tools. I could also see using it to create more engaging research guides that could then be shared online or embedded on the library’s website. It is an interesting alternative to the other content curation tools that are currently available.