Data Points: Copy That

Sharing buttons have been around a while, but cutting and pasting is by far the most popular way of sharing content, according to Tynt, a service that tracks when people cut and paste content from 600,000 publishers’ sites. Tynt analyzes 30 billion data points per month, and contends that the more a publisher knows about how people engage with their content, the more it can do to ensure they stick around longer. About half the content people cut and paste is being shared with others, potentially amplifying the publisher’s audience, but the rest of the time, they’re searching or saving for their own use, and publishers can keep them on their site by giving them more of what they’re looking for.