Bookmark This! Content Curation Edition

Sharlyn Lauby

10 Aug 2018

A few years ago, I was introduced to the concept of curation. It’s when information is gathered relevant to a particular topic or interest. Curation can be provided by individuals. For example, some could say that this issue of “Bookmark This!” is curated around the subject of curation.

Curation can also be provided by companies. For example, there’s a lot of curated newsletters popping up like The Skimm, Morning Brew, and NextDraft. These are sites that read the news for you and present it in small, easy to digest formats. The idea being if you like the writing style and the topics they cover, then you’ll subscribe. And, if you see something interesting, then you can dig deeper into the topic.

I’ve been seeing a lot of conversation lately about the concept of curating information and the value it can bring individuals and organizations. Specifically, how teaching employees the concept of curation can be a part of a company’s informal and social learning strategy.

All of this talk about curation reminds me of a series I read years ago on the subject. Written by Robin Good, the series went into great depth about real-time news curation. I went back and reread the entire series to see if the series has withstood the test of time. And I must admit, even though it was published originally in 2010, the high-level concepts still hold true today. So, I wanted to share the links with you.

Part 1: Why We Need Curation

Part 2: Aggregation Is Not Curation

Part 3: Types And Real-World Examples

Part 4: Process, Key Tasks, Workflow

Part 5: The Curator Attributes And Skills

Part 6: The Tools Universe

Part 7: Business Applications And Trends

As we spend more time on the internet, we have to learn how to sift through all the noise and find good information. And we have to learn how to do it effectively and efficiently. Some days we just can’t afford to get distracted by pictures of cute lemurs. We need to be able to find relevant information not only for us to learn, but so we can share with others. Understanding curation, and the value it brings to the workplace, will help us get there.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby after speaking at the SHRM Annual Conference in Orlando, FL