Sandbox:Content Curation

Introduction

Content curation is the process of finding, organizing, grouping and sharing content on specific topic or issue. However, unlike simple list aggregation that we have become familiar with on website (e.g.The top 10 movies of 2008), the benefit present models of content curation works in real time. This means that content is curated continuously by individuals locating and sharing content via numerous social networked sites. A content curator may develop a list of related content on a topic using Storify and share the curated list via Twitter, Facebook,LinkedIn, a personal blog and more. While this process does not necessarily add to the content on the internet, it does provide a structure by which a content user can access content that has been located, vetted, and in some cases, analyzed for users seeking similar information.

Watch the following video introduction to learn about the unit expectations and requirements:

Research Objects

There are numerous people, including academics, researchers and marketers, interested in content curation and the possibilities it provides for the educational, entertainment, nonprofit and business realm. Due to this interest you will find magazine and newspaper articles, academic papers and government documents, blogposts, newsletters, videos, graphics, presentations and much more on the topic of content curation as the future of internet information creation and access.

The following are a few research objects related to issues and ideas related to content curation.

Research Objects Activity For this section of the unit: Rate 3 of your peers' content curation research objects. Write one review of a research object provided. This can be a review of one of the objects listed here or an object provided by one of your peers. Find a new content curation research object(s) and provide an analysis of the object.

Sample Research Objects

• Harlan Kilstein Curation Interview with Robin Good (Communication Designer for MasterNewMedia.org)

Robin Good is a Master Curator. He is one of the pre-eminent teachers on curation. In this interview, Robin discusses many topics including: what makes a good curator, the best curation tools, what is the path to monetizing in curation, and much more. (Description found on August 15, 2013 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfrVz-vckBU)

• TEDx Innovate: Curation! by Steven Rosenbaum (Author of Curation Nation - McGrawHill / Spring 2011)

In a world of bandwidth and content abundance, we're overwhelmed with data, tweets, blogs, check in's and media. It used to be we surfed the web. Now the waves of the web are just too big. Curation is the new magic that makes the web work. Bringing the web back to human scale with human filters you trust and love. A powerful mix of passion and context turns noise back into signal. (Description found on August 8, 2013 at http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxGrandRapids-Steve-Rosenbaum)

• Content Curation Readings

Tools

The following are examples of content curation tools. You will find when you review these tools there are advantages and disadvantages to each one. Each tool is unique.

When considering these tools, think of the following:

Who is using this tool? What kind of interactions occur most often with this tool(s)? Is there are large proportion of people using the tool(s) to discuss hobbies, entertainment, marketing, etc? What kind of activity is engaged in with this tool(s)? (e.g. aggregation of content, analysis, organization, etc.) How is the information curated presented (e.g. pictures, URLS, lists, etc.) and how does this affect the demographics of the users? What are the unique features of the tool(s) compared to other content curation tools? (e.g. graphical interface, simplified lists, etc.)

Tools Activity For this section of the unit complete the following activities: Rate 3 of your peers' reviews of the content curation tools. Write one review of a tool provided. This can be a review of one of the tools listed here or a tool mentioned by one of your peers. Find a new content curation tool(s)and provide an analysis of the tool.

Sample Tools

• Storify
• Scoopit
• PearlTrees
• Pinterest
• Twitter Lists
• Learnist

Use Cases

Now that you have an understanding of content curation practices and examples of the tools used to gather, organize, and contextualize internet content, the following case studies demonstrate the application of the tools listed above. These case studies illustrate active uses of the tools for one or more of the following purposes:

• Aggregating content into a open shared space.
• Simplifying/distilling the information sources into key messages.
• Creating through meshing of video, textual and graphical internet information and/or commenting on the information provided.
• Organizing according to trend, topic and time period.

When considering these use cases, think of the following:

Is the use case engaging in all or some of the uses of content curation (i.e. aggregatiion, simplification/distillation, creation, organization)? Is the use case a good example of content curation practices? How? If not, what processes would improve the quality? Is the use case a good example of optimum use of the tools functionality? How? If not, what key features could be used?

Use Case Activity For this section of the unit: Rate 3 of your peers' reviews of the use cases. Write a review of a use case provided. This can be a review of a use case listed here or a case study mentioned by one of your peers. Create your own use case by using one of the tools for your own content curation. Share a link and description of your content curation object.

Sample Use Cases

• Content Curation Team
• TwitChimp
• Storify
• Scoop.it

References

Textual

1. Bhargava, R. (2009, September 30). Manifesto for the content curator - the next big social media job of the future? website: http://www.rohitbhargava.com/2009/09/manifesto-for-the-content-curator-the-next-big-social-media-job-of-the-future.html
2. Bhargava, R. (2011, March 31). The 5 models of content curation. Retrieved from Rohit Bhargava website: http://www.rohitbhargava.com/2011/03/the-5-models-of-content-curation.html
3. Grant, M. (2011, April 14). Five models of content curation. Retrieved from Social Fish website: http://www.socialfish.org/2011/04/five-models-of-content-curation.html
4. Herther, N. K. (2012). Content curation - quality judgement and the future of media and web search. Searcher, 20(7), 30.
5. Holtz, S. (2010, Jan. & Feb.). A matter of substance. Communication World, 15-19.
6. Kanter, B. (October 11, 2011) Content Curation Primer. Retrieved from http://www.bethkanter.org/content-curation-101/
7. Qmee. (2013, July 24). What happens online in 60 seconds? Retrieved from Qmee website: http://blog.qmee.com/qmee-online-in-60-seconds/
8. Zhong, C., Shah, S., Sundaravadivelan, K., & Sastry, N. (2013). Sharing the Loves: Understanding the How and Why of Online Content Curation. Retrieved from http://www.inf.kcl.ac.uk/staff/nrs/pubs/icwsm13.pdf

Videos

1. Kilstein, H. (2013, March 14). Harlan Kilstein curation interview with Robin Good. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfrVz-vckBU
2. Rosenbaum, S. (2011, June 6). TEDxGrandRapids - Steve Rosenbaum - Innovate: Curation! [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iASluLoKQbo