Content Curation World

It is only a matter of time before trusted aggregators and human curators will become the main sources of reliable information for most people.

In fact, the January release of the 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer shows that for the first time ever, the informed public trusts more search engines - aka Google - than traditional news and media outlets. 

In other words, most people prefer to see a filtered and selected variety of news from different sources, than seeing just the stories coming out of one news publisher.

Even more interesting is the fact that "Seventy-two percent trust information posted by friends and family on social media, blogs and other digital sites, while 70 percent trust content posted by academic experts." as it highlights the fact that Google and search engines may be only an intermediary step in the journey toward a news ecosystem that will see trusted human editors, experts and curators for individual subjects who aggregate and curate content from multiple sources as the key reference points for news.

This is must-read data for anyone interested in seeing where the future of news and search are headed.

Enlightening data. 9/10

original article:  http://www.edelman.com/post/intellectual-property-trust-age-digital-media/ 

The leaked New York Times memo of less than a week ago is making the round on the Internet, as it touches upon many of the key issues and opportunities any news journalism operation is facing today.

From my personal viewpoint the most interesting aspect of this lengthy 97-page memo is how much curation, news and content curation specifically, are part of the future view being described in it.

Since, even trying read the in-depth curated version of the leaked NY report done by the excellent Nieman Lab it may take you in excess of 30 minutes, I have extracted and highlighted here below only the points that are specifically relevant to curators and to anyone researching the future of content curation within the context of news and journalism.

Here, six key points to pay strong attention to:

1. ...resurfacing archival content. The report cites this passage: "“We can be both a daily newsletter and a library — offering news every day, as well as providing context, relevance and timeless works of journalism.” 
   
   
   
2. ...restructuring arts and culture stories that remain relevant long after they are initially published into guides for readers.
   
   
   
3.  ...consider tools to make it easier for journalists, and maybe even readers, to create collections and repackage the content.
   
   
   
4.  allow readers to easily follow certain topics or columnists.
   
   
   
5. better tagging of the info and content being published.
   
   
   
6. focus on the less glamorous work of creating tools, templates and permanent fixes that cumulatively can have a bigger impact by saving our digital journalists time and elevating the whole report.
   
   

Nieman Lab curated report of the NY leaked Executive Summary document: http://www.niemanlab.org/2014/05/the-leaked-new-york-times-innovation-report-is-one-of-the-key-documents-of-this-media-age/ 

Original leaked copy of NY report: http://www.scribd.com/doc/224608514/The-Full-New-York-Times-Innovation-Report 

97-pages

Snowfallen definition: "to publish a whopping great story online that’s stuffed full of integrated multimedia elements — in the manner of the New York Times’ Snow Fall, the epic report on a brutal avalanche that was released late last year to much acclaim."

Whether you think that the SnowFall-like journalism format is a great thing or not, this new storytelling format characterized by long narrative texts accompanied by many multimedia elements, seems to see no stop to its growth.

Bobby Johnson of Matter / Medium, is not quite convinced that this format is always the best way to go, but besides his interesting pros and cons for the use of the snowfallen format, he has done a fantastic job of curating a great an "open" collection of all of the "snowfallen" examples already published out there.

The collection provides in a chronological order, "snowfall"-like examples essentially for the last three years, though there are a few dating back as far as to 1996. 

Excellent. 9/10

SnowFallen Examples Collection: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnWYxsUNHS4FdGVYMnpkdGdTNTU0RS1SXzktcnZwRWc&usp=sharing#gid=0 

Paul Bradshaw, author, blogger and reference point for anyone doing online journalism, illustrates with a rich series of examples, the different types of content curation tools and techniques that can be effectively used by journalists today.

The article covers basic curation principles and guidelines as well as offering a set of mini-tutorials on curating lists, playlists, image boards, maps and timelines, news magazines and more.

Informative. Resourceful. Examples-rich. 9/10

Full guide: http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2013/09/30/curation-tools-tips-advice-journalism/ 

If you are curating content, whether for the purpose of personal learning, or for creating a useful public information resource, your very first objective should be how can you add value to the existing information that you are going to work on.

Harold Jarche, does a wonderful job of explaining in simple terms what's the difference between sharing on social media, reposting or making your bookmarks public, versus the actual vetting and selection of each individual content item in light of the context and objective for which it is being curated.

The cherry on the pie from the author is an invaluable synthesis and bringing together of related items from Ross Dawson, Maria Popova and me, that allows you to scan and see at a glance 14 different ways in which you can truly add value to whichever set of information bits you are dealing with.

A great reference for anyone looking to improve the quality and value of its own curated work.

Useful. Inspiring. 8/10

Full article: http://socialmediatoday.com/hjarche/1964106/ask-what-value-you-can-add 

Steve Rosenbaum (the author of Curation Nation) strikes some pretty powerful chords that fully resonate with my vision and expectations about the future of content curation.

On the assumption that "The speed, scale, and number of distinct elements of produced content will double every 24 months." (call it Rosenbaum law) he rightly asserts that, as if there was already enough content, we are going to be literally inundated by tons of it soon.

In this light content curation is much more than what content marketing providers would have you think (save some time and get more interesting content out). Content curation is rather a socially critical activity that will make it possible for people to learn, find the information they need and indpendently evaluate what product to buy.

Steve Rosenbaum outlines five principles around which the economy of content curation will establish itself. They are:

The First Law: People don’t want more content, they want less. 

The Second Law: Curators come in three shapes... 

The Third Law: Curation isn’t a hobby, it’s both a profession and a calling. Curators need to be paid...

The Fourth Law: Curation requires technology and tools to find, filter, and validate content...

The Fifth Law: Curation within narrow, focused, high-quality categories will emerge to compete with...

My comment: Steve Rosenbaum is right on track with this one and his five principles are 100% correct. If you are into content curation for the long ride, read them again.

Rightful. On track. 9/10

Full article: http://www.thevideoink.com/features/voices/the-coming-age-of-the-curation-economy-building-context-around-content/