Hi everyone!

In line with my CPD record and my Objectives at work, I've started curating content and sharing it with my colleagues and friends via the usual social media outlets as well as on my very own standalone webpage. I use Scoop.It which is free for the basic service or for a nominal fee you can upgrade and have more options.

The reason I love it is because you get your own page of articles which is  like your own online scrapbook of content - but one you can share. For me, there's lots more benefits. I've listed them here:

1) A great way to collaborate. You're not just gathering and reading content alone and then moving on. You end up having conversations and discussions with friends and colleagues as they pick up your article and 'like' and comment on it.

2) If like me you struggle to read articles and focus on content, then this is a great incentive for searching for stuff, reading thoroughly and forming your own opinions on it. It sort of encourages you knowing that your curated content is going to be viewed by others!

3) It's a useful tool for developing your brand and networking with others. For example, because my curated content also lands on LinkedIN, I have developed some new connections and relationships online.

4) Its great for your CPD! This is something you can add to your CPD record and who knows what else might come from it?

5) As an individual, it helps you to demonstrate you are an L&D Professional that looks beyond your own organisation and keeps abreast of external trends, opinions and practices.

6) You're helping others to develop (and we all love thAT). My colleagues follow my page and it's something they in turn can add to their own CPD record! We also have some great discussions on the back of the content.

If you'd like to view my own curated page to get an idea how it works, it's right here: The Training Cycle.  I'd love your comments and thoughts on the content I curate!

For anyone, that wants to have a go at content curation, I use Scoop it! but I am sure there are lots of other services out there too. I highly recommend having a go at it - for all the reasons above. Maybe we could all share our curated pages along with any good free curation services we know of.

Happy curating.....

Richard

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  • Just to add something else that's very relevant and informative to the thread. This popped up in Twitter last night from David James 

    Digital Curation: An essential skill-set for L&D in the 21st ce...

  • Hi Richard

    Thankyou for sharing your thoughts on curation. I couldn't agree more with your points and I think Scoop.it is a great tool for anyone to get started with curation. I really like the benefits you have listed and the fact you are growing connections through LinkedIn shows just how powerful curation can be. why wouldn't you do it?

    Love your insights on your Scoop.it page. Keep up the great work.

    Martin

    • HI Martin, thanks for your great feedback. I also look forward to following your tweets on Twitter.

      For anyone considering curation of content, it really is a great way of increasing  your own awareness of current trends and  discovering what's going on beyond your own organisation. It also provides a wonderful networking opportunity!

      Happy curating...

  • Love this Richard...thanks for posting and sharing your experience.

    What I really like about Scoop It is that you can add the Scoop it extension to your browser like Chrome - so as you discover content it's really easy to 'scoop' it off the web and add it to your magazine.

    The key thing with curation and the difference between curation and aggregation is you're picking the content & adding your opinion....curating content needs to have some context, why have you chosen this article or resource and why might it be relevant to your readers. Without this you are merely aggregating content - no better than an RSS feed or aggregator tool based on key search terms / tags. For me good curation is finding & filtering good quality content and adding your thoughts, reflections and opinion on how this impacts you, your role or industry and why others might find i useful then the sharing bit is with purpose. It's great to see you doing this and this is the time consuming bit BUT essential to build followers and contributors.

    As well as Martin Couzins I'd encourage you to follow a chap called Robin Good - he has done some great things around curation and the tips / content he provides are great - he also has a number of Scoop Its worth following http://www.scoop.it/u/RobinGood

    And finally it is awesome to see you making the link between this activity and CPD - you finding and reflecting on the subjects and articles shows you are constantly looking at your practice and knowledge and seeking to develop it through critical thinking and reflective activities. 

    We posted a few other tools that can help with CPD a little while ago - worth checking it out 

    And finally we have been curating a FlipBoard magazine for some time now on being a 21st Century L&D professional - check it out - feedback welcome :)

    • Hi Mike

      Thanks for reading my post and for your feedback. I love your point about aggregation versus curation. Yes, it's really important to bring the piece you're curating back to your own realities and express a point of view or a thought or an argument. 

      I guess if you think about art gathered in a gallery, it is curated with care and the whole space tells a story through the collection it displays. Digital curation has to be hand-picked in the same way or your 'gallery' may not attract visitors at all.

      Happy curating...

  • A great example of how easy curation can be.  Great work Richard. 

    From a practical point of view, how do you choose what information is selected?

    • Hi Blake, thanks for your feedback!

      It's a great question. Firstly, some of the curation websites will display suggestions for you, but you also need to "get out there" and find out what the current topics are. For this, I look at Youtube, Tedtalks, DPG of course, Flipboard, CIPD, Training Journal and lots more.. (try googling L&D News)

      Then, this is where your curation skills come in. Firstly, does the information you are reading align with your topic? Secondly, do you feel it is a good read or has an interesting point of view that you're happy to share? You sort of become an editor and decide if what you are sharing 'adds value' and adding value is in fact part of the definition of curation. 

      I hope that helps.

      Rich

      • Hi Richard. Hi Blake.

        Totally agree, this is a great example Richard. It's interesting what conversations you get going from these informal learning opportunities. I love the fact that you're curating the good stuff.

        Are you on Twitter at all? Martin Couzins is well worth following on there; a business journalist that curates and shares great stuff. I've often heard Martin simplifying the idea of curation into three steps. Find, filter and share. Each of these is important, especially in my view the filtering bit. We can all share stuff, but it's got to be credible and relevant at least. Your reply to Blake suggests you've got some good action in all areas going on there. Hopefully your skills catch on with others in your organisation.

        Have a look at Martin on Twitter just here. Say hello to him. He's a good guy: https://twitter.com/martincouzins

        • Thanks Ady! It's an important point about filtering and adding context. Through this your audience should get a sense of who you are and what drives you to curate the content that you curate. I agree with Richard that a top reason to curate is to stay up to speed with current trends. It also provides you with the opportunity to look outside of the sector you work in - something I think is very important for L&D.

        • Hi Ady

          Thanks for your comments! I'll also start following Martin. Sounds like another great resource to add to my curation list. I love those three simple steps... find, filter, share. All are equally important but I think the filtering part has to be done with care, for the sake of the interest of your audience and for your own credibility. The fun of curating!

          Thanks again.

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