Building THOUGHT LEADERSHIP in an
age of CURATION Presentation by Corinne Weisgerber, Ph.D. St. Edward’s University • @corinnew

cu • ra • tor

cu • ra • tor
Someone who plans and oversees the arrangement, cataloguing, and exhibition of collections. S/he describes and analyzes valuable objects for the benefit of researchers and the public.

content
IS KING

content

content
created

content
aggregated
created

content
aggregated
created curated

content
curation vs. aggregation

sper•ma•lo•gos - a bird picking
up seeds here and there. A loafer in the marketplace who picks up scraps of learning & then parades them around without first digesting them.

An aggregator simply bundles together
pieces of info without providing a frame or contextualizing them.

An aggregator simply bundles together
pieces of info without providing a frame or contextualizing them.

Is bundling tweets and repackaging
them in newspaper style format really curation?

Is bundling tweets and repackaging
them in newspaper style format really curation?

A curator adds a point
of view and contextualizes the info s/he is culling together thereby framing the message

“ Anyone can collect links,
and algorithms can aggregate. But only trained editors have the skills to select and collect the best information and build a “ loyal audience. - Mark Briggs, Journalism Next

curation How to become a
KING

curation How to become a
KING

STEPS
to successful
curation

find STEPS to successful track
select curation engage editorialize share arrange create

1. FIND • Identify your
niche

1. FIND • Identify your
niche • Find content sources

1. FIND • Identify your
niche • Find content sources - set up a network (PLN)

1. FIND • Identify your
niche • Find content sources - set up a network (PLN) • Aggregate what you discover

“ The summation of human
experience is being expanded at a prodigious rate, and the means we use for threading through the consequent maze to the momentarily“ important item is the same as was used in the days of square-rigged ships.

“ The summation of human
experience is being expanded at a prodigious rate, and the means we use for threading through the consequent maze to the momentarily important item is the same as was used in the days of square-rigged ships. “ Vannevar Bush, 1945

2.
SELECT
• Filter content

2. SELECT • Filter content
• Select content:

2. SELECT • Filter content
• Select content: - quality

2. SELECT • Filter content
• Select content: - quality - originality

2. SELECT • Filter content
• Select content: - quality - originality - relevance

3. EDITORIALIZE
• Contextualize content

3. EDITORIALIZE • Contextualize content
• Introduce/summarize

3. EDITORIALIZE • Contextualize content
• Introduce/summarize • Add your perspective

A retweet with no comment
of your own can easily be seen as a sign of approval of what you’re relaying. For instance: RT @jonescampaign smith’s policies would destroy our schools Unadorned retweets must be avoided. Use colons & quote marks to make clear you’re simply retweeting opinionated material. RT Jones campaign now denouncing smith on education: @jonescampaign smith’s policies would destroy our schools

Arrange
4.
• Sort content

Arrange 4. • Sort content
• Rank content

Arrange 4. • Sort content
• Rank content • Lay out content

Arrange 4. • Sort content
• Rank content • Lay out content - Juxtaposition

INFO MOLECULES “A curator is
an information chemist. He or she mixes atoms together in a way to build an info-molecule. Then adds value to that molecule.” - Scoble

INFO MOLECULES “A curator is
an information chemist. He or she mixes atoms together in a way to build an info-molecule. Then adds value to that molecule.” - Scoble

CREATE 5. • Decide on
a format

CREATE 5. • Decide on
a format - Paper.li, Scoop.it

CREATE 5. • Decide on
a format - Paper.li, Scoop.it - Storify, Storiful

CREATE 5. • Decide on
a format - Paper.li, Scoop.it - Storify, Storiful - Twitter curation

CREATE 5. • Decide on
a format - Paper.li, Scoop.it - Storify, Storiful - Twitter curation • Credit sources

SHARE 6. • Identify your
audience

SHARE 6. • Identify your
audience • What media do they use?

SHARE 6. • Identify your
audience • What media do they use? - share where they are

SHARE 6. • Identify your
audience • What media do they use? - share where they are • Sharing as a lagniappe

7. ENGAGE • Host the
conversation - Provide space - Participate - Animate

8.
TRACK
• Track engagement

8. TRACK • Track engagement
• Track thought leadership

8. TRACK • Track engagement
• Track thought leadership • Improve

curation EXAMPLES from the eld
of journalism

“ Every company needs to
become a media company - Tom Foremski “

Andy Senior Strategist @ NPR
CARVIN

Bing’s editor’s picks

Cattenom: World’s 7th largest nuclear
power plant

Cattenom: World’s 7th largest nuclear
power plant

Cattenom: World’s 7th largest nuclear
power plant First nuclear power plant to tweet

.5% () 623 Tweets Individuals
March 11 - April 11 Major Switch to Retweets 31.1% (194) Industry 18% (112) Gov. orgs .2% () Automotive 12.7% (79) Orig. Tweets 28.9% (180) News 8.7% (54) Politicians

An aggregation of industry, gov.
& media voices Learned the language of RTs

Curation using Scoop.it

Disney’s Campaign Why use visitor’s
video footage?

Disney’s Campaign Why use visitor’s
video footage?

credits Corinne Weisgerber, Ph.D. Asst.
Prof. of Communication St. Edward’s University Twitter: @corinnew