In general, curation is the selection of information that is most relevant to a specific topic. The information can come from a wide variety of sources, such as texts, pictures, videos, voice recordings, etc. The selected media can be used as contexts to guide the target audience with understanding the topic.
Digital curation is ubiquitous in our modern world. It is used in so many industries from government, to technology and science, to art and design, to music and film. The digital curators are persons with excellent observational and analytical skills, which allow them to identify the most relevant data from credible online sources and utilize them to add value to their curated content.
Reflecting on Rheingold’s book, “Net Smart,” and his interviewing session with Robert Scoble, a blogger and technical evangelist, the point I found most interesting about online curation was how he explains his filtering process (aka Rheingold’s ‘crap detection’). For example, when faced with the overwhelming amount of information on his Twitter feed, he pinpointed which Chinese Twitter users to observe and confirm his prediction about earthquake. The other point I also like is his philosophy about selecting topics in order to increase digital interaction in social media.For example, he identified the advantage of discussing the president’s pet as opposed to a complex political situation. The first one seems to be a niche topic which is less likely to be covered by the powerful news firms whose status in the digital sphere is difficult to challenge. When he chose the niche topic, he was able to gain more followers and catalyze online discussion.
One industry in which digital curation has become highly advantageous is education. Digitally exploring educational content is part of the online learning experience which also help users gain skills in information filtering. This may lead them to be better equipped to become curators. So far in my design studying, I mainly use Pinterest as an online curation tool. It is very useful in collecting and analyzing information for design and visual projects. In my research for Digital Literacies final project, I use Pinterest to collect photos supporting my topic by re-pinning content-related images within the site.
After reading Paul Mihailidis’ article, “Exploring Curation as a Core Competency in Digital and Media Literacy Education”, I became more aware of online curating tools, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Emaze, Prezi, Storiful, Amplify, Scoop, and Storify. These websites are free to use and allow one to access content around the world. Some are particularly useful tools for digital curation since they compile online information from a wide variety of sources into one site.
One industry in which digital curation has become highly advantageous is education. Digitally exploring educational content is part of the online learning experience which also help users gain skills in information filtering. This may lead them to be better equipped to become curators. So far in my design studying, I mainly use Pinterest as an online curation tool. It is very useful in collecting and analyzing information for design and visual projects. In my research for Digital Literacies final project, I use Pinterest to collect photos supporting my topic by re-pinning content-related images within the site.
After reading Paul Mihailidis’ article, “Exploring Curation as a Core Competency in Digital and Media Literacy Education”, I became more aware of online curating tools, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Emaze, Prezi, Storiful, Amplify, Scoop, and Storify. These websites are free to use and allow one to access content around the world. Some are particularly useful tools for digital curation since they compile online information from a wide variety of sources into one site.
Moving from the topic of digital curation to fashion fair use practice discussed in Johanna Blakely’s Ted Talk, “Lessons from Fashion’s Free Culture.” I think one of the benefits of the fashion copying culture is that it provides a driving force for designers to create differences in fashion products. I admire that some designers are motivated from this situation to challenge their creativity and make advancements in their design process so that their products are more difficult to copy, such as Stuart Weitzman’s titanium Bowden-wedge heel.
Citations
Rheingold, Howard. Net Smart: How to Thrive Online. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2012. Print.
"Exploring Curation as a Core Competency in Digital and ..." 2013. 12 Apr. 2015 <http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/case-studies/91950726/exploring-curation-as-core-competency-digital-media-literacy-education>
"Robert Scoble On Online Curation - YouTube." 2011. 12 Apr. 2015 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMn-cJHzF8A>
"Johanna Blakley: Lessons from fashion's free culture | Talk ..." 2014. 12 Apr. 2015 <http://www.ted.com/talks/johanna_blakley_lessons_from_fashion_s_free_culture/trans
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