Marseille edit
A key word should guide the Internet user in search of information: the selection. And it passes in particular by the content curation. We tell you how to do.
Who has not already felt dizzy facing the profusion of information proposed by the Internet? Sites, blogs, forums, social networks … Never had we had at our disposal so many information sources. Paradoxically, never had we had so much pain to inform. Fake news and alternative facts dominated our current events last months. In spite of the performances, we know that Google does not put forward necessarily the most relevant contents. When the subject is not very popular, how much time do we spend on skimming the inmost depths of Web in search of desired information, sometimes even unsuccessfully?
This overloaded information obliges us to make choice. It is necessary to make vouchers. The content curation can be a precious help.
What is the content curation?
Appeared by the end of 2000s, the term of "content curation " or "data curation" comes from English. In French, we sometimes talk about Web aggregation even if some make the distinction between them. The curation can be defined as a task consisting in selecting contents on a subject according to criteria defined in an editorial line and intended to be shared. Being fashionable at the beginning of 2010s, the content curation remains sensible for those who wants to inform or spread the relevant information.
The content curation is not the same as before. Obviously, the second is a part of the first one because it corresponds to the phase of data collection. It is practiced, among others, with the support of RSS feed or on the social networks. But it has not included the information sharing before.
The curation is not the production any longer. In this case, we have created an original contents intended to be shared and consumed. However, the curation is not divested of the value. On the one hand, it saves time for the Internet user in managing directly the qualified contents. On the other hand, the latter is replaced in a context function of an editorial line.
Besides, the selecting fact can be the opportunity to enhance the quality texts and benefiting from a low visibility.
Tools of curation
o Paper.li: the most journalistic
Created in 2010 by SmallRivers, Paper.li is the tool of excellent curation, in particular used by Twitter aficionados. It allows to launch an on-line public newspaper of which you are an "editor-in-chief”. In fact, it is you who choose the contents to post on-line on a given theme. Made up of many sections, only the first lines of articles are readable as an introduction. The interested reader does not have to click above to reach all of the text. Paper.li has the advantage of being free. But there is a payment version which gives the right to a personalized domain name, an appropriate design and a possibility of sending a newsletter by e-mail.
o Pearltrees: the most graphic
There is no newspaper here but a visual representation of your contents in the form of post-it. It should be noted that originally, the latter were pearls. The functioning remains the same. A page is dedicated to a theme in which the relative contents in the form of post-it are included. The latter can also be sub-theme sending back to other links. They are not only constituted by texts. Videos, files, tweets can be "to pearl". Even, premium fixed packages are added to the free version with additional features and more advanced customization.
o Storify: the most narrative
Finally, Storify is a tool of content curation which operates under the shape of a story! In other words, it is not only a question of grouping articles on a given theme. It is more necessary to show of creativity by telling a story. For this reason, all the elements are good to set to get the attention of the readership: end of sentences, tweets, photos, videos … We are in the border of the content creation, what brings added value compared with the previous two tools. Moreover, one of the options of the payment version (Storify Business) is to bring a support SEO as we could make it for any original contents.
To finish, it is recommended not to pass by the content curation if you would like to assert your expertise that you are a professional, a journalist, a blogger or an enthusiast. Being less a time-consuming and complementary content Web, it has created the added value by offering the readership of the qualified contents, without passing by a phase of research which can turn out long and unsuccessful. In addition to the above-mentioned tools, the social networks like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn can be mobilized to this end via their functions of lists and groups.
Article written by Thierry Randretsa