Tag: Curation

…from Pawan Deshpande of Curata:

Note: I recommend the thinking about curation but not necessarily the tool Curata. Comment or connect to talk about how this applies to your situation…

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In order to be found in the ‘Zero Moment of Truth’, there are two main activities you need to master; FINDING and SHARING great content. Another way of putting it is…

  • Deepening your expertise
  • Documenting your expertise

Here’s how I do it [By the way,  there is a Mac version at about 17:00 but you need to understand the principles in the Windows version. Sorry, Mac boys and girls!]:

Here is the mindmap of my screencast:

Here are the direct links to the tools I use in the screencast:

http://storify.com/e1evation/my-most-important-curation-tools

By the way,  this post and this post might also give you some insight as to how I apply Getting Things Done [GTD] principles to this process. Comment below or connect with me so we can talk about how this applies to you and your situation…

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David Meerman Scott

I think someone must have peed in David Meerman Scott‘s cornflakes a couple of weeks back. He was so hacked off that he went off on a rant on content curation:

You may have noticed that content curation has grown very quickly as a way for people and organizations to publish on the Web.

Sure, there are some benefits to this effort. But as a strategy for generating attention for yourself or your business, content curation is nowhere near as powerful as generating original content.

Content curation

Unlike writing your own blog post or shooting your own video, content curation simply involves pointing to others’ work.

Services like Scoop.it and Paper.li have sprung up to make it easy for anyone to publish an online magazine by linking to anything on the Web.

Yes, there is value in pointing to others work. But that is the point – it is other people’s work, not your own.

Many organizations use guest writers to create content, which in my mind is another form of content curation. Nothing wrong with having a guest blog post now and then, but if you never showcase your own peoples’ ideas, I think it is a mistake.

Original Content: The focus a successful marketing [sic]

The best way to generate attention is to create original web content including text based information (sites, blogs, a Twitter feed), video content, photographs, infographics, and the like.

You brand yourself as an organization worthy of doing business with. Done well, an added bonus is that the search engines rank the content highly and people are eager to share the content on their social networks.

And hey if you generate some interesting stuff, then the content curators will link to you!! Wouldn’t you rather have the links come in?” via Content Curation: A Poor Substitute for Original Content | Social Media Today.

Now David’s a really smart guy — I even own his book “The Rules of Marketing & PR” — but this article doesn’t reflect that especially on the topic of curation…

The kind of curation David talks about is only one kind of curation — linking to other people’s content. This post is another type of curation. Sure, I point to David’s site and quoted a couple of his paragraphs but I’m adding my own value by pointing out that there’s another form of curation that David chose not to consider but that actually adds value. It looks alot like this…

There is a ‘wrong’ way and a ‘right’ way to curate and a lot of it carries over from the ‘wrong’ way and ‘right’ way to write a term paper; correctly leveraging a quote is appropriate and brings power to your writing and your Search Engine Optimization [SEO] done properly. Like this post.

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Buffer rocks! Here are a few reasons why…

A few weeks ago, I did an epic post on ‘supercuration’ tools — here it is, just in case you’ve misplaced it. Tops on my list of those tools is Buffer, a great freemium app that takes much of the pain out of curation and sharing. Here’s my take on it and why I think it belongs in YOUR social media workflow…

Questions? Feedback? Here’s a link where you can get started…

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Get the rest here:  Content Curation a Marketing Must – Content Curation Marketing.

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‘Non-modal’? You’ll have to watch the video! :-D

[listly id=”1ey” layout=”full”]

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…that works hard for you! From time to time, the clouds part and I realize that someone else may benefit from an approach that I’m taking. I put together some thoughts on tools and tactics in the screencast above. Here’s the Pearltree:

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“Information, if viewed from the point of view of food, is never a production issue. … It’s a consumption issue, and we have to start thinking about how we create diets and exercise,” said JP Rangaswami in his TEDx presentation.

For a man who currently has 38,000 books in his collection and lives in Calcutta, India where they are known for their rich, savory and sweet Southern Indian cuisine, his is a theory that could very well make sense!

Since most of us consume food according to a certain diet, minimize our surrender to sinful indulgences, measure our nutrition intake to make sure we have enough of everything; it’s possible that we’ve been doing the exact same thing all along with our consumption of data – or perhaps we should. As Plato the philosopher once said, “Knowledge is the food of the soul”.

“When I saw Supersize Me, I started thinking, now what would happen if an individual had 31 days of nonstop Fox News?” joked JP Rangaswami.

What do you think? If you saw information the way you see food, what would you do to digest the knowledge differently – nibble, bite, scoff or binge?” via How To Eat Information | FinerMinds.

Long before I saw this TEDx talk on eating information, my thinking on the topic was galvanized by Clay Johnson’s book The Information Diet which I highly recommend if you are intrigued by JP Rangaswami’s thoughts and are looking for more on the topic…

Me? I ‘eat’ information via Gmail, Google Reader and Gist and then share the best of it here and at business.toddlohenry.com, Twitter, Twylah, etc. Johnson’s book and Rangaswami’s statement about “Information overload or ‘filter failure’?” address the heart of the matter — just because I can track almost anything or anyone in Google Reader or Gist doesn’t mean I should in the same way that I shouldn’t eat everything I find at the Piggly Wiggly and I certainly shouldn’t eat it all at the same time! As the Apostle Paul said “All things are possible but not all things are beneficial” — tools without forethought result in poor tactics. Johnson and Rangaswami’s thoughts can help us ‘eat’ information on purpose instead of by accident…

If you want to ‘eat’ better, I suggest you need better thoughts, tools and tactics. One way to do that might be to read my free ebook on ‘personal news aggregation’. Register at http://elevation.company/pna/…

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I coach a lot of people on how to use WordPress effectively for ‘thought leadership’ marketing. One of the most important things to include in every post is a relevant picture. Why? HubSpot says:

If you’ve ever read a book with a child, you probably know they find pictures more interesting than words; but are adults really that different? I wouldn’t be surprised (or offended!) if you found yourself gravitating more towards the picture in this post than the copy. But images drive more than just attention — they drive engagement. In fact, just one month after introducing timeline for brands, Simply Measured reports that engagement is up 46% percent per post, and visual content (photos and videos) have seen a 65% increase in engagement.

via Why Marketers Should Invest in Visual Content Creation.

Effectively using images in a blog post is an issue however, that separates blogger sheep from goats. In this screencast I focus on a couple of ways bloggers can easily get images into their posts with an emphasis on my favorite blogging tool, Zemanta for both WordPress.com and hosted WordPress…

http://youtu.be/w5DJPH_lFWA

[View the story “Other ‘images in posts’ screencasts” on Storify]

Other ‘images in posts’ screencasts

Storified by Todd Lohenry · Mon, Apr 16 2012 12:10:24

I love Zemanta!toddlohenry
How I used Zemanta on this posttoddlohenry
Google Reader and Zemantatoddlohenry
Blogging with Internet Explorer and Windows Live Writertoddlohenry
Windows Live Writertoddlohenry
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Here’s a mindmap and a screencast about my top 3 Twitter tools and the way I use them…

Now, here’s how they all fit together!

http://youtu.be/3R1M5GuXAlQ

My top Twitter screencasts playlist:

Questions? Feedback? btw, here’s a little riff on how to use playlists in case you’re not familiar:

http://youtu.be/EooezvT04vg

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An editorial focus and calendar that reinforces it may be the single most important thing you can do if you want to blog for thought leadership. In his ground breaking book ‘Brand Stand’, Craig Badings writes…

The more research you do on the topic [on which you choose to focus] the more you will understand the space you want to enter. Ask yourself: Who is already playing in that space? What they are saying? Are they achieving cut through? Does our company have substantially more to say or something unique to offer in that space or not? Your deciding question should be ‘Can we own that space?’ If you cannot own a space my advice would be do not go there.

Badings, Craig (2009-07-08). BRAND STAND (Kindle Locations 790-794). BookPal. Kindle Edition.

If you have decided you can ‘own the space’, here is an overly simplified formula for achieving alignment in your content marketing strategy and getting ownership:

  • Brainstorm around your unique offerings in the space. Ask yourself “what are the problems my clients expect me to solve and how do I solve them in a unique way?”
  • Use Google’s keyword tools to research keywords around those unique offerings
  • Track trusted sites and keyword searches in Google Reader; read primarily those things that deepen your expertise in your unique offerings without losing the context of the whole space
  • Only curate or create content on your blog related to that unique offering
  • Leverage social media, etc. to amplify your content
  • Connect effectively with the readers you draw in

If you do those things in that order, you will have alignment around solving your customer problems and you will be found when people are looking for your solution[s]. In order to effectively cover my space, for example, which is content management and marketing for thought leadership, I track the topics content management, content marketing and ‘thought leadership’ marketing as well as the following tools:

  • Blogging
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • and supporting tools like Google Reader, Shareaholic, Storify, etc.

Thursday, for example, is Twitter day. Every Thursday I reflect on Twitter as part of a balanced content management and marketing for thought leadership strategy and ‘storify’ a summary of the best articles from the previous week. This tactical approach ‘forces’ me to not only review the best content from the previous week in Google Reader and Twitter, but be sure to cover it in my blog.

Questions? Feedback? Comment below or use the connect form. In the meantime, here’s a summary of the best of what I found in content marketing, LinkedIn and Twitter this past week…

http://storify.com/e1evation/content-marketing-linkedin-and-twitter-for-2-17-20

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On Tuesday, I usually focus on tools for content management and marketing for thought leadership. I had just prepared a post on Google Reader tips and tricks when my good friends at Zemanta shared a little tool from their labs they call Quotelove. Quotelove is a nifty tool for curation that allows me to highlight and grab any text I find with a minimal amount of fuss. Here’s an example of a quote that I curated using this content management tool…

The Rise of the Social Media Mechanic – Servant of Chaos

I have written before on the rise of the Business Designer – a person uniquely adapted to optimise your business processes. But in line with the Hype Cycle, the Business Designer is most effective later in the cycle – as you climb out of the Trough of Disillusionment. Most businesses are not in this space as yet. And many are still facing the ascendant forces of the Peak of Inflated Expectations. It is in the way up this peak (and the way down the other side) that you need an individual uniquely suited to “getting s#@t done. You need the Social Media Mechanic. This is the person who can implement your strategy, find the right bits and pieces and bolt them together. This person will know what needs to be done to make the right things work – and sometimes even do the wrong things (let’s face it, we’re still making mistakes and learning from them, right?). But without the Social Media Mechanic, you’re just going to be left with a whole heap of unconnected parts. So once you’ve got your continuous digital strategy underway, start seeking your Social Media Mechanic. You’ll never get out of the trough of disillusion without one!

via: www.servantofchaos.com

shared with Quotelove

I plan to curate more of Gavin Heaton’s thoughts on ‘social media mechanics’ later on. For the time being, I wanted to give a shout out to the smart Slovenians at Zemanta that give me such great tools for content marketing…

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Cover of "Getting Things Done: The Art of...
Cover via Amazon

I maintain that ‘how do I add content marketing to my plate and still get home for supper?’ is one of the most pressing issues in social media today. The pundits all say that this is the year for curation and content marketing but not a lot of experts are giving direction to thought leaders who hope to execute such a strategy effectively. In this 11 minute video I explore the use of David Allen’s ‘Getting Things Done‘ principles to content marketing…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-0UlkmVB0M&feature=youtu.be

Questions? Feedback? Please comment below…

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Here’s some important data on consumption, curation and creation from Brian Solis…

According to Forrester Research, overall adoption of social technologies has effectively reached saturation. 80% of people in the US engage with social media, which is equal to the number of people who text via SMS or  equivalent to the ubiquity of those who own DVD players.

While it’s new, its value is not to be minimized. Social media users already number in the hundreds of millions, providing the reach of traditional media but also the precision of one-to-one service and attention. Forrester notes that just a handful of “Mass Connectors” will create 256 billion influence impressions in the US this year.

As our social graphs propagate, the information that passes within it also multiplies. Individuals are not only socializing, they are sharing information and creating content. In doing so, updates serve as social objects, becoming catalysts for increased interaction and overall reach. As a result, participants and their social presences are amplified within existing social graphs and now also extend across a rising category of nicheworks or interest graphs – social graphs united around common interests and themes.

We are the architects of our own experiences and we are also the hubs of relevant content, resembling production foremen as we develop workflows and processes for consuming, curating, and creating content.

Source: The Three C’s of Information Commerce: Consumption, Curation, Creation – Brian Solis

I have been using the first three words in the ‘e1evation workflow’ for almost two years. To these I add ‘connect and converse’ as you see below…

'e1evation workflow' (2)

The ‘e1evation workflow’ is a ‘lather, rinse, repeat’ process for content marketing that can help you establish a dominant thought leadership position. If you’re intrigued by Brian’s work and are looking for a ‘practical, tactical way’ to become one of Forrester’s 23% in the creator space, comment or ‘connect’ to discuss how this applies to you and your organization…

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via ducttapemarketing.com

You can follow the ‘via’ link above if you want more great ideas from John Jantsch on the topic of Facebook pages. Comment or ‘connect’ so we can talk about how this applies to your organization…

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Internet marketer Jack Humphrey has curated some great content in a post called “The Content Guide for Bloggers” which I in turn, have curated for you…

“Content curation as a blogging model is widely misunderstood by most bloggers and marketers. Many people would tell you that curation is about finding and posting links of related material around a certain topic or keyword.

And they would be wrong if the goal was to get people and search engines to appreciate and react to said content. (And if your goal is to use curation as a means to get attention, then make money, from what you are doing.)

Real content curation is a set of links and snippets to other material on the web along with insightful, expert analysis provided by the curator.

There’s been an explosion of content on the web around “curation.” And new services that seek to make the process easier for different groups of users.” Source: The Content Curation Guide for Bloggers | Internet Marketing Consultant Jack Humphrey

In the model I teach my students, there are two main types of blog posts; creation and curation. Optimally, in my model, about 5-10% of my posts are creation posts. The rest is all curation. Why? Continue reading “Why curation rocks, part 1” →

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via businessinsider.com

 

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via visualoop.tumblr.com

I’ve shared before that mindmapping is one of the single most important tools I use. I use freemind which is complete cross platform and free as well as Mindmeister and Mindmanager Pro which are not. Have you tried it yet?

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Example of Micro QR
Image via Wikipedia
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Alexandra Samuel
Image by Will Pate via Flickr

Part of a series. Original version at AlexandraSamuel.com.

In my recent blog post about how to sustain your social media presence in just 3 hours a week, I advise drafting 3 blog posts in under one hour. That may sound unimaginable if (like me) you’ve fallen into the habit of turning each blog post you write into a mini-manual or philosophical essay.

But back in the day — you know, before Twitter — a lot of blog posts consisted of simply sharing a link and saying, hey, here’s something useful you should read. Now that we’ve got Facebook and Twitter, people tend to share links in 140 characters or less, and the blog-post-as-link-share has largely disappeared.

I’m all for sharing links in an efficient way, through Twitter or Facebook or even delicious. But we’ve lost something in this rapid-fire micro-sharing: we’ve lost the conversation about why something is worth sharing (or reading). We’ve lost the reflections on what we learned by reading the post we’re about to share.

And we’ve lost a great, valuable route to sustaining a blog. My 3-hour social media method relies on bringing back the “I read this and so should you” blog post. But in the era of Twitter et al., just sharing the link is not enough. You’ve got to provide some additional value….something that makes the reader glad to read your blog post, and not just annoyed you didn’t point them towards the original.

Here are seven ways to add value to a blog post you are sharing:

  1. Summarize the main argument of the post (but in a way that still encourages the reader to read the full post)
  2. Share a (brief) excerpt or two from the original post that you think was exceptionally interesting or useful
  3. Explain why you think it’s worth reading, or what you enjoyed about it
  4. Suggest another way to apply the original post’s advice or insight
  5. Raise a concern, criticism or missing piece of information
  6. Ask a question prompted by the blog post
  7. Point to another related or complementary resource, or draw a thematic connection between multiple blog posts

If you can add value to the post you are sharing in one (or more) of these ways, you can draft a useful, legitimate blog post in 10 minutes or less. Don’t believe me? Then watch this video, which records the process of writing yesterday’s blog post about digital fasts.

via feedproxy.google.com

The excerpt above is longer than most of my curation posts, but Alexandra Samuel’s perspective is a good one that summarizes from another perspective what I was discussing with clients in a executive briefing on Friday and I wanted to accomplish three objectives here. First, show them how I first post things to my own site before sharing them with anyone. Second, how you can effectively curate content from other sources to prove your own point and third, ask people to interact with you based on the information you’ve shared. Comment below or ‘connect’ above so we can talk about how this applies to your business…

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