If there ever was an article that describes what I do on this blog and, for the most part why, it’s this one.
Curated Content – Does Your Site Need It?
Admittedly, doug — off the record isn’t a business, it’s more of a hobby and also supports some of what I’m doing now with respect to ECOO and CSTA. Previously, it was motivated by being a substitute professor at the university. Before that, it was a way to keep current as I worked with a terrific group of computer contacts who were always pushing me.
I don’t necessarily consider myself in either of the categories identified in the article either – Industry Knowledge or Thought Leadership – but there are probably some things…
So, this daily post (OTR Links) is more of a way to keep a record of what I’m reading and what I’m thinking on any given day. Since my background is in educational technology, there definitely is, and should be, elements of that throughout.
The university bit? With the class that I was covering, the students were supposed to blog about something dealing with educational technology but didn’t really know where to start. My daily readings seemed to fit the bill nicely. After the class was over, I stopped only to get messages from others wondering why so I went back to it. I hadn’t stopped reading and learning; I had just stopped sharing.
Using the tools Packrati.us and Diigo, I’m able to automate a once a day post of all the reading that I’ve done so that it appears in one spot on the blog. I do it in the middle of the night to try and not be too annoying. I will tell you that it’s a great way to keep track of what I’ve read and a quick search on the blog using a search term finds everything that I’ve read/curated. At times, it proves that I’m my own best search engine.
Reading and curating also help to inform the ramblings that appear from me as original blog posts like this one. The article above is Exhibit A. I found it; read it; reflected on it; and started typing! It doesn’t get much better than that.
The other thing that I find so valuable is the conversation that intelligent people do to extend the concept in the sharing. There is a price though – sometimes the trolls come out of the woodwork. It’s the price you pay, I guess.
My question to you then, dear reader, how do you curate the best stuff that you find and read. Do you make it easily available to others? If so, how? If not, why not?
doug --- off the record 