A Guide to Curation in Community: Mapping the Unknown and Creating Value

A Guide to Curation in Community: Mapping the Unknown and Creating Value

Curating content in a community is not just about creating a resource for members to access. It is an exercise that creates immense value for both the community builder and the members themselves. While members benefit from accessing trusted and vetted information quickly, community builders gain valuable insights and understanding about the community they serve.

When we curate, we can't help but learn and understand the community we serve. As we sift through and process the content shared by our members, we begin to notice new ideas popping up and spreading. This learning process allows us to pass on valuable information to our community, contributing to its growth and development.

However, community curation is not just about saving everything that comes our way. It is about determining the value and worthiness of the content before saving it. We must ask ourselves whether something is truly valuable and worth saving. This discernment is essential because if everything is considered special, then nothing truly stands out.

Creating a repository of information can be helpful for anyone in a business, but the true power of curation lies in the ability to connect the dots. As community builders, our role is to help our people, which includes not only our members but potentially every employee in our company. By curating and connecting the relevant information, we can provide valuable insights and knowledge to everyone involved.

Steve Blank, a renowned entrepreneur, emphasizes the importance of mapping the unknown in any industry. He suggests starting with what we do know and gradually building our understanding through continuous learning. One effective way to do this is by drawing a diagram of the relationships between companies in the industry. This diagram helps us identify key players and understand how the industry works.

As we map out the industry, we will inevitably encounter gaps in our knowledge. These gaps serve as a guide, highlighting what we need to learn and explore further. Blank encourages us to continuously refine our understanding of the industry by updating our diagrams and creating a glossary of new words we encounter.

Furthermore, it is crucial to collect the best sources of information that we come across. Overlaying numbers, dollars, market share, and growth rates on our industry diagram provides us with valuable insights into the velocity and direction of the market. Identifying market leaders and potential new entrants allows us to make informed decisions about the industry's future.

While forecasting may seem challenging, especially in technology markets, Blank suggests considering discontinuities and the impact of adjacent technologies or economic initiatives. By exploring these factors, we can better understand how they may shape the market and make more accurate predictions.

In conclusion, community curation is an essential practice that benefits both community builders and members. It allows us to learn and understand the community we serve while providing valuable insights and information. By combining the principles of curation with the mapping techniques suggested by Steve Blank, we can create a powerful resource for our community. Here are three actionable pieces of advice:

1. Continuously refine your understanding of the industry by updating your diagrams and creating a glossary of new words encountered.
2. Collect the best sources of information you come across and overlay relevant data on your industry diagram to gain insights into market velocity and direction.
3. Consider the impact of discontinuities, adjacent technologies, and economic initiatives when making forecasts about the industry's future.

By following these steps, you can enhance your curation skills and provide even greater value to your community. Remember, community curation is for you first, and your members second.