A Guide to Curation in Community: Connecting the Value of Curating Content and Building a Community

A Guide to Curation in Community: Connecting the Value of Curating Content and Building a Community

Curating content within a community is not just about creating a resource for members to access. It is a valuable exercise that benefits both the community builder and the members themselves. While members benefit from accessing trusted and vetted information quickly, community builders gain insights and a deeper understanding of the community they serve through the act of curation.

When curating content, community builders often come across new ideas and information that can be shared with the community. This process of learning and sharing creates value not only for the members but also for the community builder.

However, community curation should prioritize the value it brings to the curator first and the members second. Before saving anything, community builders should ask themselves whether the content is worth saving. By capturing only valuable and meaningful information, community builders can ensure that their curated resource remains special and relevant.

The power of curation lies in the ability to connect the dots. While a repository of information can be helpful, the true value comes from making connections and finding patterns within that information. This ability to connect the dots is where community curation truly shines.

A community is all about helping its people, which includes both members and potentially every employee in a company. By curating content, community builders can provide value not only to their members but also to the entire organization. The curated resource becomes a valuable tool for anyone in the business.

Now let's shift our focus to one of the most successful companies in the world, Amazon. Amazon's success can be attributed to its ability to optimize the selection, pricing, and inventory of products. While Walmart focused on a wide assortment of good quality merchandise at the lowest possible prices, Amazon took a different approach in the world of infinite shelf space.

Amazon's unbound search for the optimal selection of SKUs led to the creation of Amazon Marketplace. By allowing third-party sellers to bypass the traditional vendor onboarding process, Amazon rapidly filled its infinite shelf space with a vast selection of products. This move not only solved the problem of negotiating pricing but also allowed Amazon to collect valuable data points for price negotiation.

Similarly, Amazon recognized the bottleneck of its own technological infrastructure and created Amazon Web Services (AWS). By making its technological infrastructure available to external developers, Amazon removed the constraint of deploying resources internally and accelerated its growth.

Platforms became Amazon's answer to every growth obstacle it encountered. Amazon Advertising, for example, allowed sellers to feature sponsored products to improve product discovery. However, this approach also introduced some challenges, such as favoring high-margin products and potentially sacrificing the optimal product for customers.

Amazon's Marketplace and the unbound search for vendors created a Wild West for sellers, leading to potential gaming of the system. Retaining its customer-centric focus while managing the dynamics of the marketplace will be a challenge for Amazon moving forward.

As Amazon continues to grow, it is essential for the company to maintain its customer focus and avoid losing sight of its core values. The missteps in its retail business could go unnoticed amidst its immense success.

In conclusion, curating content in a community can bring immense value to both community builders and members. By prioritizing the value of curated content and connecting the dots, community builders can create a resource that benefits not only the members but also the entire organization. Amazon's success story showcases the power of platforms and the importance of maintaining a customer-centric focus while navigating the dynamics of a rapidly expanding marketplace.

Actionable Advice:

1. Prioritize the value of curated content by capturing only valuable and meaningful information.
2. Focus on connecting the dots and finding patterns within curated content to provide deeper insights to the community.
3. Maintain a customer-centric focus and avoid losing sight of core values when navigating growth and marketplace dynamics.