The Power of Curation and Employee Appreciation: Connecting the Dots

The Power of Curation and Employee Appreciation: Connecting the Dots

In today's world of informational abundance, content curation has emerged as a new form of authorship. Just as curators in the art world carefully select and organize artwork around a theme, online curators gather and present content that they deem culturally significant. However, with the ever-increasing volume of information available, it is crucial to develop new models of archiving to preserve the full dimension and context of these valuable information nodes.

One example of effective content curation is Maria Popova's Twitter feed. Initially, she started it as an extension of her existing readers' experience, providing additional treats like the extras on a DVD. However, the Twitter feed took on a life of its own and became the primary driver for new readers. This highlights the fact that curation can have a life of its own and can attract a wider audience with its breadth and cross-disciplinary curiosity.

The rise of new tools, especially Twitter, challenges the traditional notion of attention as something that is either given or taken away. Instead, these tools allow us to direct attention to destinations where it can be sustained with more concentration and immersion. While old media struggled with the scarcity of information, new media face the challenge of information overload. However, these new tools also enable people to discover the most relevant and impactful information, in any medium, and connect it to other information in a networked ecosystem of meaning that deepens our understanding of the world and each other.

It is important to remember that Twitter is a constantly evolving platform, shaped by its users. Features like the photo-sharing service were introduced because the communication on this ever-changing platform demanded them. This highlights the power of Twitter to give people the ability to express themselves and gather like-minded individuals.

Moreover, content curation itself is a form of creative labor, yet our current models for crediting this labor are inadequate or non-existent. Recognizing content curation and information discovery as forms of creative labor and finding ways to acknowledge and codify this acknowledgement is the next frontier in how we think about intellectual property in the information age.

Shifting our focus to employee appreciation, Kudos play a significant role in fostering motivation, recognition, and reward within organizations. The word "Kudos" originates from ancient Greek, meaning "glory" or "praise." It represents recognition, appreciation, respect, and honor for fellow employees. When employees receive Kudos, they are more likely to reciprocate by giving Kudos to their teammates, creating a snowball effect of appreciation within the organization.