The Power of Collaborative Bookmarking and Digital Curation in Information Overload

The Power of Collaborative Bookmarking and Digital Curation in Information Overload

In today's digital age, where information is readily available at our fingertips, the challenge lies in effectively organizing and sharing valuable content. This article explores the concepts of collaborative bookmarking and digital curation, highlighting their importance in combating information overload and enhancing the learning experience.

Collaborative bookmarking platforms like Kippt have emerged as a solution to the problem of sharing and discussing links efficiently. While traditional methods like email and wikis have their limitations in terms of slow discussions or excessive noise, Kippt aims to provide a streamlined experience. By incorporating commenting functionality, users can open a clip, comment, and engage in discussions, all while keeping the conversation out of cluttered inboxes. This social aspect has been a key feature from the get-go, as users have been demanding more collaborative and social features.

The origins of curation can be traced back to the earliest forms of human information recording. Throughout history, we have been shifting, selecting, organizing, and presenting information to give it meaning and clarify its context. Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, envisioned the internet as a platform that allows anyone to access and disseminate documents, as well as organize the entire collection. Digital curation serves as the starting point for individuals to take control of the vast amount of digital content available and organize it into meaningful collections.

Clay Shirky, in his book "Here Comes Everybody," identified the problem as "not information overload, but filter failure." With the abundance of relevant information available, individuals often feel overwhelmed and find it challenging to pay attention to it all. This is where digital curation plays a crucial role. By curating and tagging content, individuals can filter through the noise and focus on what is most relevant to them.

There are two types of overload that individuals may experience: situational overload and ambient overload. Situational overload can be compared to finding a needle in a haystack, where individuals need a specific piece of information quickly amidst a sea of other information. Ambient overload, on the other hand, occurs when individuals are faced with a vast amount of information that they want to engage with, similar to a haystack-sized pile of needles. Digital curation acts as an intermediate layer between search engines and information consumers, helping individuals find relevant and useful content easily.

For learners, who are already overwhelmed with business information, digital curation can be a game-changer. By effectively curating and organizing learning content, learners can access relevant resources just in time or just in case. This ensures that they have access to the information they need when they need it, enhancing the learning experience and reducing the feeling of information overload.