A guide to curation in community - Notes apps are where ideas go to die. And that’s good.

A guide to curation in community - Notes apps are where ideas go to die. And that’s good.

Curating content in a community is not just about providing a resource for members to access. It is an exercise that creates immense value for both the community builder and the members. While community curation allows members to access trusted and vetted information quickly, it also provides an opportunity for the community builder to learn and understand the community they serve.

When curating content, community builders can notice new ideas popping up and spreading. This allows them to stay updated and pass on valuable information to the community. However, it is important for community builders to first evaluate the value of the content before saving it. Not everything is worth saving, and if everything is considered special, then nothing is truly special. The power of curation lies in the ability to connect the dots and provide meaningful insights.

Curating content is not just limited to community members; it can also be helpful for anyone in a business. The ability to curate and connect ideas can benefit every employee in the company. Community is about helping people, whether they are members of your community or colleagues in your organization.

Notes apps and other tools designed to help us remember are often seen as a way to store valuable ideas. However, the true value of these tools lies in their ability to help us forget. We don't write things down to remember them; we write them down to forget. These tools serve as insurance for our ideas, allowing us to let go of them and create space for new thoughts and findings.

Most of our thoughts and random discoveries aren't actually valuable. We write them down, but rarely give them a second thought. We ascribe value to our ideas and findings because we want to feel productive and make progress. This is known as "loss aversion," where we prioritize avoiding losses over seeking gains. However, trying to remember everything can strain our mental capacity and erode our ability to remember the important things.

It is important to embrace the concept of forgetting. We can't and don't need to remember everything. We need to feel safe forgetting and trust that our memories will be there if we want them again. Flipping through old notes may reveal that most of our ideas and discoveries aren't worth much on their own. We often blame the tools or techniques, thinking that a new app will be better. However, this cycle of seeking the next best thing only leads us back to safely forgetting.

Instead of constantly seeking new tools and apps, we should focus on resurfacing what truly matters. We should prioritize quality over quantity and recognize that not everything we come across is valuable. By curating and connecting ideas, we can create a repository of meaningful insights that can benefit both ourselves and our communities.

In conclusion, community curation is a valuable exercise for both community builders and members. It allows us to process and understand the community we serve, while also providing a trusted source of information for members. When curating content, it is important to evaluate the value and prioritize quality over quantity. Instead of relying on notes apps and tools to remember everything, we should embrace the concept of forgetting and focus on resurfacing what truly matters. Here are three actionable pieces of advice to consider:

1. Prioritize quality over quantity: Instead of saving every idea or discovery, focus on curating and connecting the most valuable insights. This will create a repository of meaningful information for both yourself and your community.

2. Embrace forgetting: Trust that your memories will be there if you need them again. Let go of the need to remember everything and create space for new thoughts and findings.

3. Avoid the cycle of seeking the next best thing: Instead of constantly chasing new tools and apps, focus on resurfacing what truly matters. Don't let the illusion of value in our ideas and discoveries lead you down a path of constantly seeking the next new thing.