Are you a digital curator, packrat, editor, or snacker?

 

I'm thinking a lot lately about tagging communities (NpTech Tag), information coping skills, and distributed and disperse nature of networked/connected knowledge sharing.   I think I'm a digital curator. Steve Rubel has an excellent definition, although it isn't new.  The concept of digital curators has been around since the beginning of the Web - at first they were called "Cybrians."  In 1999, after working 6 years on the web, I wrote this piece on how my online work had changed based on different job labels.

Telecommuter
Gophermaster
Webmaster
Webmistress
Webster
Web Manager
Web Goddess

I realized that while it would be difficult for me to go back to being a mere mortal, the label "goddess" would imply that I was an "expert" not a learner.

That's an important distinction because one key to learning how to use technology is constant and dynamic learning

learning from doing
doing from learning

Now some new labels for of us who are working together to create noncommercial public Arts Web spaces in a globally networked digital environment.

Digital Creative Thinkers
Information Designers
Cybrarians
Electronic Preservationists
Telecollaborators
Situated Teacher & Learner

I think in those last few labels I was getting at what Steve Rubel defined as  "Digital Curator."

The call of the curator requires people who are selfless and willing to act as sherpas and guides. They're identifiable subject matter experts who dive through mountains of digital information and distill it down to its most relevant, essential parts. Digital Curators are the future of online content. Brands, media companies and dedicated individuals can all become curators. Further, they don't even need to create their own content, just as a museum curator rarely hangs his/her own work next to a Da Vinci. They do, however, need to be subject matter experts.

The other terms ..

Packrat:  I think of digital pack rats as using tags and rss to aggregate information - the huge, unfiltered tag stream.   Steve Rubel called them "Aggregators."  It isn't totally automated, there is some filtering function - as Robin Good identified in this article about NewsMastering.

Editor:   Rubel makes a distinction between editor and curator as follows:

The notion of an editor inherently implies that space is finite. Online it's not. Curators don't need to necessarily be trained in cutting, but in knowing where and how to unearth those special high-quality "finds" and to make them presentable. It's just as much about the experience and the way the information is presented, as it is the content.

Perhaps editors are those who also still work in print form too?

Snacker:   As conversations and resources become more distributed -- some on social networks, some in tag streams, some on listservs, or blogs -- and the rise of micro media - some people just snack on information -bouncing or multi-tasking from one bit to another.

Rubel ends with this conclusion about about digital curators:

As content universe expands and floods niches, there will always be a market for Digital Curators. The key for brands, individuals and media companies will be to identify those niches where they have deep expertise and to become the best in the world at serving them. I guarantee if you do this well and consistently, your long-term success is essentially guaranteed. And even if you do not have the energy to become a curator, you will certainly be influenced them.

Comments

[Amy Lenzo]

Dear Beth,

Great questions! I really enjoyed this post; thanks for writing it.

When the role of digital curator is taken on in relation to a specific group's interests another title I love and have used myself is 'Community Tech Steward" (I know you were part of the conversations that coined the term).

As I understand it, the role builds from the webmistress/ master/ goddess model and expands to function as a sort of a 'bridge' between a group and the technology that serves them. As designer, archivist, host, data organizer and presenter, online participant, etc. it encompasses many of the roles you describe and embodies something wonderful about mutual learning and collaboration, since the term 'steward' implies a level of caring and can be held by any number of people rather than denoting a singular title or individual identity.

Another comment, about the editing function online. Rubel says it's not so much about cutting as it is unearthing the gems and making them shine (I'm paraphrasing here). I hope I'm not being too nit-picky here, but that sounds very much like cutting to me - albeit the fine cutting a jeweler does to reveal the brilliance of a gemstone or the chipping away of all that is not a sculptor's vision.

As anyone knows who works with online material, it is crucial to discern between what information is essential and belongs on a main page and what should be moved to a secondary (or even tertiary) position or deleted altogether. Brevity and clarity are crucial in order for material to be initially accessed in an online environment and writers often have a different agenda or are just unfamiliar with online reading patterns. The editing process is a little different online than it is in print, but it is still recognizable as editing. So I guess I'm saying that the roles of editing and curating (or organizing, tagging, etc.) needn't be conflated - they are different functions & both of them make valuable contributions.

[Amy Gahran]

Great post, Beth

Seems to me that at different times and for different projects I've played all three roles you've described. My personal predilection is to be a snacker -- albeit a voracious one, and in some areas my snacks are pretty huge and deep bites. However, I regularly act as editor and curator, depending on what a project needs.

Just another data point, FWIW

- Amy Gahran

[Beth Kanter]

Another example of this is balletvox.org