The content curation tool that allows you to access all areas of the web whilst sat staring the same screen, is not only a great platform to find quirky (& sometimes a bit too far-fetched) angles on certain subjects, but an equally fantastic place to get your daily news fix all in one go! What’s not to love?
Well, Before we start, I hear you ask – whats Curation? …
In a nut shell Content Creation sites, like Storify, basically recycle existing bits and bobs floating around the internet, yet I personally think it’s one of the most original outlets available to not only journalists, but normal folk like Norman down the road.
Journalists are turning to it more and more these days with the likes of the BBC, PBS News Hour and CBC News all regularly updating their channels. The possibilities are endless – so endless in fact that little old me has had a play around. First, it was a Storify to do with Renée’s new face, the next was then all about the Oscar Pistorius case and after that I even dabbled in the world of Pinterest – another curation tool that acts as a mood board, allowing users to explore lots of wonderful ideas through the use of images. With Storify only being released to the public in April 2011, it still has time to grow and become increasingly popular but even now, it has sparked discussion from the outset.
Lewis DVorkin is one of many that have had a thing or two to say about it and he really wants to know one thing – who’s doing it right? He see’s the curation tool as a platform allowing “content creators to arrange all these social bits of information as they see fit on a page, then connect it all with their own reporting, context and perspective.”… Whilst playing around with the site myself I reached many a difficulty – How was I supposed to understand my own perspective on a story if the whole point of curating the information was to whittle down all aspects of a certain subject and deliver it to the people who would then get a general gist of what happened.
“It’s about moving information from the people who have it to the people who need it.”
I also found myself “talking about the events” rather than being a “professional journalist” who creates a whole new spin on the issue, something that D’Vorkin explains Xavier Damman, founder of Storify, highlights on the site.
Storify is definitely much more than a platform to combine all sorts information on a certain subject – it is a platform designed to clearly organise this information, in order to come to a clear understanding of what’s displayed on the screen in front of you.
Next time I use the site I will channel my inner journalist and think to myself – what is your take? what will be refreshing for people to read? and this way I can hope that the stories I create flourish and I will be able to say – I’m doing it right!
Amy Watson 