IMO Profile: What is "curation"? What would you do as a curator?

This issue of [Creator Economy IMO] voice activity invited two moderators @ReadBiGengLeo , @Hugo． Hugo talks about his experience and behind-the-scenes footage of the third quarter operation of this channel (discussion forum, e-newsletter, external contacts), and looks forward to the goals and plans for the fourth quarter.

The host of this event is @swiftevo , and the post-meeting records are compiled by @readbigeng . Let us relive the scene with written records.

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■ Review and outlook stage

1. Taking stock of the third quarter (e-newsletter backend data)

The e-newsletter was established on July 6, and it has been exactly three months since its launch.

First of all, [Daily Views] has become more moist since entering the ninth month (compared to the previous two months). The single-digit number of single-digit bad news has dropped sharply, but there are still a few "exploding upwards" Good news about "hit".

Another indicator is [Number of e-newsletter subscribers]. As shown in the figure below, in the first two months (7/6 ~ 8/26), it was in a "flat" state, with the cumulative number of subscribers being only 30; but since August /26 ushered in a turning point, and since then it has emerged from a relatively healthy "inclined 45-degree angle" growth situation (8/26~), and the current cumulative number of subscribers has reached 125.

So what happened? Some events are listed below:

• 8/26 @Hugo． Hugo debuted on the board as the host, and performed well during the interview with @lvduconxin , which brought a refreshing atmosphere.

• On 9/11, the " Kuaixueqing Popularity " promotion reading and book lottery event was launched.

• On 9/25, the "Farmer's Calendar" was launched to promote reading and book lottery.

• One after another, other creators use the recommendations function of substack to recommend our newsletter, thank you very much!
  

2. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter

To describe it in one sentence, the slogan is " grasp the 7:3 ratio to share Web2 and Web3 content ", and go out to interact with the outside world, including:

• Contact us one after another for affiliate marketing.
  ▷ Reading promotion activities of publishing houses.

• Layout Gitcoin Grants 19
  ▷ Swift Evo has been invited to serve as a consultant, drawing on his rich past experience.
  ▷ Add "Web3 Supplement" to the e-newsletter (30% share).
  ▷ The voice event invites guests who have connections with Web3 (30%).
  ▷ Enter the Web3 writing platform Mirror .
  ▷ Planning practical teaching articles to open Gitcoin Grants Passpoart.

■ Interview stage:

3. Why is the e-newsletter called IMO?

【Reading Bigeng🙋】

The initial idea was to start from the English translation of the word " Creator Economy Observation ". The abbreviation would be CEO, but this word also means "CEO", which is too confusing.

Finally, I gave up the idea of ​​translating Chinese nouns and started with the "concept" of this channel/e-newsletter, adding the words IMO (In My Opinion). This is the highest guideline.

It is difficult to finish reading a book, so start by reading an article.
⠀
It is difficult to write a post-reading review/notes, so you might as well practice writing opinions for an article first.

4. Read Bi Geng Leo why/how he found @Hugo． Hugo became a collaborator?

【Reading Bigeng🙋】

As of now, I have not met Hugo in person.

I previously participated in the " Public Reading Club " community founded by Hugo, and saw that Hugo reposted some high-quality articles every day (mostly from Facebook). My thought is that as long as Hugo adds some more to his original moves IMO, it will fit in with the "idea" of this channel/newsletter. And most importantly, this move belongs to the "Habit Stacking" technique in " Atomic Habits " and should not cause great resistance to execution .

On the other hand, I was worried about my three-minute popularity. Having a like-minded partner could receive benefits such as " accountability partner " and " habitual contract ", so I sent Hugo a private message to ask about my willingness to cooperate.

【Hugo・Huogo🙋】

I had the experience of subscribing to some e-newsletters (such as Science and Technology Guide) as a source of reading and listening, and I was eager to actually make an e-newsletter, so I accepted the invitation from Reading and Writing.

5. How do you two find all kinds of high-quality articles from Facebook (or other channels)?

【Hugo·Huogo🙋】: Interact with FB masters and train algorithms

Track the accounts of celebrities you admire on Facebook and "interact" with these accounts , including likes, comments, shares, etc. The purpose is to train the algorithm so that there will be a higher probability of pushing more of their information to people in the future. you.

I will also observe the speeches in the circle of friends from the comment area and people who express different positions on certain issues. If I see something good, I will follow it.

【Reading BiGong🙋】：X head coach team up

I rarely use Facebook. Currently, my main source of information is X (formerly Twitter), which complements Hugo.

It is recommended that you use the "list" function of Three players, and then who these players retweet (retweet), or who they follow (following), to expand the group's list.

This list will be iterated. If a player "underperforms", remember to remove him from the group.

【Swift Evo 🙋】：X bookmarks are easy to use

I also think that the "bookmark" function of , so that you won’t be hoarding information all the time.

6. How to define the word "curate"?

【Hugo・Huogo🙋】: Curators are like nutritionists

I think creators especially need to be stimulated by multiple perspectives, otherwise they will easily run out of inspiration.

The curator plays the role of a nutritionist, who needs to fully digest the original independent article and build it into a new organism. A more appropriate description is to help everyone supplement "vitamins with specific functions."

[Reading Bigeng🙋]: You can still take away some gains without clicking

In my mind, even if the reader does not click on the curated article, he can still take away something from the curator's words .

When I deal with curated articles, I will build different frameworks for the reader to "make it easier for him to enter the text" depending on the situation of the text, including translation, overview, summary points, and HQ&A, which I often use Means... Finally, write down your own IMO.

7. You compile e-newsletters from curated articles every week. How do you capture the main axis (main line)?

【Hugo・Huogo🙋】

• If there are common points between the articles, use higher-level keywords to connect them ▷ For example, the quote at the beginning of #13 "Communication is passing and catching" was an interesting daily conversation I heard between a couple, and later I found that it was just right. There are several articles in it, all of which can be anchored with the keyword "communication".

• If there is no obvious correlation or context between the articles, focus on the highlights ▷ For example #7 Among the three giants of note-taking software, who is more suitable for you? The highlights of this article are the articles that the editor’s intended audience (creators) may be most interested in among the articles curated that week.

Discussions of recent current affairs can also be used as highlights, but it still needs to be done from the perspective of the audience (creator), so that they feel that after reading it, it will be helpful for future creation (thinking). For example, #2 White Rice Rebellion can also develop a line of thinking. ! ? This article; in addition, I personally feel that although current affairs can trigger heated discussions, we should also consider that when looking back in the future, some readers may not know the ins and outs of the whole thing, so the frequency of use should not be too high.

• If none of the above are available, return to the name of this channel/e-newsletter and start from the most basic keywords such as "creation, writing, thinking" ▷ For example, #10 Creation is not romantic, a wake-up call for creators , #5 Excellent thinker = Excellent writers, think and write simultaneously, double the effect, etc.

8. How to title the e-newsletter and choose the most appropriate cover?

【Hugo・Huogo🙋】

Regarding the title, it is easy to formulate it after the main axis (main line) is grasped. I will use several sentence patterns:

1. Unexpectedly : For example, #2 The White Rice Rebellion can also develop the thinking context! ?

2. Personification : For example , #7 Among the three giants of note-taking software, who is more suitable for you?

3. Skeuomorphism : For example, #13 Communication is passing and catching , #9 Welcome aboard this Web3 flight

4. Symmetry of format : If none of the methods mentioned above apply, I will resort to "symmetry of format" such as #5 Excellent thinker = excellent writer, thinking and writing at the same time will double the effect

After the title is drawn up, I will go to a free material website to find a cover image and search using two English keywords "combo" . This usually leads to pictures that are more in line with the artistic conception of the title. For example, in #13 "Communication is passing and catching the ball" , I use "communication" + meeting" keyword combination.

Sometimes, the concept conveyed by the title can be transferred , such as #7 Among the three giants of note-taking software, who is more suitable for you? The three giants in it reminded me of the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu competing for hegemony, so the keywords in the search were adjusted accordingly.

【Reading Bigeng🙋】

My workflow is to first check the selected articles of the week. Are there any overlaps (common points) between them?

If you can't find it, just like Hugo, you will start from the " highlights " and tailor a title for it.

This highlight sometimes refers to the topic with the most posts IMO in the discussion forum that week, such as #11 Digital menu vs paper menu, how many? ; It is also possible to rely on intuition and put a text on the headlines simply because it is "very interesting", such as #12 Boss, I want to find a book with a red cover!

9. Have you ever felt like opening the sunroof? When you can’t find a curated theme? How to solve?

【Hugo・Huogo🙋】

Because the rule is set to publish every Monday at 6 a.m., the deadline will force you to give birth. So far, I have never encountered a situation where the skylight is open.

【Reading Bigeng🙋】

If it’s a daily curation article, even if I don’t have an immediate idea after reading it, I will still post it on the Discord/LINE community and then write “IMO 🙋 To be added”.

On the one hand, I hope to get inspiration from other people's IMO. On the other hand, this text will enter the background of my subconscious. Sometimes I will recall and think about it while commuting, taking a shower, walking, etc., and suddenly an idea will come to me.

If it is a weekend compilation of e-newsletters, since the loading has been broken down into the "minimum writing unit" of each curatorial article on weekdays , which is a small card one by one, the problem to be faced at this time is actually It's a question of "overwhelming material" when cards are lined up. How to choose, do the art of subtraction, and continue to learn and improve.

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10. Have you ever experienced that the results of a carefully curated e-newsletter were drastically altered?

【Hugo・Huogo🙋】

The incident occurred in #9. Welcome to this issue of Web3 Flight. At that time, I included a vote of Web3 content and also wrote a series of passionate quotations at the beginning of the e-newsletter (declaring that facing Web3 is the ultimate goal bla bla bla); read the pen farming Considering that such a 180-degree turn may confuse the originally targeted audience (creators), and not every reader is familiar with Web3, it is recommended to adjust this part, in addition to adding more Some comments also dilute the proportion of Web3 content.

I am actually very happy when I am given suggestions, because I can discover the blind spots in my own thinking.

【Reading Bigeng🙋】

At that time, I only predicted to Hugo that we would have a Web3 "supplement" in the future. I only threw out the word "supplement", but did not describe the concept of "supplement" or how I planned to promote it. . So I'm really sorry that Hugo was so confused.

The valuable experience this incident gave me is that I should pay more attention when using "proper nouns" not only in writing, but also in daily communication .

11. @Hugo． How does Hugo achieve a balanced allocation of time between work/learning programming languages/working as a curator?

【Hugo・Huogo🙋】

• Scheduling, alternating <br class="smart">Prioritize important things (study, work, slash, interests) into the schedule (calendar), the concept of scheduling. These things can be done alternately, which is a different stimulus for me. Be as focused as possible while working and studying.

• Regarding sleep, exercise and diet ▷ I will go to bed from 12-01 (ideally 11:30) and sleep for at least 6 hours.
  ▷ Exercise is done every day.
  ▷ Pay attention to whether the various nutrients in the three meals are balanced. Sometimes what you think is healthy is not really healthy. I ate very lightly for a while, and suddenly I found that I was prone to constipation. Later, I checked and found out that it was a lack of fat intake. In short, the total nutrition Be balanced and choose nutritious foods.

• Holidays are precious, not all of them are fully booked, spend time alone with yourself <br class="smart">Whether it is two days off per week or long consecutive holidays, my approach is to set aside at least one complete holiday to spend time alone with myself and concentrate on important matters. things.

• Release brain stress <br class="smart">Put the things you really want to do on your to-do list first, so that your brain won't keep thinking about them, which consumes your energy. This way you can free up your brain's "memory" to concentrate. Deal with important tasks ; things that are put on the to-do list are not rushed to be dealt with immediately. They must be evaluated and properly prioritized before doing them.

• Evaluating work hours, starting a task too early will be inefficient ▷ Starting a task too early will not be of much help in advancing the task. On the contrary, it will be easy to delay (when you feel you have enough time).
  ▷ So "estimating the required work time" for a task is a skill, and it requires a little pressure without failing .
  ▷ As for editing the e-newsletter, I am used to finishing it in one day, usually on Saturday or Sunday. I would not start it on Friday night in advance, because I know that the efficiency may not be good.
  

【Reading Bigeng🙋】Resource inventory and configuration

Time is the most important resource. We can imagine that we are the company's purchaser. How should we allocate the funds (time) we have?

I always take stock of my funds (time) for the coming week every Sunday night, and how I want to allocate them in the coming week. That is, I make a simple check box weekly plan, and also review the previous week’s weekly plan. , do a review .

The digital tool used is the Journal function in Heptabase .

When taking inventory and configuration, I only write down the core tasks related to " personal goals " this week, and other daily trivial matters in life (such as when and who to have a party/meeting with, and when to do shopping/pick up packages...) It will be placed in Google Calendar to prevent them from being mixed together.

When reviewing, I will create a (point-based) hierarchy below the original check box and simply write down my brief thoughts on the task (mood, expression, reflection, doubts, self-questions...), no matter Has this task been completed?

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