The FOI request(s) relating to the @differenceengin are now complete.

FOI request with links to documents emailed and uploaded to scribd: www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/the_difference_engine_procuremen

Updated FOI response relating to the Difference Engine @differenceengin programme - www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/the_difference_engine_procuremen

Yes Curation is cropping up more & more - see bit.ly/bDPzwV - this refers to the increasing availability of data but also stresses the need for 'curators' or 'explainers' to help us make sense of the data. In a learning context there is no shortage of information from which we can learn (or teach) but without the curation from the professional or credible amateur curator we may be in danger of simply drowning in information. So curation should be welcomed by creators as without it there is a danger that much of the content can lie 'unharvested' but for the curator adding value in the form of context and interpretation. Interesting that Steve Rosenbaum in the mashable post, linked to by @deburca in his post, says: "creators should have the ability to create boundaries, both editorial and economic, around what they create and how it is repurposed." Would, boundaries that the creators may set, at their discretion, by the use of Creative Commons licences, offer sufficient comfort to them? The answer to that is more than likely: it depends...

The term does keep cropping up and I think you're right that, as an emerging theme, we're going to see a lot more of it.

I guess where we start with Curation is the notion that individuals often bring a different set of expertise to a problem than a single expert can - kind of the essence of crowdsourcing, but not quite the same.

So what we are looking to do with Curatr is to maintain the provenance of resources with the presence of a "Curator" - an expert who can be trusted and referred too - but also allow for UGC and others to develop their "take" on the content.

Ben @ Curatr

Another interesting take on the "curation" of other peoples content worth a look is www.lazyfeed.com/about

interesting... ties in with another thread I am reading at the moment about the internet being like a library, and one person has just commented it far less organised... ie curated.
podnosh.com/blog/2010/05/22/is-that-on-google-or-the-internet/

Your comment last comment regarding 'what "curation" means beyond classification' is the heart of the matter, I think. People do not even understand that there are skills, knowledge, standards - and even ethics involved.
As the quantity of Web content grows, we will need people to find the interesting and good quality content. Not everyone has the time or patience to work through 100 pages or more of Google search results ( as I do when doing serious research).
And the problem with classification (and Web directories) is that they rarely classify in the way that the individual expects. There are answers to this but I'm not sure that the people who might have the money to develop the solutions understand the issues yet.
Thanks for writing such a thought-provoking post.

Janet, I'm not sure if Tony Hirst (@psychemedia) has covered this in his recent "Infoskills for Digital Librarians" but blog.ouseful.info/2010/05/20/imaginings-around-infoskills-for-digital-librarians/ worth a look as a starting point.

Would also be interested in what "curation" means beyond classification and in different disciplines & sectors etc.

I am looking with interest for signs of how people can afford to be professional curators of Web content. I am also curious as to what people consider to be "curation." It is worth bearing in mind that the word 'curation' exists because there are professionals already who do it.
I have, in effect, been (amongst other things) a curator of digital material for many years now. I have been quietly embedding semantic metadata and trying to find ways of conserving material.
I have said (and will say again at greater length) that there are many who could learn much from heritage/culture professionals. It could be a good time to consider paying for the services of or advice from professional culture curators.

I have to agree - certainly 'curation' is a bit of a preoccupation of mine at the moment - mainly due to the importance of it in the next round of JISC funding for OERs (www.jisc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities/funding_calls/2010/04/grant0610.aspx) and I have been watching with interest as a mix of technological and people-powered solutions start to spring up.

I think the Google Prediction API and things like RDFa are going to offer some clues to intelligent filtering but also that there is going to be a continued role for expert curators..

Episode 5 of the making of series is not available - www.fiatmio.cc/makingof/en/

An updated FOI request relating to the Difference Engine @differenceengin programme has been submitted to clarify outstanding queries - www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/the_difference_engine_procuremen