How to Manage Information Flow & Curate for Thought Leadership

12/1/2015

I work in the Cooperative Extension System. We take the science from our Land Grant Universities and create educational programs for the people in our communities. Our objective is to help the public use research-based information to improve their lives.

Many of us are "Experts" who don't work out loud, so we don't get the opportunity to serve all the people that we should be reaching.

I believe Extension professionals must put themselves in the flow of information, staying up-to-date in their field of expertise. I also believe that we can provide value for our clients by curating research-based information and vetting the information that is not. Curating alone is not enough, we must also take a leadership role in disseminating information online by leading networks of people who need Extension, but just don't know it.

This is my presentation outline from the NAEPSDP national conference in San Diego, CA.

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NAEPSDP National Conference - San Diego, CA

Presentation Outline

I. Why do we need to be thought leaders?

Because Extension professionals are supposed to be "Experts"
We champion the scientific, research-based information and bring it to the public
We are unbiased

II. Why do we need to be thought leaders online?

Many of the so-called "Thought Leaders" are not really experts
The public needs our information, more importantly they need a connection to their Land Grant University, a relationship with Extension

III. Mastering Google Search - Do you really know how to perform a search query? Can you find the information you are looking for?

Basics - Download
Operators - Download
Techniques - Download

IV. What is your area of expertise?

4-H Youth Development?
Horticulture?
Family & Consumer Sciences?
Community Development?
Agriculture?
Forestry?

V. Setting Up Google Alerts - This is how you put yourself in the flow of information

Go to google.com/alerts
Use the Basics, Operators, and Techniques of search to set-up alerts that send specific, relevant email notifications to you on a regular basis

VI. Sifting Your Content

Not all the information in the Google Alerts will be worth your time
Scan through it, only select the articles and posts you want to curate
If you think the information will benefit your audience, then curate it

VII. Curating Content

My tool of choice for curation is diigo.com. I annotate via my Safari browser on desktop and mobile
I prefer to read and annotate on the go, I am mobile first. So I use Diigo Annotator for Safari, available on the AppStore
Diigolet is a "super bookmarklet" that allows you to highlight and add sticky-notes, in addition to simple bookmarking

VIII. Sharing Your Thoughts

Once you've curated the information, made excellent annotations and notes, is that enough? No! You must share it. How dare you do all that work and not share it with the people who need it. Who are the people who need it? The people who are searching for it.
Share it by posting your insight and the information via the social network(s) where people are congregating
Share it with the people who want it? How do you find them?
Go to twitter.com/search-advanced, when you search on Twitter, it's called "listening"
Listen on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook too. Are people talking about your area of expertise? Can you help them? Of course you can. But will you?

IX. Packaging Your Thoughts - Use tools like these to package what you have

X. Blogging

What should you blog about? Try the trending issues going on in your area of expertise. Weigh-in, this is the platform you need to share your insight.
The trending articles in your field may not be founded in science, this is your opportunity to dispel myths. Or maybe you need to put your seal of approval on an article that provides sound insight
I use Weebly to power this site. It's drag and drop and super easy
I use Wordpress for the extedtechs.org site. The possibilities of what you can do with Wordpress are endless, probably why Wordpress accounts for almost 20% of all websites on the Internet.
There are so many website builder tools that make the job super simple

2 Comments

Victor Villegas

3/9/2017 04:59:13 pm

Good post, Paul. I'm not sure I totally agree with section one of your presentation, though. Yes, it is great when Extension professionals can provide information, but I'm not sure they need to be "Experts". I actually detest the designation. To me it implies an us vs. them mentality. Yes, as Extension professionals, we have a lot of information, research and university resources available we can share. However, we don't have a corner on the knowledge market or expertise anymore. We need to do more than just transfer our knowledge and "bring it to the public", as you state.

Extension needs to collaborate with communities to identify their issues and work together with them to find solutions to their problems. It needs to be a symbiotic relationship, co-creating knowledge. I know you know and believe this too but, we need to be very explicit and intentional about it.

Finally, striving to be unbiased as possible is great, but there is no one who is totally unbiased. We might be less biased than others, but EVERYONE has biases. Even research has inherent biases. Much of our research over the last century and a half was based on white demographics. How is that unbiased?

So, sorry if I'm coming across as too critical. I'm not trying to take away from your other great points, but I believe Extension has lost some of its relevance among the public because of years of the ivory tower mentality perpetuated by much of academia. Our world has changed and we don't have all the answers. We need to get off our high horse and be humble enough to recognize we need the public as much, or even more, than they need us. Only together can we hope to solve some of our greatest and most complex challenges. Maybe then, we can truly be called "Cooperative" Extension. :)

Thanks again for all you do for Extension. I appreciate your efforts and leadership in moving Extension forward. Keep up the good work!

Peter Little link

11/27/2017 05:48:07 am

Basically, the 'information flow' is nothing but the signal that the brain of an individual sends and obtains to involve in the discussions or exchange. I don't think all the organizational information are conveyable. Thus, a leader has to effectively manage the information flow that usually continues presenting provocations to the public tie-ups and maintaining the approach-oriented trade environment worldwide. It's not an easy task. In an establishment, the information normally flows in 5 directions- 1)Downward, 2)Upward, 3)Lateral, 4)Diagonal, and 5)External. Thus, a leader must take the appropriate strategies and follow the above tactics to keep the relevant information safe for the betterment of the corporation.

How to Manage Information Flow & Curate for Thought Leadership

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Paul Hill

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