Earlier this year, I wrote a post on Google+ and how, as a small business and architecture firm, we use social media platforms, such as Facebook, Google+ and Twitter for opportunities to learn, share, and find inspiration from like-minded people and organizations from across the globe.

Since today is Blog Action Day, with this year's theme being 'the Power of We', it seemed appropriate to revisit this community-oriented topic with more details on a practice that leverages the shared knowledge of interested, informed and passionate individuals in an online forum: content curation.

Collaboration is essential to the architectural process, and it can be as valuable in the realm of digital media, where shared knowledge, the exchange of ideas and connectivity serve to educate, communicate and innovate.

As LEED Accredited Professionals, we do our best to stay up to date with the latest green technologies and news, share our findings here at our blog, and incorporate sustainable strategies into MYD's projects as much as possible.

Staying informed and current on such an evolving field requires a significant amount of research and time. To supplement the traditional methods of sourcing accurate and meaningful information for our own knowledge base, as well as to inform the content shared here at MYD blog, curation is a great tool.

Connecting with others and incorporating the shared expertise of colleagues and like-minded contacts enables a more comprehensive understanding of any given issue, and the thoughtful use of curated information enables the discovery of new, relevant resources and insights.

An increasingly popular form of online media, curation is the practice of finding, filtering and sharing the most useful, topic-specific content online, a time-consuming endeavor for any single person, but when applying the shared interests and commitment of like-minded and knowledgeable individuals, it can be a very powerful tool that exemplifies 'the power of we'.

For more on content curation, including a discussion of the added benefits and best practices, stop by Scoop.it, the platform I use to share my favorite finds on sustainable architecture and green streets. As a recently featured curator in the Scoop.it Spotlight series, I had the opportunity to share my experience and thoughts on curating, including a discussion of the added benefits and best practices.

View the article here, and stop by the Scoop Spotlight page for more ideas, applications and benefits from other curators in this ongoing series. To view curated posts on sustainable architecture and green streets, as well as visual data and green infographics, visit my profile page or check out the topics I follow for sources of information and inspiration.

Additionally, to learn about Blog Action Day and how participants from over 60 countries interpreted the theme of the Power of We, visit the official website and take a look at some of the links...

Many thanks for reading and feel free to get in touch or connect online!

Cheers, Lauren