Curation
The art of creating value by providing context and meaning to apparently disconnected information bits
Robin Good and
Curation
You can’t curate by accident.
You can only curate something for which you have a deep interest for.
In other words: If you don’t love it, you can’t curate it.
Yes: Curators love what they curate.
Arguably, algorithms already curate the information that we encounter online. They are, as Kevin Slavin puts it, “like an invisible architecture that underpins almost everything that’s happening” (Slavin, 2011). In doing so, they reshape how our culture works and how we understand the world. Unlike Brand, whose view of the curating done by the... See more
Curating the Digital World: Past Preconceptions, Present Problems, Possible Futures | MW2013: Museums and the Web 2013
Can curation be algorithmic or should it be human?
The curator relationship operates at a fundamentally different psychological level than advertising. An algorithm might know you like blue Oxford shirts, but a tastemaker knows why a particular blue Oxford matters in a lineage of blue Oxfords. This contextual knowing, placing objects in historical and cultural frameworks rather than recommendation... See more
Sarah Johnson • Issue 007: The Curation Renaissance
To understand is to enter into a relationship with people, with things, with ideas. AI can imitate the language of relationships, but it stands outside of them. Our task is to keep knowledge alive by remaining in conversation with the world that gives it meaning.
The Meaning of an Apple
Such proximity to information and audience gives the curator of the digital world an opportunity to wield substantial power. Influential online leaders gain credibility because, over time, they establish themselves as competent and credible through demonstrating a commitment to a group’s goals or purpose; by being centrally placed within a network... See more
Curating the Digital World: Past Preconceptions, Present Problems, Possible Futures | MW2013: Museums and the Web 2013
A curator’s authority comes not from personal relatability, but from perspective, context, discernment, and intellectual labour that has since been lacking in recent social media years. That authority is epistemic, not interpersonal as they reduce cognitive load and sort signal from noise. In other words, they cannot credibly hawk sheet masks or... See more
the influencer won't last 2026. here's why.
Don’t get fooled. Although curation can save very significant time to those who benefit from it, it positively does not save any time at all to the curators who exercise it.
We are living through the emergence of a new business category which I believe will become an important part of our digital lives: community-curated knowledge networks
(a thread on why) https://t.co/ZNg3FHiGUD
Algorithms reward instant gratification, though your audience may prefer more depth and insights.
To stay visible, focus on synthesizing without losing depth.
To stay visible, focus on synthesizing without losing depth.