we are all curating
Cavalconte said. "Curation is now companionship." That statement made me think about how algorithmic feeds are absent as companions: they just surface a piece of content and leave you alone with it until you lose patience and decide to skip to the next song or video.
— Filterworld, pg. 254
“Knowledge itself is power,” Francis Vacon wrote in the sixteenth century, but in the Internet era, sorting knowledge might be even more powerful. Information is now easy to find in abundance; making sense of it, knowing which information is useful, is much harder.
— Filterworld, Kyle Chayka
Digital platforms are largely devoted to making users consume more, faster—think of TikTok’s frenetic “For You” feed or Spotify’s automated playlists. Curators slow down the unending scroll and provide their followers with a way of savoring culture, rather than just inhaling it, developing a sense of appreciation.
archive.ph
Is consumerism ingrained in my very being, or does an algorithm steer me toward materialism? Why do we admire empty spaces as status symbols, yet criticize the rich for seeming disconnected from society and living exclusive lives? Perhaps a snapshot of a lavish hotel room holds more allure because it promises something tangible, unlike the depth of... See more
A Major Regret in My Life: My Camera Roll
so many automated feeds dictated by corporations more so than users, gradually forming a more passive relationship between users and the content feed
— Filterworld, Kyle Chayka
This curator dynamic treads dangerously close to “gate-keeper,” systematically narrowing the range of perspectives being promoted to the masses. Curatorial power in the hands of a privileged elite has never not been problematic.
Beware the Curators
A fineline between curator and gatekeeper
We are in a transitional phase of digital culture, and thus more in need than ever of friendly faces, personable human guides (not unlike a “stalker” in the Zone), to help us navigate this treacherous ground. Such guides go by many names—call them influencers, or content creators, or just “this one guy I follow.” Guided by their own cultivated sens... See more
Kyle Chayka • The New Generation of Online Culture Curators | The New Yorker
The proliferation of “curating” speaks of a generation anxious for authority and authorship, and also for meaning.
- Lou Stoppard, Writer
“first-order” sources - love that