Unlike vertical search aggregators, boutique search engines feel less like the Yellow Pages and more like texting your friends to ask for a recommendation. They have constrained supply, which is the foundation for their biggest moat: trust .
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 "Writing Like You Talk" Principle: For curators and creators, building a connection and trust with an audience involves writing in a conversational tone, which mirrors the way people talk in their own heads, making the information feel more personal and credible
To understand the role of a curator today, think of a sieve in a gold rush: the AI provides the massive pile of silt and sand (the data), but the curator's "taste" is the mesh that allows the worthless dirt to fall through while catching the rare, valuable nuggets of gold. Without the sieve, you just have a pile of dirt; with it, you have a... See more
CFC: What advice would you give to aspiring curators just starting their careers?
JA: I would say: cultivate a practice rooted in curiosity, listening, and long-term commitment. Curating is not only about articulating ideas, it is about building the conditions for others to create, experiment, and be heard. This requires patience, care, and the... See more