"Curation is the sibling of aggregation"

by phil on Friday Dec 4, 2009 9:49 PM

Curation is the sibling of aggregation, a word that the web has know for a while. Aggregation means gathering; finding all videos with the key words "Easter Supper" in them. But as more devices like cell phones are used to create content (video of a hotel room, a tweet from a rock concert, an audio post from a political protest) gathering no longer adds value. In fact, aggregation can equal aggravation.

I agree with the direction of this article. The media needs to stop worrying about the way things were, and start thinking about creating value going forward. What is valuable to consumers today?

A mountain of user-generated content actually enhances the appeal of a good curator. Whereas before, you had a few sources of good writing accessible to you, now that you have a thousand times more, you really need excellent editors/curators.

I wonder if this is what makes The New Yorker such an enduring brand. You can't, in my opinion, find such a high density of writing worth reading anywhere else.