Content Isn't King, Curation Is

Image: Screenshot from Oh Joy's Pinterest board "Pattern"

While logging into Vimeo to find some new intellectual fodder this evening, I realized something interesting: I look for videos more often than not simply by logging into the Vimeo homepage and scrolling through the staff picks. Whereas I used to frequently use the search bar on the site, i've now found that the staff picks give me much better returns than simply searching for things I think I'd like to watch. Sites like Vimeo and Etsy are very carefully curating content for their users in a way that is important to follow. Perhaps its more obvious than not, but the new web experience is curated, and the heaviest users are plugged into platforms that provide them with highly specialized content suited to their needs and interests.

If you've been following Pinterest the past few months in its sweep from early to late adoption, and before that the blogging community, then you probably already realize what is happening. People want to follow tastemakers and forecasters who can recommend the wares and services that feel edgy and cool without having to do the legwork in finding them. Digital newspapers and magazines, take note! Just check out the pinboards of those who follow major tastemakers, or better yet check out the number of repins, links, and comments on tastemakers' (e.g. Nashville-based Pennyweight or West Coast lass Oh Joy!) boards. Yep, this is quantifiable data demonstrating that something powerful is happening: people are selected content based not on what the brands are telling them, but on what the brand's new "spokespeople," i.e. the curators, are putting out to their networks. Sure, opinion leaders have always been important, but in today's economy of choice and information abundance, curation has become much more bottom-up than ever before. Many large brands have taken note, and are starting to hand a very small slice of their marketing pies over to the tastemakers in order to draw crowds. Take, for example, the new partnerships being forged between popular bloggers and the fashion community.

There's much more I could say here, but perhaps this is a good point to close. The lesson to learn here needs some qualification: collected content is not enough, but neither is filtered content. Users are seeking an experience that feels authentic, natural, and custom, but most don't want to spend forever searching for it. This is where curation comes in, and its a big money opportunity. We've only just begun to glean the surface of what might be possible and i'm interested to see what emerges next.