The case for digital curation as a service
In an influential essay published in Harper’s Magazine, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese explains his concern that the art of cinema is devalued and demeaned when it’s all reduced to “content.” Since part of that reduction comes from streaming services depending on advanced technologies, Scorsese advocates for human curation over algorithms. He writes:
Curating isn’t undemocratic or “elitist,” a term that is now used so often that it’s become meaningless. It’s an act of generosity—you’re sharing what you love and what has inspired you. (The best streaming platforms, such as the Criterion Channel and MUBI and traditional outlets such as TCM, are based on curating—they’re actually curated.) Algorithms, by definition, are based on calculations that treat the viewer as a consumer and nothing else.
Scorsese has got the point. Although he finds the term “content” problematic, he’s principally not against streaming or producing content. He simply argues that streaming services should start relying upon people to curate their content libraries rather than outsourcing it to algorithms. In other words, curation is the ultimate key to discovering.
Let’s admit it loud and clear. The amount of content to consume is boundless, and the conundrum of where to spend one’s valuable time is only getting more challenging. YouTube alone boasts almost 500 hours of video uploaded every single minute. Every day there’s a new podcast published, a news story written, or a blog post released. However, the fact is that not every piece of content is worth reading, watching, discovering, or sharing. Do you want to spend time on content that brings no value to you?
As the quantity of content increases dramatically every day, content curation becomes one of the most sought-after value propositions in the media industry. Curating great content for a particular niche is also a key to building communities and generating eyeballs.
Yet, curating is not a shortcut to creating content. Good curators spend a considerable amount of time digging through the endless web to find the best resources for a given topic. And spend even more time formatting what they found.
Think of it this way — content is the song you love; curation is the playlist your friend designed for you, which not only creates a new connection between you and your friend but also multiplies the experience by 20 with the 20 new songs you’ve just discovered. Curating the most engaging content is a great way to make positive momentum towards your relations with people, and the ways to do it are limitless.
Empowered by the creative economy, Wiser is a social curation platform and discovery tool for new digital media formats such as podcasts, videos, and articles. It is an interactive catalog for great content hand-curated by a community of experts, insiders, and aficionados. On Wiser, in real-time, you can discover curations created by your friends, family, colleagues, and intellectual influencers — who we call "Wisers."
Wiser connects people within an intellectual context and inspires them to create authentic connections. Wiser provides an elegant social media experience, free from noise.
Now, go ahead and curate great content for yourself and others. Share what you love and what has inspired you. Join Wiser, your intellectual community.