Steve Rosenbaum, author of Curation Nation, addressed effective curation online. The key takeaway: humans are going to replace algorithms because they’re better at culling for information. This presents a real opportunity for brands and e-commerce sites who want to host the conversation.


Here’s a recap of his talk and some of my thoughts on what he said:

-The role of the curator is to let people tell their own stories, which is more powerful than telling it for them. The role is to be a finder and a filterer.

-The era that is ending is the “Me Web.” We are now entering the “We Web.”

Note: I didn’t really agree with this point, especially in the face of personalized search results and recommendation engines. Listen to this talk from Eli Pariser about the rise – and danger – of online filter bubbles. Rosenbaum didn’t get into this flip side, but I think it’s also something to keep in mind.

-More than 50% of people say they’re connected to the web from the moment they wake up until they go to sleep. (I’m totally guilty of this, by the way.) The signal-to-noise ratio is out of whack. We’re not slackers, but we’re now at a tipping point, which is why we take too long to respond to e-mails and are getting less sleep. Volume is swamping our ability to manage. Remember when we surfed the web? That charming idea? There is no web to surf. The waves are too damn big.

-Say Goodbye to Search. Google dissolved its “Search” division this month, renaming it the knowledge division. If Google isn’t using the term search anymore, why are we? Google’s reworked search algorithm (Panda) even deleted Google Places from its own results as it tries to figure out quality. Point being: it’s messy, and it’s going to be messier.

-The world needs thoughtful filters. Humans replace algorithms. Ideas replace data.
Humans are better at curating and offering quality information – think Keith Urbahn, who broke the Osama Bin Laden news on Twitter before most anyone else. He was a reputable figure with a good source – good qualities for a curator.

-The good news? This is a business opportunity for us. In a world of infinite noise, people start saying they want less. Another example: Airline travel aggregators and websites are so confusing and obnoxious and pop-up heavy now that it makes you want to use a travel agent. More people are saying, “I want a human editor, trusted brand partner, and a site that refers me to helpful information.” There is a big opportunity to own the conversations revolving around your site, e-commerce or otherwise.

- Successful curators have a VOICE and a PASSION for their subject.

-Are you a publisher? You don’t have a choice. You are.

-We’re all creators. This creates amazing opportunities and noise. The web becomes a human network. It’s not Facebook. It’s not Google. It’s not Apple. It’s us.

-Rosenbaum’s prediction: In 5 years, there will be no difference between e-commerce sites and information sites. Best Buy will no longer expect users to do camera research on a manufacturer site and then come back to Best Buy to make the purchase. It’ll all happen on their own site. (Think Amazon, which already has photos, videos, reviews and clearly purchased Zappos for a reason.) Content and commerce fit neatly together. When you’re ready to buy, you’re also ready to learn.

(Based on a session at Confab 2011: The Content Strategy Conference, held in Minneapolis, MN May 9 – 11.)