The Internet has empowered the consumer, enabled the small business, and challenged the credibility of the corporation. Throughout the last decade, we’ve witnessed the tremendous growth of the Internet–and of society’s dependence on it. But with this evolution has also come the increase of information and data–of content–on the web. And more content means more sifting through results, and ultimately, more wasted time searching for that Diamond in the Rough.
Content curation addresses and solves this problem.
As more content is being posted to the web on a daily basis, as the presence of brands, businesses, and consumers on social networks is increasing, and as more people are labeling themselves “Experts,” the need for content curation has become apparent. And there is no doubt that the importance of this will increase in the near future. “Content Curation” will soon become a word used in everyday language, like “Googling” and “Card Catalog.”
Why is curated content so crucial for a business?
It’s time efficient. And time is money. For many, time is important, limited, and extremely valuable. And time-lost can often be a bigger deal than money-spent. With curated content, a user doesn’t have to waste time sifting through irrelevant search results before finding what she intended; she is served an organized and curated set of information specific to the brand, audience, or other desire.
It increases leads (and therefore sales and profit). Curated content provides the user with more relevant content, which increases the probability of generating more worthwhile leads and ultimately, enables more successful sales. And the user has more time to for this stage because they aren’t wasting time sifting through irrelevant results.
It increases the value of a business or product. More time, more leads, and more profit ultimately means more value. A business becomes more valuable. The reputation of a brand becomes more valuable.
And I believe that proving value with curated content–and communicating that value to the audience–is what may monetize the publishing world’s Digital Revolution. The widespread challenge in the industry has been making money online; but many businesses and consumers may eventually pay for curated content if that content is quality. And if a publisher can turn that around and prove it to his advertisers, they’ll probably pay more for ad placement and/or CPM.
But the public first must understand the concept of content curation: When one walks into a library, he doesn’t just walk up to a shelf and read the binding of every book to find the one for which he’s looking; instead, he uses the [electronic] card catalog. The catalog provides him with the exact location of the exact book he wants. So why, then, shouldn’t this be the same on the Internet? If someone is looking for specific content, why might they search for that content and be served false positives, such as a URL with a word in the content’s title? The card catalog doesn’t direct one to such results. So, as the Dewey Decimal System was created to simplify the search for content in a library, content curation exists to simplify the existence of relevant and important information on the Internet.
