Curate This! summary

Think you’d make a good curator? Well, let’s put you to the test. To become a successful curator, there are five key abilities you’ll need.

First – and this might surprise you – a good content curator needs to be able to create good content, too. After all, if you’re merely organizing content, you’re nothing more than an information redistributor. The Huffington Post combines content curation and creation talent by supplementing the links and articles from the web that they round up with new, original articles and invitations for audience contribution as well.

Have you heard of BuzzFeed? Whether you’re a regular reader or have just seen the URL on your newsfeed from time to time, it’s worth taking a closer look at this social news and entertainment website. Why? Because it attracts a whopping 150 million visitors each month.

BuzzFeed is one of the most successful examples of content curation, and there are a few ingredients crucial to their success.

Let’s take a closer look at the curation process itself. What strategies are available to content curators today? Well, there are several models that make for brilliant curation. The two main approaches are aggregation and distillation.

Aggregation is about gathering content about a certain topic and combining it in one easily accessible location. The BuzzFeed listicle is one example of how the aggregation model can be applied to create succinct, snappy content.

Ever feel frustrated by the amount of spam that inevitably weasels its way into your inbox? You’re certainly not alone. The average internet user today is pickier than ever. Why? Because companies are pressuring us from every direction with digital marketing.

It seems that everyone is after your views on the internet these days. This only serves to distract us from the content that we’re really looking for. In order to cut through the noise, users have been forced to become more and more selective – and new online services have even stepped in to help.