Startup theme: Curation

One of the most prevalent themes that has been popping up in startup business models these days is curation. When I was a kid, the words 'curation' and 'curator' were associated most closely with museums, in that curators selected the content for exhibitions, baesd on their expertise in a particular area. Today, curation and curating have integrated into our daily lives without us even realizing. With so much information at our fingertips and the lack of time or desire to read it all, the need for curation has skyrocketed. We are constantly trying to answer the questions: how do I know which of this information is worth reading, and what is crap? What do I want to re-tweet, share and forward on to my friends because it's interesting or because it makes my brand stronger?

The most organic and unnoticed form of curation has been around since the birth of Facebook in 2004: social media and sharing of information through friends. Watching movies on Youtube and reposting the funniest one on Facebook  is a form of curation, for instance. Nowadays you would never walk into a random restaurant without a recommendation. The selection process would involve Yelping, checking on Facebook to see if anyone had recommended it or going to a recommendations page you trusted. Our friends share stuff with us, thereby guiding what we read and process. As we process information, we too are unconciously curating - we may trawl through many sites, blogs, articles and tweets a day but only 'on-share' the very funniest emails or most incisive articles with our own communities (or we might selectively pass on different information to different groups in our networks). The rise of the blog over the past few years has also supported the ease of curating, providing a perfect forum to curate products, ideas, and experiences.

Nowadays though, curation is truly becoming a revenue generating business model. Businesses have sprouted up to help us filter the vast waves of information and the sheer amount of stuff that comes our way daily. (It is not just information on the Internet which we need to filter and curate, but also the  products available for us to purchase - Americans today have more choice than any other country or generation in history. Even picking out a deodorant is sometimes overwhelming for me.) Apparently this was a challenge to others as well, because one day someone started a company which curated actual products and sent out monthly boxes to subscribers. Birchbox was one of the first to do this with makeup and skincare products, in their words, "a curated box of luxe beauty samples."

The coolest companies out there in the business of curation make it fun. Now there is Quarterly, where you can subscribe for curated care packages which are "engaging and have good taste". Subscribers don't technically need any of these things, but they are surprising and delightful "...and meet some standard of interestingness and originality." Others have made a business of curating happenings, culture, art and technology within a particular area. Cool Hunting seeks to provide inspiration by sifting through innovations in design, technology, art and culture for their readers. GOOD combines user input with curation through "Good Finder" where they invite users to "post anything inspirational, thought-provoking, mind-blowing, or otherwise good to share..." These submissions are then curated by GOOD's editorial team.

While the saying "there is no accounting for taste" is old and perhaps true, curation as a viable business relies on having the clout, expertise or track record to get people to shell out money because they trust or share your taste. In other words, what you recommend better be good. My sense is that many of these businesses started organically, with the Founders sharing something they were passionate about, and then realizing that being an expert in something that you are passionate about, and sharing that with the world through curation was actually a viable revenue stream. What could be better than having a day job that is all about sharing the things you love and think are interesting, with other people?