The Final Part is Here

August 12, 2021 In DISPATCHES By Camila Straschnoy

Hola!

As you know, the MATE HOUSE team and I are passionate about exploring ways in which brands are innovating to reach and teach and are consistently aware of the omnipresence of buzzwords. So let’s dive into a new conversation.

THE THREE Cs SERIES: CO- CREATION + CULTIVATION + CURATION

In the last newsletter, I focused on CULTIVATION, the second C in what I am calling, The Three Cs Series.I want to discuss the 3rd and final C – CURATION in this newsletter and why it is such a ubiquitous word these days. It gets a bad rap, all too often and well deserved, but what does one do when a word doesn’t have any legitimate synonyms?

At this point, it may be true that the word CURATION is a necessary evil, and it is a big topic, so I am going to tackle it a bit differently here. First, I will look at what it has meant historically. Then, I will tackle what most people think of when they hear the word curation today – online content.

As I’ve been doing on this THREE Cs SERIES, I will go over what curation is through a trend forecasting lens. I will apply the framework I use at work every day to pinpoint the human needs it addresses and which innovations are pointing towards what’s new+next.

True curating is a cultivated skill that takes time, dedication, a keen eye, expert communication, and an understanding of the zeitgeist. Whether it is a well-curated exhibit, product collection, or a weekly newsletter, curation done well is a creative process that is as much about contemplation as it is selection.

CURATION BASIC NEEDS:

When, by association, a person transfers the tastes of a well-known curator onto themselves, they are demonstrating Esteem needs.

Additionally, the basic need for Safety is met when brands, products, and services address consumer concerns over data privacy.

Although Convenience is not a classical basic need, curators save their audience time with their skilled selection process. With less time spent filtering through an overload of information, their audience has more free time to focus on other important needs.

WHAT IT HAS MEANT HISTORICALLY

CURATION (n): The action or process of selecting, organizing, and looking after the items in a collection or exhibition: The selection of performers or performances that will feature in an event, experience, program.

A qualified curator is one with the expertise of the subjects or objects at hand. In the case of retail, whether it be e-commerce or brick-and-mortar, curators need to be expert visual merchandisers of products and displays, and they must effectively communicate their taste and competencies through visual and verbal storytelling. Their knowledge-based skills are what sets curation apart from the more straightforward process of just choosing.

PURPOSE-LED CURATION

“We believe consumers are the new curators. That quality provides clarity. And “less, but better” can only lead to a kinder, smarter, more beautiful world.”

– Byron and Dexter Peart, founders of GOODEE

An example I like to give here is from retail. Nordstrom has been addressing its inequality issues with a series of new goals. One of them is collaborating with creators and cultural pioneers to help them resuscitate their image with “mindfully vetted” product selections.

“These brands and the products they offer help us meet the diverse needs of our customers while continuing to create the inspiration and discovery they expect to find when shopping at Nordstrom.” – Teri Bariquit, the chief merchandising officer at Nordstrom.

One such collaboration is with the award-winning designers and creators of GOODEE, Byron, and Dexter Peart. Their exquisite taste and support of global artisans producing have garnered praise worldwide. The consciously edited GOODEE 100@Nordstrom is a virtual marketplace with 100% transparently sourced, ethically made, and designed to last treasures, all available for under 100$. Each product’s description, the Shopping by Cause Feature, and the Culture Bundles sets offer education and the feeling of traveling vicariously.

ACTION POINT!

Cultural pioneers with tastemaker status can add a jolt of excitement to retailers in need of constant curation. This jolt should not merely be novel but inclusive, transparent, and sustainable as well. Which talented curator can you work with to give your brand a tastemaker revamp?

WHAT MOST PEOPLE THINK OF WHEN THEY HEAR THE WORD CURATION TODAY – ONLINE CONTENT

CURATION (n): The selection, organization, and presentation of online content, merchandise, information, etc., typically using professional or expert knowledge.

“The first big misunderstanding people have about curation is that it is actually valuable…Smart curation is about understanding the needs and interests of consumers, saving them time and giving them relevant value, people will pay for that service with money or their attention.” – Alex Lieberman, Cofounder @themorningbrew

I think, and I am sure that many of you all do as well, data still is so very impersonal – no one seems to be pleasantly surprised when an algorithm guesses their next move. So we are asking: How can curation weave the human factor back in?

FACILITATING INTER-APP CURATION

I am one of the beta-testers of Faves – look, they even put me on a graphic with Google icon and former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer! (Does that make me look smarter? At least it looks like I am! Lol). Jokes aside, I love the intersection of content the app offers, including links, writing, and audio. It’s been a great place to discover content and connect with creators in meaningful conversations on a deeper level. I’ve been sharing my newsletters on Faves and received great feedback, and I started so many interesting conversations around the topics I’ve been sharing more than on any other platform.

Developed by The Hive Social Network, Inc., Faves is a social platform where experts and leading creators share the content that fuels their thinking. The platform aggregates information from Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Medium, and more, enabling its selection of curators to scan and capture articles from across sources. They can then share their accumulated insights, tastes, and takeaways with their audience – and it does this ad-free. One way Faves’ technology is innovating in the social media engagement space is a feature that allows curators to add a voice note on a shared story, which a follower can then answer with an additional note, thus creating a dialogue thread.

ACTION POINT!

The seamless and engaging experience Faves offers its experts and users answers the call for a revolution in the use of social media. How can you take advantage of the post-pandemic land grab of opportunities that address organizing the overwhelm, facilitating a smooth user experience, bringing meaning back, and/or limiting or eliminating advertising?

CURATING “THE MEMORY PALACE OF THE METAVERSE”

“WENEW is the premier curator and provisioner of iconic moments. We immortalize culture’s most consequential moments on the blockchain, forever linking celebrated icons and their achievements with the collectors who admire them most. Moments in the WENEW collection are carefully curated with a discerning eye for their significance and impact on a global scale.”

WENEW is an NFT venture co-founded by digital artist Mike Winkelmann, more commonly known as Beeple (You may remember when he thrust NFTs into the mainstream with the $69-million sale of his digital masterpiece “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” at Christie’s auction). WENEW uses blockchain technology to curate and release NFTs of memorable moments in music, fashion, sports, politics, etc. TIME will serve as the primary curation partner and help WENEW identify the most iconic moments in culture to release on the platform.

I have to admit, I have never purchased any form of digital art. However, the curation coupled with the fact that select sales will come with a “once-in-a-lifetime experience — from dinner with a favorite artist to a one-on-one game with an all-star athlete” has piqued my interest

ACTION POINT!

WENEW has released a statement that says, “We recognize that we are handling shared cultural artifacts that affect each individual deeply and differently. Each WENEW moment pays reverence to the figures who made it possible as well as its original cultural context.” So let’s forget for a minute that it’s an NFT and look at this as the bigger picture. Curators have to be more than just selectors and passers-on of information: they need to understand the backstory of the information, the products they curate, and the context in which they are relevant for their audience and society. Who can you partner with to help you with the in-depth research and understanding of the zeitgeist needed to curate what is culturally relevant for your audience? Hint Hint… thematehouse.com

The art of curation isn’t new, nor is it a new concept. Curation is all about simplifying choice and optimizing satisfaction. In a world of endless options and abundance, and after going through a global pandemic that shifted our priorities and relationships with things, information, and time. As a result, mastering how to deliver outstanding and meaningful curation of products and information is a superpower. The players who understand curation as a service that will save their customer/audience/followers time by limiting choice and delivering meaning will win this race. Are you thinking about curation as a service when you do it? And, are you delivering meaningful curation? How? I would love to hear from you!

If you want to become a curator for upcoming newsletters, I challenge you to send me exciting innovations you come across! I will feature them and credit you on the spotting of it.