The Case for Curators...

We live in a World of Excessive Choice.

From shopping online to scrolling Netflix, our world is overflowing with options. Studies show the average person sees up to 10,000 ads and makes over 200 decisions daily. The sheer volume leads to decision paralysis, less satisfaction with choices, and missed discoveries of products we’ll truly enjoy.

Human curation has been around for thousands of years. However, we go through phases where we value curation and ignore curation. The tech-centric world believes that everything can be curated using AI. Personalisation platforms are meant to show you exactly what you like at the right time. How many things should we see at once? What is the optimum layout of those things?

I read an interesting study about Spotify curation last week and finished the article with many questions. As search engines get disrupted by AI, and we still have too many choices, will the curator return to the limelight? Are we benefitting from curation without giving the recognition curators deserve? After all - AI does not have taste. Someone will tell me this is coming - but I feel the same as I did in 2011 when I was asked about automating visual merchandising - you can’t automate taste.

• Spotify analyzed over 144 billion streams and found that 60% started from its curated playlists and albums. Curation-centered discovery drives 75% of listening time for most users.

  • The example below illustrates how one curator is developing playlists for Spotify, and his social media channels is experiencing rapid follower growth. As more music flows into the Spotify platform, more listeners are looking to curators for guidance on what to listen to / what to discover. Spotify charges the subscriber, playlist curation is a “free” benefit, and Earfeeder does not benefit financially from this contribution. Should he?

What makes a playlist important or any form of curation? Curation creates a new form of intentionality. When you dive into someone’s curatorial view - you get a snapshot of their world or interests.

The Value of Curators - Then and Now

Historically, curators, critics, and editors played essential roles, from selecting the finest philosophical works to displaying them in museums. Today’s digital landscape doesn't eliminate the need for curation - it amplifies it. However, it is becoming a passive consumption byproduct when it shouldn’t. When we look at the rotten tomatoes score next to a film - it is a commoditised data point versus a collection of human views on the film. The score and thousands of others strip out the human aspect of curation, favouring UI simplicity.

Across industries, third-party curators and influencers guide purchases more than ever. Over 92% of moviegoers consult reviews, driving billions in box office revenue.

Apple's App Store editors showcase apps leading developers to earn over $500 billion over the past decade.

Even in fashion, the struggling multi-brand retailers curate clothing and accessory assortments with a point of view on what one should wear - favouring one brand over another. Buyers used to be celebrities, but now they are back office jobs.

Let’s look at the impact of curation and why it is so essential.

• A Stanford study found that people exposed to more product options online were less likely to make purchases. Only 3% bought when there were 24 options versus 6% buying with 6 options.

• Research by TiVo found over 85% of TV watchers felt overwhelmed by viewing options across streaming and cable. The average person takes 7 minutes to pick something to watch.

• Researchers in 2000 found that 401(k) plan participants were 1.5-2 times more likely to invest in their company's stock when offered ten fund options versus 34. More choices led to more risk concentration.

We rarely see curation as a commercial or strategic benefit, yet the data is widely available.

Brand Retention

• 73% of customers who receive accurate recommendations are more loyal to the brand or service, surfacing relevant options. (Econsultancy)

• Email newsletters incorporating personalized curation see up to 2-3 times higher open and click-through rates, which correlates to long-term retention. (MarketingSherpa)

Customer Satisfaction

• 64% of shoppers say having products "curated for my needs" improves their satisfaction with a retailer. They like effortful curation based on their interests. (SmarterHQ)

• In one survey, over 76% said curated products or content are more likely to meet their quality standards and satisfaction benchmarks. (MDC Research)

Customer Experience

• Research shows customers exposed to algorithm-only recommendations have 14% lower perceptions of their experience versus those who get some curation input from a human expert. (Gartner)

• 73% prefer to buy gifts from stores where staff recommend options based on needs over generic gift shops. Getting curated picks from staff improves the experience. (Percolate)

Average Spend

• Apparel shoppers guided by personalized styling and curation services spend 2-3 times more on average per transaction. The tailored picks lead to larger hauls. (McKinsey)

• Across retail categories, customers guided by sales associates providing curated recommendations had 12% larger order values than those who browsed independently. (WBR Insights)

So, what are the different ways we should consider curation as a service?

How Curation Helps Businesses:

• Drives Discoverability & Sales - Curated products get more visibility, leading to increased purchases

• Provides Quality Control - Curation weeds out low-quality/unsafe products and surfaces the best options

• Builds Trust & Loyalty - Consistent curation aligns with a brand's values and focus, building consumer trust

How Curation Helps Brands:

• Shapes Brand Identity - Brands that curate content and products reinforce their desired branding

• Attracts Influencers - Brands recognized for curation draw influence from critics, media and vocal fans

• Sparks Word-of-Mouth - The social currency of curated items leads fans to spread the brand organically

How Curation Helps Consumers:

• Saves Time & Reduces Overload - Pre-filtered curated choices save effort evaluating endless options

• Reduces Risk - Relying on curated options minimizes the chance of dissatisfaction or issues

• Provides Discovery - Curated selections cater to specific interests and exposes consumers to new finds

• Offers Education - Curators provide context and perspective to improve consumer knowledge on topics

How should we look at curation in a world where AI is in the mix?

Apparently, Google will be disrupted by Perplexity.ai, which serves up the perfect search result. The days of scrolling through pages of text links are over. Is that what we want? 🙀 A single result doesn’t satisfy me - what is the optimum number of results we should see, and can curation help there?

There are some industry standards - many of which are ignored when you think about the average browsing experience ( Amazon being the most offensive ).

• Film/TV - A study by Netflix found that personalized recommendation pages showing between 50-100 titles had the highest levels of engagement and content selected versus pages with fewer or more options.

• Retail - Several studies converge around an ideal range of 6-12 purchase options shown at one time online or in-store. Any fewer limits discovery for some while much over 12 contributes to shoppers feeling overwhelmed.

• News - Looking specifically at headlines on news aggregation sites, optimal engagement occurs when around 5-7 top recommended articles are shown, according to Parse.ly, based on analyzing data across thousands of sites.

• Music - Spotify uncovered that personalized music recommendation playlists work best when constrained to 25-40 songs simultaneously. This prevents listeners from tuning out yet gives enough variety.

• Dating - In speed dating events with people meeting quickfire serial dates, researchers found participants felt best about their prospects for matchmaking when they engaged with 7-10 potential partners.

AI has huge potential to augment and enhance curation, not replace the need for human judgment entirely.

There is great synergy between AI and human curation:

Even Perplexity's Gary Fowler says the need is "intelligent search", not pure AI search.

AI Assists Curation at Scale

• AI can mine data to surface potential books, products, articles, etc, fit for a curator to evaluate. This grants them a wider pool of candidates to review versus a manual search.

• Natural language generation allows AI to create draft write-ups for curators to refine and finalize based on their perspective. This multiplies their reach.

• By handling large-scale data sorting, AI grants curators more time to focus on discerning more nuanced fits and providing richer context to followers.

Curators Add Judgment and Context

• Curators can leverage their expertise and past reader/customer data to determine if an AI-generated recommendation or data insight matches audience interests or not.

• Human curators can still introduce serendipity and unpredictability, which algorithms struggle with. This leads to delightful "surprise discoveries" for audiences.

• Curators excel at explaining why something is worth a person's time and attention based on current events, personal context, etc. AI falls short there.

I think curators will start playing more meaningful roles in our lives - one where we have an overt appreciation for their value and the time it takes to be an expert in culture, finance, news, etc.

If we play it forward five years, what might happen?

1. More Influence Over Purchases

As consumers get overloaded by options, third-party curators on YouTube, Instagram, and personalized subscription services will see their product recommendations directly translate into over 50% of user purchases. Their discerning eyes will be indispensable filters.

2. Higher Income Potential

The best curators will command 6 figure incomes between directly monetizing their content through tips or subscriptions and providing official curation services to brands. Appreciation for their human judgment will grow. Even AI search platforms may pay for curators.

3. Mainstream Media Positions

Major outlets and publications will begin featuring curators, critics, and tastemakers alongside traditional journalists as they influence public opinion and interest. Curatorial thinking will permeate reporting and storytelling.

4. Curator Certifications

Educational programs, workshops, and institutes focused on developing world-class curators will emerge to transfer the discernment skills needed in the digital era. Being a certified curator will signal expertise.

5. More Inclusive Choices

Curator rosters will grow more diverse, with consumers increasingly seeking out curators who share their cultural backgrounds, viewpoints, and life experiences. In turn, their collections will broaden the mainstream.

If you want to dive into the user experience design landscape, many organisations are forecasting a future with augmented experiences focused on improving our digital experience. A few examples below - 👇🏻

Personalized Discovery - Gartner predicts by 2025, over 80% of digital experiences will leverage AI to enhance personalization, but require dedicated UX roles for curating and elevating the most relevant picks tailored to users and contexts. For example, using algorithms to generate a wide pool of stories for a news app, human editors then determine the top 3-5 stories per person to feature upfront.

Hybrid Search - Microsoft's FUSE research group developed an AI + human-in-the-loop system called Querium, which generated many search query suggestions for complex questions that editors could select from to yield more relevant results. Early testing found this increased answer satisfaction by 23% over fully manual or purely algorithmic search.

Evolving Interests - Spotify mentions in a whitepaper that to keep serving fresh content as user interests change, musical tastes need dedicated "curators-in-chief" supported by data to track shifts in what resonates over time, rather than pure algorithms reacting to consumption. This blend ensures relevance even as people and culture evolve.

To sum it up -

The human touch matches products to our surface-level interests and deeper preferences shaped by past experiences. Curator selections often have rich context on why something meets current needs. This breeds familiarity and trust in the curated picks. Curators and the role of a curator will become more valuable over time. I keep reading that we are heading back to 2000 as the internet fragments, and I think this is true. Curation is a part of that. Do you remember when film critics had their mainstream TV show?

Ultimately, the enormous choice brought by the digital age has clear benefits. But it also makes the skill of curators more crucial. The brands, reviewers and taste-makers elevating the most relevant, differentiated choices provide value wherever excessive options exist. And no algorithm can replicate personalized human discernment.

The next time you start your Spotify experience with a playlist - think about how many hours someone spent listening to those tracks ahead of time while elegantly organizing them for your listening enjoyment.