Page 8 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report

8being curates his life, moment by moment, by deciding constantly what to pay attention to, instead of letting habits, traditions, prejudices, fears or others in uence and decide it for him.But what happens when a human being lives in a digital information economy where there are literally billions of alternative routes, products, strategies and ideas to choose from?We can lter, select and choose e ectively only when there are few alternatives and when their key characterizing traits are clearly and easily identi able.But we have much greater di culty in making choices when:a) we are not quite competent with the eld we are approachingb) suddenly the alternatives are tens or hundreds,c) their characterizing and di erentiation traits are not so obvious to us.In such situations the only e ective survival strategy is learning to be skeptical, and to develop an inquisitive mind. One that asks lots of questions and honestly attempts to look at reality from di erent, sometimes opposing, angles.Critically analyzing di erent viewpoints and interpretations of a speci c issue is the best way to better understand any problem and to evalu- ate the best available strategies to resolve it.But while it is easy and natural for us to do this when we are familiar and competent with the matter at hand, things change a great deal when we want to learn something new, or we approach a eld of interest we know little or nothing about.It is in these situations that we look for and appreciate the contribution from a trusted,expert guide who can provide us with “intellec- tual binoculars”. Virtual eyes that can see further and deeper into the issue than we can.We look for someone who is not just a sub- ject-matter expert, but who has also a passion for analyzing, investigating, asking questions and verifying things before drawing conclusions or sharing advice.The 21st-century content curator is a passionate subject-speci c scholar, who enjoys nding, collecting and sharing best resources, news, info or tools on a speci c theme while transparently sharing his bias, prejudices, preferences and disclosing his ties.But we don’t look just for “any” expert. We are attracted more by those experts that we can empathize with. Someone who shares, at least in part, some of our goals, values, ethics and ideals.Here he is: the 21st-century content curator. A passionate subject-speci c scholar, who enjoys nding, collecting and showcasing/sharingbest resources, news, info or tools on a speci c theme / topic / issue / event while transparently sharing his bias, prejudices, preferences and disclosing his ties.Not a newspaper or magazine editor, nor an artor museum curator. A content curator is related to these professionals, but only inasmuch as a mo- torcycle rider is to a Formula 1 pilot or to a cycling champion. They all race, but their skills, training focus, and required abilities are quite di erent.A content curator is in fact much more than a simple editor, as many people may think.If you look close enough, there are some clear di erences between the two:a) Curation strives to highlight and distill what is most interesting, representative, rare and unique on a speci c theme, subject, issueCONTENT CURATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE. CURATION FOR DIGITAL HERITAGE · ROBIN GOODSmart culture. Analysis of digital trends