What is “curated”?
“Curator” is not a new word. I’ve heard it used in relation to museums and art galleries all my life. According to merriam-webster.com, a “curator” is:
one who has the care and superintendence of something
However, I’ve seen the word “curate” pop up in two new contexts in the past month or so. The first time was in a recent CNNMoney.com article that I commented on in a post last month. It referred to U.S. Best Buys as taking a “curated” approach to retail: Best Buy looks at all the electronics products available and chooses certain products and brands to put on their shelves. That is “curating” a retail space. Think about how different chains carry different brands and how you can NEVER find New York Vanilla ice cream at Wal-Mart, only Target and DANG IT TARGET CLOSED HALF AN HOUR AGO.
…okay, I’m calm. Anyhow, I saw the term “curated” in a subtly different context today: a geekosystem.com articleabout the upcoming Nintendo handheld, the 3DS. Apparently Nintendo will host a “curated content” short-form video service for the 3DS. This means that Nintendo will make active decisions about what to offer on the service and when. Movie trailers, game trailers, interviews, advertisements… all of it will be intentionally selected to further Nintendo’s goals while appealing to their target audience.
“Curating” content and retail offerings is part of a trend towards businesses consciously maximizing every resource. Has this “curating” existed forever? Of course! TV networks, newspapers, a sales catalogues have always “curated” their content. But by boiling it down to a buzzword we can put new emphasis on this facet of business. Now where’s my New York Vanilla ice cream?
