The Great “Curation” Scam

July 15, 2015

The Great “Curation” Scam

I hate the word “curation” as it applies to social media. It elevates the act of sharing other people’s content to a level it doesn’t deserve.

To be clear, I do see value in occasionally alerting your connections to content of value, regardless of the origin. Part of the equation of being a thought leader is getting out of the way when someone has said something better than you ever could and promoting ideas beyond the audience the author would be able to reach on his or her own. The key word in that sentence, however, is “part.” It should be a small addition to your social media strategy, not Your Entire Social Media Strategy.

The problem I see is that so many individuals and organizations are unwilling to do anything but curate (gag) while still claiming some level of thought leadership. This, of course, is asinine. The act of sharing something at a click, often after just a cursory perusal, doesn’t take much effort, especially compared to content creation, which requires time, knowledge, skill, and an opinion.

It’s time we start calling “curation” as a stand-alone social media strategy what it really is: laziness. Let’s not get too carried away by elevating something to an art form that’s really nothing more than an artificial stand-in for real work.