Aggregation vs. Curation: Which is Right for You?
More and more publishers are looking outside their organizations to find the best content that will complement their own and meet the growing requirements of their readers. The terms content aggregation and content curation are often used interchangeably to describe these efforts, but there are some subtle differences between the two. By recognizing these differences and using the correct term, digital publishers can more effectively communicate with their staff and editorial teams about their goals and plans.
Content Aggregation involves two steps: (1) identifying the most relevant content sources for the specific context, (2) collecting and presenting to readers everything that these content sources publish. At the consumer level, the most recognized content aggregation product is the RSS reader, which allows users to specify the sources they wish to follow and then see everything that those sources publish.
Often, content aggregation is enough for a publisher to add relevant external content to their site. However, you won’t always want to present everything from a given source, but rather be more selective. That’s where content curation comes in.
The word curator usually brings forth images of museum curators who use their understanding of the museum’s visitors and their considerable expertise in art to select the specific pieces that are most likely to be appealing to their audience. A content curator’s responsibility is not very different. Content Curation, then, is the act of selecting individual pieces of content that are most relevant to the subject matter and audience. On a consumer level, every time someone shares a link via email, Twitter, Facebook or other favorite sharing tool, they are, effectively practicing content curation.
Content curation can either be done manually, by reviewing all content that is aggregated, or automatically, by setting rules and search parameters and allowing an algorithm to pick the best content pieces. There are several platforms available that will offer you the ability to aggregate content from selected sources and several of those platforms allow you to set rules and parameters for further filtering this content. Lingospot’s Algorithmic Publishing Platform provides rich capabilities for both automated and manual content curation.
Both aggregation and curation can help you enrich your readers’ experience on your website or blog by collecting additional content from a variety of trusted and pertinent sources. The level of filtering/targeting and the amount of time you can invest in finding the best content for your readers will ultimately determine the best method for your needs.
Photo credit for fish school: Luko Gecko on Flickr.
