I think there's a lot of skill involved in being a good curator that can sometimes be underestimated and undervalued. Someone who curates well should in theory help people feel less overwhelmed. If I trust someone's point of view, I want them to keep doing what they do to help distill from the endless possibilities into at least a manageable selection not necessarily for me to consume all of it but to then pick and choose from myself. In the age of AI and algorithms I think good old fashioned human curation is worth even more when done well, IMO.
Funnily, I'm thinking of the phrase "it's not you, it's me". I could be presented with the same amount of choice but depending on what's happening in my life, it could feel like too much or like a treat. (Related: when I got off IG, more things started feeling like the latter.)
Thanks for the food for thought! (and the kitten GIF!)
I've been struggling with this as well! I've decided that talking about what I am reading (watching, listening to) and inviting conversation, offering deep dives into books instead of just "reviews" will be more enriching for me and hopefully the reader - then they can ignore what doesn't interest them and hopefully engage in a less overwhelming way. We will see!!
Good point. I even feel this way about books. That “can’t catch up” feeling when I open a newsletter with endless reviews. It starts seeming like a chore instead of a delight to find out about new titles.
Reminds of the famous Flight Club quote "We buy things we don't need, with money we don't have, to impress people we don't like." It's from the 90's when social media didn't even exist and yet so relevant still(even more so)today.
I relate so much to what you wrote, and yet I really value a nice recommendation. Thanks to you I have finally started watching The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel, and it’s great!
To deal with the overwhelm, I have endless lists of books, series and movies I want to consume as well as all my saved podcast episodes and YouTube videos. Writing certain recommendations down or saving stuff for later helps me shortcut this need of watching something immediately. And when I’m bored it’s helpful to have a certain preselection. Still, I often choose something newly added over stuff that’s on my lists. But over time, I realise which recommendations I really want to check out and which ones I actually don’t care about. I guess it works like the advice that when you want to buy something you should wait for some time to see if you still want it or not.
Whoa this was very thought provoking! I think I feel this way about dating… sure “seems” like there’s a lot out there but maybe I should focus on what’s already available to me 😂
I think there's a lot of skill involved in being a good curator that can sometimes be underestimated and undervalued. Someone who curates well should in theory help people feel less overwhelmed. If I trust someone's point of view, I want them to keep doing what they do to help distill from the endless possibilities into at least a manageable selection not necessarily for me to consume all of it but to then pick and choose from myself. In the age of AI and algorithms I think good old fashioned human curation is worth even more when done well, IMO.
Funnily, I'm thinking of the phrase "it's not you, it's me". I could be presented with the same amount of choice but depending on what's happening in my life, it could feel like too much or like a treat. (Related: when I got off IG, more things started feeling like the latter.)
Thanks for the food for thought! (and the kitten GIF!)
I've been struggling with this as well! I've decided that talking about what I am reading (watching, listening to) and inviting conversation, offering deep dives into books instead of just "reviews" will be more enriching for me and hopefully the reader - then they can ignore what doesn't interest them and hopefully engage in a less overwhelming way. We will see!!
Good point. I even feel this way about books. That “can’t catch up” feeling when I open a newsletter with endless reviews. It starts seeming like a chore instead of a delight to find out about new titles.
Reminds of the famous Flight Club quote "We buy things we don't need, with money we don't have, to impress people we don't like." It's from the 90's when social media didn't even exist and yet so relevant still(even more so)today.
I relate so much to what you wrote, and yet I really value a nice recommendation. Thanks to you I have finally started watching The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel, and it’s great!
To deal with the overwhelm, I have endless lists of books, series and movies I want to consume as well as all my saved podcast episodes and YouTube videos. Writing certain recommendations down or saving stuff for later helps me shortcut this need of watching something immediately. And when I’m bored it’s helpful to have a certain preselection. Still, I often choose something newly added over stuff that’s on my lists. But over time, I realise which recommendations I really want to check out and which ones I actually don’t care about. I guess it works like the advice that when you want to buy something you should wait for some time to see if you still want it or not.
Whoa this was very thought provoking! I think I feel this way about dating… sure “seems” like there’s a lot out there but maybe I should focus on what’s already available to me 😂