Content Curation: The Future fight against cognitive diabetes.

As the internet produces more content per second than humanity does neurons (*meant as a hyperbole, but who knows?). I see a deep need for content curation. There is so much valuable free content in the internet its mind-boggling, the problem is that there is about a 10000x more trash content.

The problem with trash content, like trash food, is that if you consume too much of it too quickly, the natural defenses you have against BS are going to go haywire, much like insulin does when trying to regulate blood-sugar in soda-pop infested bodies, the organism is going to get sick. I call this illness, cognitive diabetes, and its a pandemic.

So how can one be as arrogant as to say what should be considered valuable content from what is not? Well, there are a few rules about valuable content, and these rules are quite clear. By valuable, I mean its worth investing time in saving it in a specific place, conciously, much like early internet manual website indexes. Only, instead of living in a world where you see trash content mixed with valuable content, as a cognitive organism, we want to ideally be exposed only to valuable content. But what is valuable content?

1. It enables the content consumer to adapt, the experience of being presented with this content will help you, the content consumer, to cope better in your life and personal and completely subjective aspirations. For whatever reason the content solves a real life problem.
2. It is clear on what it is. There is no agenda. It can be fantasy, science fiction, center-left wing propagandist Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster. But it has to be clear about what it is. Otherwise its misleading and manipulative. Miss-leading and manipulative content is not valuable content.
3. It is well equipped for its context. It is communicated optimally. Sometimes you want to spend 2 hours reading about the feelings a recent divorcee went through while eating, praying and loving.... but, sometimes you need a 5 step bullet list to figure out how to turn on your antivirus in a Spanish Ubuntu installation. (Not sure if rule 1 makes this implied).

There you go! Carpe Diem!

About the author: Juan F. Aguilar is a web advisor, a Psychologist and self taught web developer, with over 18 years of experience empowering people to leverage web technologies in a smart and cost effective way. Specifcially in UX, CRO and SEO. Juan has helped over 50 web projects increase their utilities, either as a private contractor or consultant. He has worked with big fast growing brands like HealthCare.com, StarMedia.com, XYZNetowork.com, RepublicaInmobiliaria.com and AntorchaDeportiva.com to small and medium sizef businesses trying to maximize their lead generation and general online strategy and results. Connect with Juan on LinkedIn or check you his articles on WEB STRATEGY, SEO, UX and CRO.