The Origin of Curation

How the search for a one-stop-shop connects to philosophy and monotheism?

Online content has shifted from a fragmented reality of vendors that provide exclusive content delivered directly to consumers, to fewer services with content that overlaps. In the current landscape, aggregating services like Netflix, Spotify and Google News are becoming mainstream, as they provide a convenient access to content.

Curation is the enabler of one-stop-shop services and devices, and it lowers down the demand for multiple services answering various needs. Although curation exists among exclusive content that is personalized to the reader, it stems from macro changes in the industry landscape.

The appeal of aggregating services signals a premordial need to seek for a one service or multiple ones that can fulfill the need. This search also resembles historical evidence on how people used to look for an answer in existential questions.

The magic circle of many-to-one and one-to-many in Philosophy and Theology

4 Centuries before Western Philosophy has begun to shape its form, we are witnessing the dominant presence of Homer; A Greek poetry that emphasized the virtues of gods and heroes, and was based on the belief of polytheism. The canon creations included the Iliad and Odyssey, have perpetuated the myths of Greek mythology.

Only in the 4th Century BC, presocratic philosophers begun to explore the metaphysical elements of nature. This context has set aside the belief in gods.

At first, explanations were based on one source. Thales has defined water as the connecting source. Anaximenes defined air. Also Parmenides and Heraclitus that came afterwards looked for a unifying element that can explain all phenomena.

Few decades later, and presocratic philosophers started to connect the truth to multiple sources, thus representing an opposite view. Empedocles have suggested 4 elements that account for the existence of the universe.

Although presocratic philosophers have begun to abandon the pure metaphysical discussion and focused more on dialectics and logical arguments, explanation of phenomena were based upon the transition from one source to multiple ones in a recurring process.

The same process also took place in theology. The reference to gods exploration has begun from many to one. Anthropologists such as Claude Lévi-Strauss, who explored tribes in the early 20th century, have identified that initial belief in a greater power is attributed to polytheism. It is only after a certain cultural and intellectual development that more people are starting to believe in one god.

Many phenomena in life are operating based on the same logic. They start from either many to one, or one to many, in a magic circle that continually evolves.

One-stop-shop solutions and internet are interrelated

From a consumer demand standpoint, the basic preference seems to be leaning towards one service and not many.

In TV, the journey has started from one service that provides content, to a very fragmented ecosystem of hundreds of content vendors. In music, multiple labels have sold their exclusive content directly to users. In News, publishers have offered their premium content in circulation.

But internet has disrupted the status quo and made content accessible very easily. Services that are based on infrastructure outside the boundaries of internet are struggling to adapt while alternative services are gradually taking their place.

TV providers are experiencing an ongoing churn to OTT services, News publishers try to cope with the massive circulation drop by fortifying their digital assets. Music providers have joined forces with music streaming services.

The need for curation and the rising need to sell directly to consumers

The increased use in content curation providers creates a clearer separation between content creators and services that monetize from that content. To some extent, curation is becoming more important than exclusive content, as end users seek for one-stop-shop devices and services.

From a commercial standpoint, selling content to aggregating services increases dependency and diminishes the need to acquire the content directly from the manufacturer.

For example, there is a counter trend in online purchases, where hotel chains like Hilton and Retail brands like Nike are making efforts to sell directly to consumers. Nike has closed its Amazon store and Hilton offers a “Best Price Guarantee” policy to push back indirect buy and increase margins.

Viewers need a ‘god’ of content

As with content, new OTT services by Disney and Apple have popped out with their own offering. With that said, there is a strong inclination from viewers to aggregate all services in one place. In Israel for example, telecom providers form relationships with OTT providers to accommodate the one-stop-shop need through one device.

For viewers, this demand is a matter of convenience. For content providers, it is a matter of existence.