Content Creation vs Content Curation: Where is the Value?

Accumulating millions of followers through content creation has created a successful foundation for entrepreneurs to profit in the media industry, but there are some questions that need to be asked about how this is done.

Is all of the content original?

Have you ever read a blog post or article that shared text from another source? Seen links or captions crediting other sources?

Bloggers and content creators, even large media organizations, often profit by using bits of content from other creators and sharing it on their platforms.

This is called content aggregation, and not only does this save time and work, but is a cheaper way to display content.

According to “Shameless — and Essential,” “links from other sites or search engines are among the cheapest and most efficient ways to bring in new users.”

See what I did there? I just quoted text from an article and linked it to the source. That is one example of aggregating content.

Where does the site’s traffic come from?

They key to success in content creation is building a platform with an engaged following. People need to subscribe or drive traffic onto the site in order for the creator to profit.

One negative takeaway from aggregation is that the target audience can find the information on a platform that isn’t the orginal source, thus allowing the aggregator to profit. However, by linking and crediting the original source, the aggregator can drive more traffic to the original site.

According to “Shameless — and Essential,” when Huffington Post used content from a post on New York Magazine, 17,500 viewers from Huffington Post followed links to the original article.

What are the consequences of aggregation?

There is controversy over the idea of aggregation and its legalities. While it is very common, there can be legal issues based on how much content is aggregated and whether or not the original source was credited.

According to “We’re All Aggregators Now,” “Earlier this month, Spanish legislators announced they’re considering a law that would regulate aggregators — Google News in particular — by forcing them to compensate original publishers when they re-publish headlines and excerpts.”

I think this is a smart idea to reward the original content creators for their work, but I don’t know if this idea is sustainable considering the amount and types of aggregation being done. Also, the free recognition does boost the original source’s traffic, as explained above.

While reading “Curators Are the New Creators,” Gabby Goldberg touches on the business of influencer bundling. “Curators are the new creators, and as consumers, we’re going to be willing to pay someone with good taste to help us sort through the ever-growing mass of information at our fingertips,” Goldberg said.

This made me think of my own blog. When I post about my outfits, I make it a point to link to the shops where I got each item. Also, as someone who likes to stay up-to-date on trends, I follow many influencers on Instagram and read their blogs, and they always add links to where they get all of their clothes.

I was most inspired by the story of The Skimm, which I read about on “How ‘The Skimm,’ Grew to 7 Million Subscribers.” The newsletter, which targets young millenial women, works to make sure it is an essential part of their readers’ everyday routines. They also used their platform to expand by creating and ambassador program, podcast and more additions to the brand.

Curating content rather than creating content is not new, but continues to grow and has proven to be a cheaper, more efficient way to profit in the media industry.