curator and the platform //
Who can turn the dial?
Talk to someone from Apple, Amazon, Google or Linkedin and get some tips on how you can use the platform to your advantage. How to attract more attention to your podcast, your website, or your photos.
In this helpful position is an unstated bias: They have the platform mindset.
This is not the way they think at a record label, a book publisher, or a newspaper. They know that curation is their most important job.
Platforms have been curators for a long time, but they accepted the role rather than denying it. The radio station program directors determined what would be in heavy repetition, while bookstore owners decided what to place by the cash register. This was because they understood that something was an important part of their job.
Platform mindset is almost completely helpless. They are not in control of the algorithm. They don’t. The data decides.
This bias can be helpful in the short-term. It eliminates gatekeeper errors. Being a gatekeeper is less important because everything has a chance. Decca’s decision to reject the Beatles was a costly mistake that would cost them for many decades. An executive at a platform doesn’t need to worry about this because they can take everyone and let the market decide.
This learned helplessness comes with two problems:
The first is that it’s not true. The algorithm does not write itself. It rewards hate speech, which is why there has been a rise in hate speech on platforms such as Twitter. Google’s algorithm rewards people for creating stupid recipes on websites. Yes, airlines do charge extra fees because they rank flights that have hidden costs higher than those that tell the truth.
Platforms that grow in scale often include hardworking, well-meaning people to engage with the public. This buffer is between the creators and algorithm. However, they are instructed that the algorithm is sacred and not to be used. We can sell anything, but we don’t know how (particular) things should be sold.
Apple’s podcast team is the ones that can promote a podcast and make it successful. But you will soon discover that Apple doesn’t actually want to help its users find podcasts that inspire, educate and uplift them. They are simply feeding the platform.
Netflix’s best moments are when they break the platform paradigm to shift into curation.
The second is that platform-first, agnostic, non-curation eventually leads to the demise. An old saying is that enough A/B testing can make any website a porn site. Because platforms become banal and then trashy due to the algorithmic, data-driven feedback loops. Amazon’s Amazon Go stores in New York are suffering from this same problem. Their search results spam is even worse. They eventually lose the people they are most passionate about serving and become bored, frustrated, or just plain tired of their work.
How can you deal with it? It’s important to recognize that platforms will not treat you differently if you are a creator. There’s no shortcut. There are many steps, then there might be some luck.
If you are part of a platform with scale, or hope to build one, this is the ideal time to learn from previous curations. We rarely talk about platforms when we talk about those who built parts of our culture we are proud of. People who had the courage, the taste and energy to help others find things that make a difference while weeding out the rubbish and cruft.
The platform shouldn’t have to be fed by us. We need the platform to support us.
