A Filter by Any Other Name… 

Post from the 2011 Conference in Boston

by Adam Coyne, Mathematica Policy Research

One of the highlights of the Network conference for me is when a topic triggers a thought that I can’t get out of my head. Today, that concept is filtering. As I listened to Eli’s plenary I was pretty ticked off by the idea that my online experience is being shaped by people I don’t know and forces I can’t control based on information that isn’t necessarily accurate or complete. As I thought about it more and discussed the topic with colleagues at break and lunch, another thought quickly crystallized. The idea of a wide open web with NO filters is equally terrifying – or at the very least, pretty overwhelming. As I untangled these ideas in my mind, I recognized that it’s not the concept of a filter that bothers me. Rather, I’m put off by a nameless, faceless “other” having control over what I do and don’t see when I log on. I want filters, but I want them on my terms. And I want them to be transparent. I can be friends with these filters.

So you heard it here first. Filtering is good. But filters have a bad rap that’s going to be tough to overcome. So consider this blog the beginning of a viral rebranding effort for ‘filters’ and ‘filtering.’ From here on out ‘filtering’ should be described as ‘curating.’ Everyone loves a curator. They are a smarter, more educated and aspirational version of ourselves. A curator is someone or something who does the hard work of scanning everything and packaging it in a digestible form. I’m not just talking art here. DJs are curators, decorators are curators, who are the online curators? There are still some “old school” curators that happen to be online, the traditional media gatekeepers, if you will. And we are all doing our own curating in some way, shape or form (think twitter lists, google reader, RSS feeds, etc.) But I want a curator who’s better than me. So please share where you get your best curated information on the web. And don’t hold back if you disagree!