Experience

The Cure for Drowning

Steven Rosenbaum diagnosed the problem of digital overload at the 2012 DigitalNow conference, and offered a cure: associations.

We are drowning in data, Rosenbaum said, and associations, with their deep knowledge of their organizations’ interests and needs, are in a unique position to serve as filters and curators of information. “Content is no longer king,” he said. “Curation is king.”

The way forward is filled with challenges, but for those associations that get it, there are rewards, he wrote in The Huffington Post.

I think [associations have]  got the secret sauce to win big in the new world of Data Overload. Because publishers are fighting for fractionalized mindshare, while associations are poised to curate with authority. The challenge for them will be, can they build an internal information gathering, curating and distribution workflow that moves at the speed of the real time web?

Barbara Palmer

Barbara Palmer is senior editor and director of digital content.