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Vol 5: In the AI Era, content isn’t king.

28 Dec

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FEATURE
In the AI Era, Curation is King.

"Content is King" has been the golden rule of marketing since Bill Gates declared it in 1996. For nearly three decades, this mantra has driven strategies, shaped careers, and built brands. But as we enter the age of AI, this foundational principle needs an update.

The Great Content Flood

The democratization of content creation through AI is unprecedented. Every business, from Fortune 500 companies to local shops, can now produce endless streams of blog posts, social media content, emails, and videos. AI writing tools are turning everyone into a content creator, and the flood of content is rising exponentially.

This creates a fascinating paradox: As content creation becomes easier, standing out becomes harder. Your audience isn't struggling to find content – they're struggling to find content worth their time.

A New Hero Rises

Here's the insight that forward-thinking brands are already acting on: In an era of AI-powered content abundance, curation becomes the new kingmaker. The ability to find, filter, and contextualize the best insights from the endless stream of content is becoming more valuable than creating new content from scratch.

Think about it: When everyone can create content at scale, the true differentiator becomes knowing who’s worth paying attention to. The most valuable player in your industry won't be the one producing the most content – it will be the one helping others navigate the noise.

The AI-Powered Advantage.

The irony? The same AI technology driving content abundance is also revolutionizing content curation.

With basic AI tools, you can accelerate curation by:

  • Identifying the most recent, most relevant content

  • Analyzing thousands of sources in real-time

  • Extracting key insights from massive datasets

  • Transforming it all into new perspectives

  • Remixing it into different formats

Content curation is nothing new. But the idea of wasting hours manually sifting through RSS feeds, search engines, and social media is a thing of the past.

Brands can now build sophisticated curation engines that were impossible just a few years ago, turning the content flood from a competitive threat – into an opportunity.

Your Curation Strategy

Here's how to position your brand as a trusted curator and authoritative thought leader in your niche:

1. Build Your AI Curation Stack
Combine custom GPTs, Feedly's Leo AI, and traditional tools like Google Alerts into a powerful curation engine. The goal is to create a system that brings the most relevant content to you automatically.

2. Add Value
Develop a unique perspective that guides your curation. What patterns do you see? What connections can you make? What insights can you add? This is how curation becomes thought leadership.

3. Diversify and Distribute
Transform your curated insights into multiple content formats. With the right workflow, a single piece of curated content can spawn articles, newsletters, social posts, video shorts, and more.

4. Scale Your Curation Engine
Amplify your curated content by building a loyal audience, forging strategic partnerships, and identifying key distribution channels. Focus on connecting with industry influencers and niche communities that expand your reach.

The Next Evolution

As AI continues to disrupt marketing, the brands that thrive won't be the ones simply creating more content – they'll be the ones helping their audience find clarity in the chaos. They'll be the trusted guides who separate signal from noise, the curators who turn information overload into valuable insight.

For 3 decades, Bill Gates was right about content being king. But in the AI Era, the balance of power is shifting. The next generation of thought leaders will be those who shift with it. Will you be one of them?

5 RESOURCES
Listen. Learn. Level up.

Drowning in content but running out of fresh ideas? Whether you're looking to work smarter (not harder) with content curation or just need some inspiration for your next campaign, these tools will help you level up your content game without burning out your creative team.

ContentGems
Like having a caffeinated intern who never sleeps, scanning the internet for relevant content. Plays nicely with your favorite social scheduling tools so you can actually do something with all that curated goodness.

Triberr
The content-sharing platform for marketers who believe in "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." Join tribes of like-minded professionals to amplify each other's content without feeling sleazy about it.

Inoreader
For the content curator who needs Marie Kondo-level organization. Tag, archive, and discover content that sparks joy (or at least engagement) for your audience.

Scoop.it
Turn your content curation addiction into professional-looking content hubs that drive results. Perfect for when you need to look like you have a full content team (even when it's just you).

Quuu
The lazy marketer's secret weapon for keeping social feeds full of relevant content. Let AI do the heavy lifting while you focus on things humans are actually good at.

HEADLINES
In case you missed it.

News we’re following this week:

Light Out for ChatGPT ↗
OpenAI's ChatGPT faced a worldwide outage due to issues with an external provider. It’s not the first time users have been left scrambling.

Microsoft's AI Integration Faces User Backlash ↗
Microsoft's embedding of AI assistant Copilot into its 365 suite, accompanied by price hikes, has drawn substantial criticism.

OpenAI's Eventful 2024 ↗
OpenAI navigated a tumultuous year with significant funding, leadership changes, and strategic partnerships, notably with Apple.

Apple Nears $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Enhancements ↗
Apple's AI features in new iPhones have propelled its market cap close to $4 trillion.

OpenAI Considers Advertising Model for ChatGPT ↗
OpenAI is exploring introducing ads in ChatGPT as it transitions to a for-profit model, though no immediate plans are set.

QUOTE
Your weekly inspiration.

“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”

- Sun Tzu


In The Art of War, Sun Tzu teaches that chaos is not merely a challenge but a source of opportunity. The collective effect of modern marketing – endless content, campaigns, and platforms – has created overwhelming noise. As a trusted curator, your role is to provide clarity. By filtering the noise, uncovering insights, and delivering value, you help your audience focus on what truly matters, turning chaos into your competitive advantage.

That’s all for this week. If you found this valuable, please share with a friend or colleague! We’re already hard at work on the next issue. Until then…

Cheers,

Carter & The Brand Theory Team

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on marketing…

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