The Curation Question

On December 5th, Fashion + Tech NY held a panel discussion on the retail hot topic of the last two years, curation. There is no question now that consumers get their primary sense of products from media, be it broadcast or social. There is also millions of times more information immediately available than ever before. The role that used to be filled by topical mavens, the old man who knew where to fish and how to do it, or the woman who hit the dress shops in the surrounding towns frequently enough to know where you could find a long yellow one at a discount, they have been heavily supplemented by Twitter and Facebook friends (although that’s becoming highly suspect), by Amazon and Yelp reviews, by Google Shopping tips returned with search results, and by friends who spend all their time at work looking online for clues as to when the next iPad is going to be released. What businesses are currently obsessing over is how to profit from curation.

story and photos by Charles Beckwith

On December 5th, Fashion + Tech NY held a panel discussion on the retail hot topic of the last two years, curation. There is no question now that consumers get their primary sense of products from media, be it broadcast or social. There is also millions of times more information immediately available than ever before. The role that used to be filled by topical mavens, the old man who knew where to fish and how to do it, or the woman who hit the dress shops in the surrounding towns frequently enough to know where you could find a long yellow one at a discount, they have been heavily supplemented by Twitter and Facebook friends (although that’s becoming highly suspect), by Amazon and Yelp reviews, by Google Shopping tips returned with search results, and by friends who spend all their time at work looking online for clues as to when the next iPad is going to be released. What businesses are currently obsessing over is how to profit from curation. Continue reading “The Curation Question”

Fashion Digital New York Conference (Part 1)

On October 10th, a new conference premiered in midtown, Fashion Digital New York. It is a retail-focused event, and a crowd of tuned-in attendees packed the McGraw-Hill Conference Center to hear from a power list of online fashion retail’s key players.

story and photos by Charles Beckwith

On October 10th, a new conference premiered in midtown, Fashion Digital New York. It is a retail-focused event, and a crowd of tuned-in attendees packed the McGraw-Hill Conference Center to hear from a power list of online fashion retail’s key players. There were about a dozen sessions, many running concurrently, so you had to chose between them, broken up with networking refreshment breaks. I attended the Social Commerce panel, The Disruptors panel, and the keynote. The keynote will be discussed in Part 2 of this article. Continue reading “Fashion Digital New York Conference (Part 1)”