On Collecting and Curating

I recently read an article that touted the importance of curation and curating in an increasingly overwhelming world, noting that the ability to select and discriminate is a valuable skill for the 21st century world. We have read quite a bit recently about the information overload the internet has brought us, and the generations of citizens who now grow up more accustomed to visuals and the proliferation of people with media and tech savvy. But what does this all mean? There are broader social implications of this shift.
Authority
This is not an original point - that the proliferation of knowledge and information has led to many nontraditional experts, the inclusion of voices previously silenced or obliterated, and the emergence of "internet" celebrities - selfmade, in true American fashion. One can make oneself an authority on a subject, now - there is no authorizing, validating figure or institution necessary, anymore. There are the obvious drawbacks to this - look at Wikipedia, for example - the "you never know who could be writing this" phenomenon, and with this comes the necessity of extensive cross-referencing. You can't believe everything you read. Especially on the internet. This is the price we have to pay, it seems, to leave the floodgates open for the occasional, unknown gem to be discovered, the missing, unheard voice to echo in a space of reception.
So, these new curators appear to be more democratic than their predecessors. They will be chosen, become popular based on their merit and ability to appeal to their audiences, rather than standing on an empty throne, chosen by experts who want a descendant to promulgate their worldviews into the coming generations. Individuals can choose who to listen to - and that person's choices, recommendations, worldviews become then paramount in determining or reinforcing one's own. Are we about to witness an age of despots, tyrants? The few individuals who are cunning enough to filter (and filter well) the torrents of information charging at the public, and wield them, will stand powerful on the wilyness of their own choices (in the past, they have been powerful by having been merely placed in positions of power). Or will these new voices allow us to juxtapose and make meaning in new places? My mother explained to me once that Einstein's brain was very heavy, because the synapses in his brain connected physically, which formed ponderous bonds. The more connections our brain has, allowing us to link seemingly unconnected thoughts, the heavier our brains (but not necessarily heavy thoughts!). I find connections like Faulkner and Common delightful, because it is a way of relating to deep meaning behind art and surfacing it in its various iterations at the hands and words of different meaningmakers.

The Psychology of Collecting
My master's seminars on museums taught me about the way museums came into being. They are descendents, however now far removed, from curio or curiosity cabinets. Cabinets full of things that were curious, odd, beautiful. Europe's wealthy assembled them from their travels, as a way of demonstrating their power - to visit places others couldn't, and take for themselves pieces of that place (sometimes paying for it, sometimes not), putting these objects into boxes showcasing their uniqueness, freakishness, representativeness of another culture or place. Collecting is an act of possession, an act of making meaning or selecting a predominant meaning for an object, despite or because of the other adherent meanings. Objects can be selected for their sentimental value - just look at any child, who gathers and keeps stuffed animals, toys, sports league trophies. These things are brought together because of what they represent - they are tangible memories. Collecting is thus subjective, personal, possessive.

If collecting is subjective and personal, and if modern individuals become self-made authorities based on their collecting of objects, ideas - their curating ability - are we not witnessing a popularity contest? And, is a popularity contest not the actual essence of democracy? If so, collecting and curating might transition from one of the most authority-sodden practices to one of the most democratic...