Content curation is the process of gathering information relevant to a particular topic or area of interest. Services, including curating apps or people that implement content curation, are called curators. Curation services can be used by businesses as well as end users.

Content curation is often confused with, but is very different from content marketing. Content marketing often includes the use of original information designed to target a specific market or demographic. Content curation doesn’t include creating new content; it is the act of discovering, compiling and sharing existing content with current online followers.

Curating apps compile, carry and disseminate various content including articles, blog posts, journals, images and videos from all types of websites and information services.

Content curation as a means of information sharing is here to stay. The question is, are content curation platforms good or bad for publishers?

Content curation platforms have changed the publishing industry, including the legacy print publishers and have helped in many ways. One of the most immediately obvious and practical uses is that these apps save news companies the huge task of redesigning and configuring their websites for multiple platforms including smartphones and tablets. Content curation apps are also powerful marketing tools for increasing readership and subscribers for digital publishers by implementing a controlled, targeted approach for specific audiences.

The majority of the most popular curation applications allow the user many options including the freedom to choose which publications get to their newsfeed or publisher list, and what kind of articles from any given publisher they get. The key is personalization and a reading experience that is customized to the reader’s preferences.

For digital publishers content curation is beneficial in a few ways. For small or niche publishers who do not have deep advertiser support through their websites, partnering with a content curator can save time and money, and for bigger publishers the appeal of content curating apps is the opportunity to expand readership by tapping into the app's existing audiences.

Many digital publishers rely on subscriptions for revenue, so they still need native and web apps as part of their online presence, but the unique ability of content curation apps to push a specific content set to a precisely defined audience is another opportunity for them to boost their digital presence and increase audience and revenue.