I think I look for a lot of the same features in apps as I do in live events. I like things that take me to new things that I appreciate. Things. Granted they are but a small piece of what I look for but things are a good start. Not being a material sort, my things might be different than yours. My things are generally events, live or not. Beyond those my eternal search often breaks down. Why? The problem is that “I contain multitudes”. No algorithm can suss out what I really want. They fall far short of my identity, be it public or private. This true, thankfully, for most people — even if those motivated by the sale wish it weren’t so.
Curators struggle with it too. But I go to festivals with the same hope I have when I look at twitter: show me that thing I did not yet know of that I will later cushion softly with fond nostalgia and invigorate later with aspiration for the future. Can those qualities be defined? Yup. At least a bit. They are the qualities we look for and hope to discover. They are the qualities we appreciate and keep us coming back for more. They are the qualities you want to have in your work, the presentation of it, the marketing.
