About Curated.

Why we built this.

Online recommendations stopped feeling like recommendations. They became ads, sponsorships, engagement bait, and algorithmic stews of “people also viewed.” The signal got lost.

Before the feed era, the way you found something good was simple: someone you trusted told you about it. Your sister mentioned a novel. The bookstore owner who knew your taste pulled a book off the shelf. The chef whose menu you loved kept a list of where they ate on their day off.

That kind of recommendation — one person, one point of view, one thing worth keeping — is what Curated is for.

How curation works.

Each list on Curated is hand-picked by one person. A sommelier publishes the wines they actually drink at home. A hotel critic publishes a hundred quiet places worth flying for. A film critic publishes the movies that stayed with them. Each pick has a short line on why it belongs.

Readers preview a few items free, then subscribe directly to the curator — one-time or monthly, the curator’s call. Lists are versioned, so when a curator adds or removes a pick, subscribers see the update.

There is no editor at Curated picking what gets featured. There is no algorithm sorting lists by engagement. Curators keep most of the revenue; Curated takes a small platform fee.

How curators get vetted.

Not by us. Curators are vetted by the readers who choose the lists they want. If your taste resonates, people subscribe. If it doesn’t, they don’t. The market for trust is the only filter we believe in.

For our first hundred curators we read every application and write back either way. We’re looking for a point of view, not a follower count.

Frequently asked questions.

What is Curated?

Curated is a platform where people with taste publish lists: books, restaurants, films, vinyl, hotels, kitchen tools, anything worth keeping. Each list is hand-picked by one person, never assembled by an algorithm. Readers subscribe to the curators whose taste they trust, and curators earn directly from those subscriptions. There is no advertising and no engagement feed. It's what online recommendation used to feel like. Someone you trusted, telling you about the thing.

How does Curated work?

A curator publishes a list, say a hundred quiet hotels in southern Europe, and writes a short reason each entry belongs. Readers preview a few items free, then subscribe to read the rest. Subscriptions are one-time or monthly, priced by the curator. Curators keep most of the revenue; Curated takes a small platform fee. Lists are versioned, so when a curator adds or removes a pick, subscribers get the update.

Who can start a curated list?

Anyone whose taste people already trust. A sommelier, a bookseller, a film critic, an architect with a running spreadsheet of small museums, a parent who tracks every restaurant in their city. Curated is opening to its first hundred curators during open beta, with a zero percent platform fee for twelve months. Apply with an email; we reach out as spots open. We're looking for a point of view, not a follower count.