@Sweden: the problems of rotation curation

Scope
@Sweden is ‘the world’s most democratic Twitter account’ and a revolution in national branding. But as the inititial enthusiasm about the project gives way to controversy, we wonder - is rotation curation really the future? Or can the people simply not be trusted?

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Launched on 10 December 2011, Curators of Sweden is a groundbreaking national branding campaign commissioned by VisitSweden and the Swedish Institute. Its goal is simple: to “promote interest and confidence in Sweden around the world.”

To achieve this, advertising company Volontaire developed a simple but highly innovative approach: it invited ordinary Swedes to take it in turns to spend a week curating a national Twitter profile, @Sweden. The only criteria are that the applicant must be nominated by a friend, must be an active Twitter user and must be a Swedish citizen. There are plans to include non-citizens in the future.

Though Sweden is widely respected for its liberal governmental and social policies, its cultural image is a little less enticing. The myth of well-endowed glacial beauties frolicking in hot tubs vies with a popular perception that Swedes “resemble their most famous vehicle, the Volvo; reliable, steady and safe”.(1) Curators of Sweden aims to dispel this monotonous national stereotype by capturing the diverse voices of the Swedish people.

To quote the Curators of Sweden website: “The idea is that the curators, through their tweets, create interest and arouse curiosity for Sweden and the wide range the country has to offer. The expectation is that the curators will paint a picture of Sweden, different to that usually obtained through traditional media.” And for the first six months, it seemed like it was really working. Curators tweeted everything from photos of a Christmas moose hunt to political commentary, while the international press sang the daring venture’s praises, followers stacked up and the awards poured in.  Then, in mid-July, 27-year-old mother-of-two Sonja Abrahamson, the 24th curator, tweeted a series of what were widely construed as anti-Semitic remarks and the whole project came into question.

Context
Swedish advertisers have been quick to embrace digital media, and the country has a well-deserved reputation for nurturing digital talent at educational institutions like the celebrated Hyper Island. In this context, it’s not surprising to find nationally sanctioned innovation in digital marketing. Though it would be hard to prove Curators of Sweden’s claim to be “the world’s most democratic Twitter account”, it’s certainly a bold gesture towards vocal egalitarianism – something its creators want to tie in with Sweden’s national brand and its reputation for liberalism. As Patrick Kampmann, the creative director of Volontaire puts it: “Sweden stands for certain values – being progressive, democratic, creative. We believed the best way to prove it was to handle the account in a progressive way and give control of it to ordinary Swedes."(2)

Globalisation means Curators of Sweden comes at a time when national branding has never been more important – both internationally and internally, as citizens struggle to redefine ‘home’. By placing emphasis on the collective impact of the individual voice, Curators of Sweden effectively captures the composite nature of community: the self within the system. It constitutes an unlimited narrative that is constantly evolving – a move away from absolute opinion and truth towards multiple interpretations. As the official website puts it: “By means of the various curators’ narrations, not one Sweden is conveyed, but several.” In an over-saturated media landscape where the onus is to create more and more content, it’s the sum of its parts that’s important.

@Sweden is best understood as an example of ‘rotation curation’. The term refers to the process of rotating the spokesperson on a social media account, whether it represents a country, an organisation or group. Curators of Sweden was one of the first and most prominent examples of this kind of behaviour.

Insights and opportunities
Since the high profile launch of Curators of Sweden, rotation curation Twitter accounts have been springing up everywhere, from national accounts (e.g. @WeAreAustralia) to cities (e.g. @PeopleofLeeds) to cultural groups (e.g. @BasquesAbroad) to organisations (e.g. @FTInsider). Clearly, it’s a force to be reckoned with and could give weight to the Rotation Curation site’s claim that Twitter is evolving from “a medium for individuals to share their experience with other individuals” into “a medium for communities to share their experience with the entire world.” Ultimately, it becomes: “a global offering for individuals to dynamically participate in the real-time life experience of communities they find of particular interest.” Bolstering this is a growing appreciation of the collective importance of everyday lives and oral history, evident in the success of projects like YouTube’s ‘Life In A Day’ and StoryCorps. For brands, rotation curation provides the opportunity to capture an unprecedented kind of authenticity, coupled with the weight of many voices.

The problem with letting ordinary people take the lead is there’s no guaranteeing what they’ll say. Participants in Curators of Sweden were asked to abide by their normal social media behaviour and gently encouraged to bear in mind that the numbers reading their posts would enter the tens of thousands. But despite this, ‘low educated’ (her own words) Sonja Abrahamsson released a tirade of controversial tweets, including an image of Freddie Mercury looking at a table of food with the caption "This pic I call 'hungry gay with aids'". It was a stark reminder that whilst the internet is essentially a democratic medium, it is also a breeding ground for extremism. As one tweeter wrote: “in one day @Sweden went from global Twitter superstar to PR embarrassment.”(3)

For rotation curation to ring true, brands must take a back seat,  and for many the risks will seem too high. However, for those that choose to embrace this daring approach there is a powerful reward. This is absolute and unprecedented transparency; a new kind of hyper-True Story that says ‘we’re not afraid to expose our own flaws’. And, if it all goes wrong, fingers crossed the odd aberration will be drowned out by the collective impact.

Key statistics
On 19 April 2012, Curate Sweden had a Klout Score of 66, had released 9,000+ Tweets, been mentioned 31,400+ times and had 28,000+ followers. (Source)


1. Helena Frith Powell, ‘Is Sweden the Most Boring Country in the World?’, 20 June 2006. Available here
2. Oliver Carmichael, ‘Swedish tourism Twitter initiative backfires’, 13 June 2012. Available here
3. ‘Swedish mother uses country’s official Twitter page to post a photo of her breastfeeding and make foul-mouthed remarks about Jews, drugs, porn and Aids’, 13 June 2012. Available here