User-generated content
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
User-generated content (UGC) is a term that has come into the mainstream during 2005 in web publishing and new media content production circles. It refers to online content that is produced by users of websites as opposed to traditional media producers such as broadcasters and production companies. It reflects the democratisation of media production through new technologies that are accessible and affordable. These include digital video, blogging, podcasting, mobile phone photography and wikis. Prominent examples of websites based on user-generated content include Flickr, Friends Reunited, FourDocs, YouTube, My Space, Second Life and Wikipedia. The advent of user-generated content marks a shift among media organisations from creating on-line content to creating the facilities and framework for non-media professionals (i.e. 'ordinary people') to publish their own content in prominent places.
The British Broadcasting Corporation, for example, set up a user-generated content team as a pilot in April 2005 with 3 staff. In the wake of the 7 July 2005 London bombings and the Buncefield oil depot fire, the team was made permanent and was expanded, reflecting the arrival in the mainstream of the 'citizen journalist'. During the Buncefield disaster the BBC received over 5,000 photos from viewers. The debate over the publication of the Mohammed cartoons in January 2006 prompted over 22,000 emails from viewers in the first couple of weeks. The BBC does not normally pay for content generated by its viewers. In 2006 CNN launched CNN iReport, a project designed to bring user-generated news content to CNN. This is typical of major television news organisations in 2005-2006, who have realised, particularly since the 7th July bombings, that citizen journalism is now a significant part of the mainstream of broadcast news. Sky News, for example, regularly solicits for photographs and video from its viewers.
In recent years user-generated content has been a path to mainstream success for some. Afroman's novelty song "Because I Got High" became the most requested song on American radio in July 2002, due to its success on Napster.[citation needed] In the summer of 2006, Brooke Brodack was signed into a talent development deal based on her short skits on YouTube. Companies are becoming more adept at exploiting spaces originally intended for user-generated content, as illustrated by the Lonelygirl15 scandal on YouTube where a fake videoblog was used to promote an aspiring actress.[1]
User-generated content has also been characterised as 'Conversational Media', as opposed to 'Packaged Goods Media' (that is, traditional media). The former is a two-way process in contrast to the one-way distribution of the latter. Conversational or two-way media is a key characteristic of so-called Web 2.0 which encourages the publishing of one's own content and the commenting on other people's.[2]
[edit] See also
- buzzword
- web 2.0
- social media
- citizen journalism
- reputation system - often used to evaluate UGC
- blog
- Current TV - a cable television station that relies heavily on viewer-generated content
[edit] References
- ^ Guardian Unlimited website: A Bigger Bang. Retrieved on 2006-12-07.
- ^ Packaged Goods Media vs. Conversational Media. Retrieved on 2006-12-10.
[edit] External links
- A Bigger Bang an overview of the UGC trend on the Web in 2006
- Packaged Goods Media vs. Conversational Media a comparison of UGC and professional/corporate media
