Why I Love User Generated Content
I love the idea of User Generated Content websites. Its all the rage. Mainly this is because of the rapid decentralization of the media industry, with increasing power in the hands of the smaller publisher and even (or perhaps that’s especially) the individual. It’s a fundamental shift, every bit as important as the growth of the Internet itself: you don’t need a TV company, expensive studios, radio mast, printing presses, or high cost production facilities to gain people’s attention, and companies wishing to get their messages in front of consumers are noticing this.
I want it NOWBut it’s not just the advertisers that this is important to; the consumers themselves are demanding on-demand, real-time, give-it-to-me-now media and entertainment. Who will want to wait for the programming or production schedule of the large media companies to consume what they want to see? Not me. Not when I can get exactly what I want, when I want, online now.
Count me inBut there’s more, it’s not even all about immediacy of the content. There is also the important factor of consumer participation. We’ve seen it for decades in a limited form on TV, with quiz and game shows that pick contestants from the viewing audience. More recently TV production houses like Endemol made TV user created (if not generated) content into an art form with their smash hit Big Brother TV show, and worldwide Pop Idol franchise. Consumers want more choice, but they also want to contribute, furthermore they want their contribution to make a difference to the outcome of the production, hence the sky high numbers of phone and SMS votes recorded for these shows.
Consumers become the publishersWhat’s in it for the producers? Aside from simply moving with consumer tastes, producers have the opportunity to acquire content at dramatically lower costs, from a wider creative pool, that has more immediate meaning and relevance to their consumers.
Talk about win:win (or is that win:win:win?)