NewsLine Feature:Blogging On To User-Generated Content
The last 12 months have seen a plethora of buzzwords enter the media vocabulary, as the pace of new technology seemingly outstrips the industry’s ability to dream up appropriate names.
Astroturfing, bluejacking, vlogging and podding might sound like the nocturnal activities of the sexually deranged, but are in fact the latest threats and opportunities facing traditional media operators.
Yesterday’s Changing Media Summit, hosted by the MediaGuardian, saw a whirlwind of high-tech terms bandied around, with one central theme shining through: That now more than ever, user-generated content is a force to be reckoned with for traditional broadcasters and publishers, and is here to stay.
The most pertinent example of user-generated content is blogging, a technology which despite rearing its head in the late 1990s, is only now being taken seriously by the commercial giants of the media world.
The exponential growth of the ‘blogosphere,’ the collective noun for the world’s 30 billion online diaries, is proof of the public’s hunger for their own content over that prescribed by media organisations. And it’s not only media owners who face competition from the online masses; advertisers too have cause for concern.
As online evangelist Ben Hammersley told the conference with irrepressible gusto: “You can’t make crap products and advertise your way out of trouble anymore. A Google search will out you within minutes.”
Podcasting also provides evidence of the shift towards user-generated content, with even homemade material receiving thousands of downloads per month, taking audiences with niche interests away from more mainstream broadcasts.
As the BBC’s head of radio interactive Chris Kimber explained, “we think of it as both a threat and an opportunity.
“Clearly if you are listening to a podcast from any of the thousands of producers out there then you’re not listening to the BBC, so there’s an opportunity for us. Podcasts are also a way for us to discover new talent and formats, where in the past we may have done it through hospital or local radio.”
James Cridland, digital media director at Virgin Radio, went on to explain the appeal of podcasts to advertisers, stating that highly targeted campaigns delivered via the medium could provide significant cut through.
“One of our ‘podvert’ campaigns is for the Special Constables,” he told delegates yesterday. “They’re looking to recruit people with a bit of spare time. There’s obviously a fit there with those listening to our podcasts.”
Print-based media owners are also moving towards newer technology, either snapping up existing online networks or developing their own.
Last year saw News Corp purchase Myspace, essentially an online scrapbook and messaging network, to provide an instant audience of 60 million users.
Yahoo has also entered the ring, purchasing photo sharing network Flikr. Others, such as The Guardian, prefer to build their own networks, with the paper launching its own comment and blogging hub, CommentIsFree.com.
The Guardian’s director of digital publishing, Simon Waldman, believes the current state of online media is a transitional one however, with today’s blogs and message boards acting as an “R&D for the future of publishing.”
“Decentralised, aggregated publishing could either be the best thing ever, or a complete nightmare,” he said. “Trying to understand that model is one of our largest challenges.”
The future of online media will clearly be a mix of user-generated content and traditionally provided media. In some cases, the power of mass opinion is unquestionable. As Martin Stiksel, founder of online music community last.fm, explained: “Our 1.5 million users know far more about music than any journalist. We put our users in charge.”
Elsewhere, there was general consensus from a panel including Channel 4 news presenter Jon Snow, that certain content, such as news, should remain under the watch of traditional ‘gatekeepers,’ if only to maintain editorial balance and avoid the wrath of libel law.
As Adam Curry, president of the PodShow podcast network, optimistically forecast, there is an unstoppable demand for user-generated content. “There is a rule of 550 at play here,” he explained. “In the next five years, 50% of all content consumed will be created by those consuming it.”