Almost half (49%) of online users have engaged with user-generated content (UGC) in the past month by actively creating or simply reading material posted by others, according to a new report from JupiterResearch.
In a study titled
User-Generated Content: Strategies for Media Sites, JupiterResearch reports that UGC is now a mainstream activity for millions of consumers.
The study says that users under the age of 25 are especially active participants. Three-quarters of users 18 to 25 are reading or writing UGC, and few of them are passive participants.
Barry Parr, analyst at JupiterResearch, said: “The relative youth of UGC users provides an opportunity for publishers to address consumers they have been unable to reach off-line.
“UGC is an important means of attracting younger users to the online sites of traditional media properties with whom they have no existing relationship.”
According to the study, it is not just young people who are consuming UGC. A third (34%) of those over age 55 are participating in UGC as well.
Parr added: “The challenge for media companies trying to reach this audience is learning where to draw the line between uncontrolled communication and the kind of editing they do in their own work.
David Schatsky, president of JupiterResearch, said: “Users of UGC are a population representative of the transition from traditional media to online media. They are still heavy users of traditional media, but online media play an equally important role in their lives.
“Engaging the interest of UGC users is strategic to engaging the interest of the most committed online users and the advertisers who want to reach them.”
A recent report from In-Stat forecast that UGC revenues will increase from $80 million in 2006 to $1.6 billion in 2011 (see Global UGC Revenue Forecast To Grow).
A separate report from Screen Digest, focusing on the US market, said that by 2010 more than half (55%) of all the video content consumed online in the US will be user generated (see US User Generated Content To Grow).
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