UGC...
I was wondering what lies beneath this vague acronym... I knew what it didn't mean on reading the angry blogpost "Death to user generated content". And apparentely, it does not mean what it says it does...
I was confused.
In other words - and this is actually the issue here - it is far more than "user generated content"...and it deserves a real positive word to recognize it as an "authentic" creation or media...made by the people.
Still, I feel like it covers so many things... reviews, videos, comments, blogs, pictures... so it leads me to the title of my post...
Is it so much that it is unmanageable?
I'm sure my post will be full of other users' UGC... but I have to admit... I have no idea whose "content" I'm really using! I just follow the links... and it is quite a mess.
And that makes me think about how brands must feel.
This UGC is uncontrollable, and they can expect the best or the worst...
See these videos for instance, and tell me what you think about them for the companies and products they target...(Ipod Touch ad Nick Haley - Ipod, now powered by Windows).
Okay, not everybody will see them...
But they say there is no such thing as bad publicity... Really?
Usually, as a company, you promote your own products as well as you can, but you are not really allowed to start "negative campaigning" about your competitors' products...(except in politics...)
But consumers are not that nice. There are no fair play rules on the web...
So UGC can contribute to enrich brand content for free, but they can hurt it as well...
Finally, that leads me to the other "U"... Untrustworthy...
If brands or companies want to benefit from the positive impact of UGC, they can become their own anonym promoter... I don't know if I am being clear...
We don't know who the users are. They can be employees being paid for writing great reviews about the products of the companies they work for...
So how much can we really trust any "content" or "data" that is being released on the web?...
Photo credit to :
http://www.stockphototalk.com
http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com
http://farm1.static.flickr.com
And I suggest you this article from Time Magazine...
5 comments:
You know, working in the communications field is really getting more and more difficult because of UGC.
When dealing with a client you have to track how many times your client's company comes up in the media. It's called media hits. You then compile a clip book of all the different articles/people who talk about the company.
There is a way to keep track of print media hits but imagine if a company, now in the digital age, generates most of its business through the internet. Thus, having more bloggers comment on their business. Think about how hard it is to keep track! Goodness!
Hi Kim!
Thanks a lot for your comment! Actually, I didn't know about the "media hits" concept... I guess that is what I wanted to say when I talked about UGC being unmanageable for the companies...media hits is almost impossible to achieve on the net...
They can't manage to have enough "eyes" searching on the web to see what is being said about them...
I think it is one of the greatest challenges for companies, but it might bring them a further motivation to be satisfying and to please their customers...
Hi Julie and Kim,
I'm sure it would be really tiring trying to get every individual who has made a comment/opinion about your company. Its almost impossible.
Also, Julie, you have made a very good point about who the users are. There's no way we can tell and some companies can engineer their own blogs and feedback.
Hey Julie
I always enjoy reading your post and it is creativity, but I think I have slightly different idea.
Well, I agree with you up to a point. That is true that UGC has a few side effects, but it seems to me that UGC has more advantages. We can see a lot of new things by seeing others videos, for example. We can also share the ideas and information with others very easily. What I am thinking is that now, we cannot stop people creating UGC and sharing it. Well, I believe that we should make up for the weak points of UGC rather than blaming it. What do you think of? Thank you for your posting
@ Jang...
Hi!
Thank you for your comment!
I agree with you, I'm not saying that UGC doesn't have advantages... Actually, have you seen the ipod ad video on youtube? I think it is a great contribution from a customer to give something back to the brand he likes.
What I meant was that, for companies, it can be quite hard to keep track of what is being said about them, and sometimes, what benefits one company is harmful to another (the second video, for example).
Other than this specific concern, I think UGC is an incredible new way for sharing data and thoughts, and fully enjoy your freedom of speech!
Thanks again for your comment!
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