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User Content - The Real Deal?

Since we held this event on 8th November 2005, user generated content has ballooned in simple volume. But that includes the mainstream media's adoption of it, large-scale new arrivals like YouTube and small companies springing up with user-content as the cornerstone of a variety of experimental and innovative business models, reports Deirdre Molloy...

Since we held this event on 8th November 2005, user generated content has ballooned in simple volume. But that includes the mainstream media's adoption of it, large-scale new arrivals like YouTube and small companies springing up with user-content as the cornerstone of a variety of experimental and innovative business models. So what was said on the day?

Report by Deirdre Molloy

[Register and post your own comments on this report below...]

This accelerating pace of change echoes and reaffirms Guardian Unlimited Assistant Editor Neil McIntosh’s opening remarks on the day that both the BBC and more recently the Daily Mail had launched user comments on their news sites and elsewhere, signalling a new approach whereby the media were inviting users into their publishing concerns.

SESSION 1: Start Ups and and User Content

Kyle MacRae – Scoopt

Kyle explained that Scoopt’s citizen journalism intermediary service has been enabled by three factors – the technology of live moblogging to websites and other media; the cultural fact that people are very into participating; and the media’s desire to use it because although it may be a subjective view it’s still a valid view.

Scoopt was founded on the premise that if you take a picture that’s good enough to be published then you should be paid for it, Kyle explained, adding that they had had a positive response from publishers they have contacted and have sold the pictures onto.

The complexity involved from the media and news publisher point of view is based on the fact that you have to process and proceed with a great deal of content.

In terms of incoming content, Scoopt’s necessary starting point is one of scepticism – is this a genuine picture or a Photoshop job? The professional photographer knows all the legalities of dealing with people and the grey areas – in short, what does and doesn’t go.

Scoopt don’t publish anything on their site at the minute, but they are starting a new service that does publish pictures when there’s a story worth telling, but they will still put such photos through all the photo-journalistic rigours.

Soon, Kyle argued, the whole idea of user-generated content (UGC) and citizen media will disappear. But he raised ethics as an area to be careful with and urged caution. Scoopt tell their members not to break the law or take great risks, so they shouldn’t invade people’s privacy or break into burning buildings.

Alfie Dennen – Moblog UK

Alfie opened by saying that while he wouldn’t really describe himself as a business person the two main services he helped found and currently runs are Moblog UK and WereNotAfraid.com.

The web is becoming like a landscape of nodal areas, he said, where people gather or congregate. So how can you engage that audience from a business point of view and get their attention? To illustrate the issue, he took himself as a case in point – the only advertising he watches is stuff that comes into his sphere.

Web 2.0 – the read/write web – allows people to interact directly around it, although he admitted some of the buzz around Web 2.0 is just hype.

The caveat to user-generated content is copyright and how we look at it. Copyright is totally automated, he noted, and we will have to look closely at that over the next five years. The BBC is in a unique position with their Creative Archive project, and Creative Commons is another developing area to keep an eye on.

Moblog UK was started by Alfie with a friend a few years ago, and whereas other sites try to control the flow, Moblog UK is user-generated content-driven even in the design of the users’ moblog sites. Nokia have come in and allowed people to create their own versions.

Unless you have kudos with your brand you’re not likely to have any credibility with your users, he explained. In turn, Moblog UK offer to users CC licences for both their pictures and the site’s code.

Turning to We’reNotAfraid, Alfie explained that 10-year-olds to 70-year-olds were posting to the site because it’s so simple to use and non-partisan. It embodies the Web 2.0 attitude, and the flexible licences of Creative Commons and the like put us all in a better place for bringing people into the evolving internet.

Colin Donald – Futurescape

Colin outlined three major trends starting with “digital lifestyle aggregation”, which brings everything together for people using the web. For brands the issue is that they could be left on the outside of what are increasingly private networks of friends, family and interest groups.

Second in the notable trends was the user-generated content (UGC) flow. A lot of web content has no machine readable structure, Colin explained, and from the mass of citizen critics using blogs to communicate there will be experts emerging naturally, just because they are sought out and validated by the network of connected web users.

Thirdly he highlighted second generation blogs. They include a lot more multimedia and are automatically pulling content from a lot of other blogs. The person here is clearly at the centre of a lot of networks. He cited LiveJournal who had 7.5 million users as of November 2005, but most of these bloggers only see themselves speaking to 5 or 6 people. Second generation blogs also invite readers to take the content – text, photos, video, audio, etc - and put it on their blog. People are reputation-building themselves up as experts and then making income from their expertise at UGC.

Colin elaborated the UGC flow in more detail, with content flowing from users’ blogs to their networks blogs, and from their blogs to their networks. Where do brands stand when they have no access to this? The solution for brands is to liberate your content and give it to people so they can let it flow around. It should of course be in the correct format and copyright-tagged so people know what they can and cannot do with it.

The old-fashioned view is exemplified by War Of The Worlds. There’s a registration process, then you are let in, you get some information and a competition as an incentive, then content is given out.

Superstar VJs from the BBC was cited as part of the emerging patterns in UGC – it’s all about how to become a VJ, and they give you video clips (with the Creative Archive licence); then you give your video mix back to them. It’s a virtuous circle.

A computer can’t tell the difference between fact and opinion; but once that structure is placed into the content then it’s much easier for a search engine to asses and present the content and hence easier for the content to be aggregated. He cited events aggregator Upcoming.org (recently bought by Yahoo!) in this regard, and Google Base for housing, jobs, products and reviews.

The result of all this is that we can anticipate an era of mass criticism, Colin reckoned. What happens if 1,000 user reviews of the new Nokia phone come out in the week that it’s released and are aggregated instantly on the web? In turn, experts will suddenly emerge from the crowd and wield great influence. This can already be discerned, Colin noted, with independent blogs like Treonauts. Manufacturers Treo stonewalled this blogger to start with, but they now treat him as a valued member of the press.

Squidoo is another case in point. Seth Godin’s latest project and still in Beta, it embodies the idea that everyone is an expert on something, so you can come to his site, feed in the content from you blog as you please, and Squidoo aggregates the expertise.

Liberating your content now makes more sense in this context, Colin concluded, and you can give out you EPK (electronic press kit) to fans.

SESSION 1: Panel discussion and Q&A with the audience

Returning to the ethics and citizen journalism debate, Kyle explained that Scoopt only accept material from registered members and they phone everyone who submits anything interesting. A rigorous verification process preceeds the acceptance of content to be sold on, and as of that week they were accepting emailed submissions.

Neil McIntosh raised the legal concerns and Kyle said that was one of his main concerns too. Alfie recounted how he had had some concerns with the first We’re Not Afraid picture – they gave it a Creative Commons non-commercial attribution licence, then changed it to a commercial one. Colin commented how attention is being pulled back and forward between generators and aggregators.

Kyle explained that a very small percentage of the offered pictures are suitable for publication. They need to educate users more to reduce the review process. Spy Media in the USA is doing this – people can upload and set their own price. Buts it’s a slightly mythical view that buyers are going to browse galleries.

When you start thinking more about life through a lens then you start to capture interesting things and to be more creative, Kyle noted. The nature of news is going to change to a degree to incorporate more stuff that’s happening out there on the streets instead of press release-generated or calendar news stories.

Concerns about moderation and ownership of content on Moblog wers raised from the audience but Alfie explained that they have a comprehensive set of terms and conditions and always have at least 5 moderators operating at any one time. He stressed the importance of tagging to track content, so that Google becomes the tracking tool. Colin flagged up the different culture in France with regards to copyright.

Someone asked about tracking generally and Alfie explained that with Quicktime video you can embed tracking. Colin added that when structured content arrives it will be much easier. Chris Jennings in the audience asked about structured blogging and Colin said that with second generation blogging, and also microformats, you can add tags within html that will identify the author and the content. Technorati, Microsoft, Yahoo! and AOL are all participating in these developments.

The future of reviews was raised, with paid bloggers versus independents. Colin said this would be sorted out through the feedback system which eliminates biases and exposes them. It’s about who you know and who you trust. Alfie concurred, explaining that spin-like or fake blogs won’t be referred or linked to, so you won’t be on Google, so no-one will visit you or take you at face value.

SESSION 2: Major Media Companies and User Content

Helen Copnall – MSN Spaces

MSN Spaces is essentially an online scrapbook, Helen commented and she outlined some figures to explain the scope of the phenomenon. There are nearly 3 million (*) MSN Space users in the UK and 26 million globally. Seventy five million unique users visited Spaces in September 2005 and generated 1 billion page views. Over 12 million images are uploaded to Spaces every day. A third of young people online have launched their own blog and the 13-17 age group make up the majority of their users.

So why is blogging important for brands? On the plus side, for a start, they are arguably the single most personally engaging consumer media environment available to us today and 77% of UK consumers would use information fro blogs to influence their purchasing decisions. Blogs are word of mouth, and UGC holds key insights for marketers. Blogs also enable brands to preset a human face.

On the less positive side, the blogging community embraces anti-commercial values and there is less control, with blogs being more organic than traditional media, so content can be on or off-message. In terms of a highly cynical and sensitive audience suspicious of over-marketing, you need to ask if your brand is of interest to bloggers. What’s more, extreme cases of bad PR in the blogosphere have led to death by blog – for example the resignation of Neil French after Nancy Vonk blogged his sexist remarks.

Helen looked at how MSN Spaces had worked with Volvo using blogging to create positive brand association. They created a hub called “What’s Your Story?” which was a custom-published and Volvo-branded MSN Spaces site. This was very successful for Volvo and it worked by not pushing a message in peoples face but being very supportive of UGC in their approach.

Canon has also been able to harness this potential on MSN Spaces. It worked by promoting simple nature ideas in photography, very much in keeping with the spirit of the medium. Microsoft have launched Windows Live! which will use MSN Spaces to have direct dialogue with the customer and discover their thoughts.

She closed with some descriptions of blogs and UGC’s effects and potential – masses of people connected simultaneously; the CRM tool for brands and products in the 21st century; product development through communities; and last but not least, the democratization of industry, media and commerce.

[* note: figure updated for April 2006]

Anthony Lilley – Fourdocs & Magic Lantern Productions

Channel Four asked – what do documentaries of the internet want to be and Magic Lantern replied that broadband is not just a distribution mechanism. Peter Dale at Channel 4 agreed that it could be a lot more, that it could be the format for the rant or impassioned statement.

There is no editorial hierarchy in that all documentaries do appear on the homepage at some point, Anthony explained. They are rated and reviewed by the viewers. The project is taking a midway approach between the UGC free-for-all and the editorial control of traditional television.

The site had only been live for two weeks at that point and Anthony stressed the importance feedback would have in its development. Many film-makers were already starting to see Four Docs as a free portfolio service. Students were another key group of documentary-makers, also political and charitable campaigns.

Channel 4 do also view Four Docs as akin to a talent development mechanism, and there are some brand-sponsored bursaries, but the commissioning department just look at the top five rated docs per week. Most are just made for fun or passion, and many are made by kids. Typically they’re very personal in content.

Anthony then outlined some major structural issues they’d come across. If they were going to ask people to have standards, they needed to give them some help, so they set up an online film school. They also gave legal information, such as a sequence on defamation. Anthony described Four Docs as “an editorial proposition with user-generated input”.

An archive of great documentaries are listed on the site, to inspire people and give the history and context of documentary-making. This places the project in the entire documentary continuum.

After “inspire and engage” came “scaffolding and support”. Community was the first element, with tools all built-in to collect feedback on what users think they are doing wrong or could do to enhance the service. They have also collected music from people who want to have their music downloaded. Lastly the site editors run a blog.

Channel 4 agree that it will take about a year to know if it has been a success or not. There are no ads on the site as it’s all completely part of Channel 4’s public service remit.

Tellingly, the first film which was submitted came from a phone and they are looking at using the mobile phone to distribute the documentaries as well. They are also looking at different genres of Four Docs.

SESSION 2: Panel discussion and Q&A with the audience

Asked if she would recommend MSN Spaces to all brands, Helen Copnall said it would depend on the type of product. Volvo’s expectations were quite open-ended and the hub has been kept open, while the Canon project had just gone live.

Anthony commented that it’s a continuum between using media as a forum for conversation and more structured content. Life is being more mediated all the time. All films on Four Docs are CC-licensed to the film maker, so Channel 4 cannot sell them to anywhere else. The particular CC licence is “non-commercial, attributed and not derivative”. They have a relatively strict moderation policy. But the software actually tells them if something is popular in terms of downloads, not only in terms of user response.

In the early phase, Anthony continued, it was being weighted toward people who they knew would want to contribute. In terms of how else they were helping people discover the service, Anthony explained they were approaching local initiatives and also going through Ideas Factory.

On the question of how Windows Live! fits in with MSN Spaces, Helen explained that Spaces technology was being used for opening up and inviting more dialogue with external developers and users on Window’s Live while it is public but still in Beta.

Four Docs moderation is fourfold, said Anthony. Moderation of the films themselves, ratings reviews, a technical clinic, and a general forum. Moreover, they flag films with a rating icon.

Helen added that Spaces has profanity and image filters to safeguard against certain types of content. There’s a minimum registration age of 13 on Spaces and they also regard education as very important.

[NB: Jon Baines of Lateral was due to speak at this event but was unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances]

See the original EVENT OUTLINE

User generated content and Content 2.0 - 6th June 2006
Discuss the issues further with global thought leaders from Yahoo!, Microsoft, Myspace, Blinkx, GapingVoid, The Big Blog Company and more at the NMK conference Content 2.0 on 6th June at the RSA in London.

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Chair: Neil McIntosh - Assistant Editor, Guardian Unlimited
Neil is assistant editor of Guardian Unlimited, the Guardian's award-winning website. He takes particular interest in editorial innovation and leads development of the site's network of weblogs, which have notched up a number of technological and editorial firsts in the last year. He has also written and spoken extensively on the impact blogs and nanopublishers are having on the media. Prior to joining Guardian Unlimited in 2004, Neil was deputy editor of the Guardian’s technology section, Online, and he has worked as a reporter and editor for a variety of newspapers, online services and broadcasters. He lives in London with his wife, and two cats, and has his own blog at www.completetosh.com

Anthony Lilley - Executive Producer, Fourdocs & MD, Magic Lantern Productions
Magic Lantern Productions is an award-winning interactive media production company specialising in broadband content, interactive television, digital video, CD-ROM and DVD. Established in 1996, clients include Channel 4 (for whom Anthony is Exec Producer of new broadband channel fourdocs), BBC, BT, Nigella Lawson’s Pabulum Productions, UKTV, Telewest, Discovery, C21 Media, the Film Council, NESTA, the DTI, the DfES, Skillset, The Tate Modern and PACT. Anthony is Vice-Chairman of PACT and Chair of its Interactive Media Policy Group, a member of the Executive and the Advisory Council of the Broadband Stakeholders’ Group and a Working Group Chairman of the government’s Creative Industries IP Forum as well as an Advisory Board of member of NESTA Futurelab. He has just joined the board of Creative Commons International.

Alfie Dennen - Co-Founder, moblogUK
Alfie Dennen is a web developer working in both mobile and user generated content arenas. Original mobile content such as Orgasmatones and Video media for the Palm OS at www.palmpixels.com reflects his interest as a developer in the niche made large, whilst larger socially motivated and user created sites such as moblogUK (www.moblog.co.uk) and We're Not Afraid (www.werenotafraid.com) show his interest in the power of the web to create social space and meaning. Following the We're Not Afraid exhibition in central London's Proud Galleries, Alfie is currently working on the We're Not Afraid book, and expanding moblogUK further into Europe.

Kyle MacRae - MD, Scoopt.com
Scoopt is the citizen journalist's free-to-join photographic agency, an intermediary between members of the public who take photos with their cameraphones and the mainstream media who may wish to buy their pictures. Kyle MacRae, 42, has worked as a freelance IT journalist and author for the last eight years, publishing 10 books and writing features for the national and tech press. Prior to that, he led a director-level career in the clothing industry.

Colin Donald - Director, Futurescape
Colin Donald is the co-founder of the new media research and creative consultancy Futurescape. The company's portfolio includes research and original concepts for clients such as Granada, Carlton and Microsoft. Futurescape's latest venture is the live music webcast listings site, Live Net Music (described by The Guardian as "the Radio Times for the net generation") where users are invited to contribute news via del.icio.us. His blog, Broadband Stars analyses the shifting balance of power between mass media and creative Net users.

Jon Bains - Founder, Lateral
Chairman of award-winning digital marketing and communications agency Lateral.net (now in it’s eighth year), Jon has worked on commercial and creative strategy with a long list of top-flight brands including; Levi’s® (Europe and America), Five, Nintendo and Stella Artois. He spends most of his time thinking about cross media integration and has an enormous passion for communication in all its forms.

Helen Copnall - Business Manager, MSN Messenger and MSN Mobile, MSN.co.uk
Helen was appointed MSN UK Business Manager for MSN Messenger and MSN Mobile in February 2005, following nearly four years working on Sales Strategy for Products where she won the MSN Global Sales Person of the Year award. She works in pushing forward the UK Market Communications Product Strategy, along side the Information Services product group, to enrich and further develop the MSN customer experience. Long term, the team will start building presence in the social networking, SMB and Mobile offerings.