Here Comes User-Generated Content

Robert Stribley July 28, 2009

Young and old alike engage in the UGC. (image via Orion Nebula)

Blogs, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, discussion boards – these are just a few of the sources companies have these days for the cultivation and harvesting of user-generated content – or UGC, if you prefer fewer syllables. Still, many organizations hesitate to delve into this rich world of often freely-provided content. Why? Well, it’s often due to some crippling fears they have about the quality of such content. And where to begin in moderating it.

In their new white paper “Cultivating Effective User-Generated Content,” Razorfish’s Bob Maynard and Robert Stribley discuss how imperative it is for companies to address this content and to overcome the fears that prevent action on this front.

Microposts

Plentiful Content, So Cheap: http://nyti.ms/9g31By
Content is Not Just King, it is the Emperor of All Things Digital: http://bit.ly/aYYB39
Comcast: Online NBC Content Stays Free: http://bit.ly/bDcWJi
Murdoch Says Online Pay Model Coming in Next Two Months: http://bit.ly/bv7cM5
Condé Nast and Time Inc. Cheer iPad; Others Have Doubts: http://bit.ly/9E6gLO
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Events

Content Strategy Forum 2010

April 15-16, Paris, France

Rachel Lovinger co-leads a workshop on Content Analysis and gives a talk on Semantic Web. Complete Program & Registration.
SXSW Interactive

March 12 - 16, Austin, TX

Kyle Outlaw leads a panel on The UX of Mobile, on Friday, March 12 at 2:00PM.

Rachel Lovinger co-presents a talk called Understanding Content: The Stuff We Design For, as part of the Content Strategy Workshop, on Friday March 12 at 3:30PM.

Recommended Sites

What is this site, exactly?

Scatter/Gather is a blog about the intersection of content strategy, pop culture and human behavior. Contributors are all practicing Content Strategists at the offices of Razorfish, an international digital design agency.

This blog reflects the views of the individual contributors and not necessarily the views of Razorfish.

What is content strategy?

Oooh, the elevator pitch. Here we go: There is content on the web. You love it. Or you do not love it. Either way, it is out there, and it is growing. Content strategy encompasses the discovery, ideation, implementation and maintenance of all types of digital content—links, tags, metadata, video, whatever. Ultimately, we work closely with information architects and creative types to craft delicious, usable web experiences for our clients.

Why "scatter/gather"?

It’s an iterative data clustering operation that’s designed to enable rich browsing capabilities. “Data clustering” seems rather awesome and relevant to our quest, plus we thought the phrase just sounded really cool.