Comments on: User generated content doesn’t belong on the mainstream media

By: John Adamson

John Adamson — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:54:58 +0000

I very much enjoy certain genres of this new media and loved the autograph guy from Homemade. I remember he had his own chatshow and it was one of the best bits of TV that year.

User generated content is good for TV on some occassions and people like Mark Boardman , Dave Berry and T4 bring a new style to TV which has a targeted audience ( 15-25)

By: Abdirisaq Hassan

Abdirisaq Hassan — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:52:18 +0000

I agree with you Kevin. UCG content should be subject to debate and discussion and unfortunately main stream media will not allow general users to freely express their thoughts.

That’s why UGC works well on the internet – you are free. We can all CHOOSE what we want to see/read and also express how we feel about it.

But there is one thing you must not forget – TV is dying out and they will do anything to reduce costs and whilst filling the white spaces with any rubbish.

By: Robin Hamman

Robin Hamman — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 15:38:48 +0000

I posted about this myself just the other day - there is nothing about "user generated content" that makes it inherently good. Hell, lots of it isn't even particularly participatory or even draws people away from meaningful participation. Along with the it's often of questionable quality issue , I'm also concerned that the calls to action made by mainstream media organisations are often empty - participation as a way of generating data on particitipation rather than as a way of furthering understanding or improving our story telling. Tsk tsk all you bean counting UGC data munchers out there...

By: doctorvee » How much can they not get it?

doctorvee » How much can they not get it? — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 21:47:51 +0000

[...] in the UK was originally part of ‘Your Five Live’, which I mentioned in my post about user generated content. Specifically, it was a feature of Five Live’s Breakfast [...]

By: Vicky

Vicky — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 20:34:42 +0000

I agree. It frustrates me a bit that ‘social’ is the new buzzword as far as the web is concerned, and that every day there’s another report in the media about this ‘ere new-fangled blogging.

Online communities and people voicing their opinions/pictures of their cat are as old as the internet; there must be people who work in television who remember Yoof TV in the 80s and can save us all the embarrassment of tuning into some of the shows you mention, which are in the same vein – but without the hideous pastel fashion and bad rap soundtracks.

If there is a big deal nowadays it’s the ability to find, effectively peer-review and then share amazing user-generated content in a variety of formats more easily (by the use of tagging and memes etc.) and contribute regardless of your level of computer literacy (unlike way back when you had to telnet into the university’s system and do everything from the command line, or have a masterful grasp of HTML) – not mainstream media just dumping any old crap on us under the guise of freedom of transmission. Watch cable telly in the US to see how that can backfire…

By: ABC Digital Futures » Blog Archive » http://doctorvee.co.uk/2007/02/19/user-generated-content-doesnt-belong-on-the-mainstream-media

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 02:42:42 +0000

[...] Doctorvee isn’t happy: (User Generated Content) has become a sickeningly trendy thing for news outlets to do now. Now every time a turkey sneezes it’s all, “Send us your pictures to news@sky.com”, or even worse, “Have your say by recording yourself on your 3G phone.” I mean really. UGC has become a gimmick used by news channels to make them look all hip and cool…. [...]

By: Colin Campbell

Colin Campbell — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 20:11:31 +0000

Content is the key here. It is expensive to do MSM and some of the things that you talk about fill up valuable time between the blockbuster stories and shows. My friend is high up in Fox Corporation in Los Angeles, who invented vacuous television shows such as Cops, which populate much of TV now. Apparently Rupert loved the strategy because it was so cheap (and popular). TV for the common man.

By: doctorvee » How UGC on the MSM should and shouldn’t be done

doctorvee » How UGC on the MSM should and shouldn’t be done — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 22:58:16 +0000

[...] BBC News 24 was slightly more watchable. I was thinking about my post about user generated content in the mainstream media. This is exactly the sort of news story where UGC works well. [...]

By: jameshigham

jameshigham — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 07:53:31 +0000

Fascinating take on this. It’s a media dance of MSM, feeder news syndication and the blogosphere.

By: Ryan Morrison

Ryan Morrison — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 21:23:41 +0000

Citizen journalism and it’s relation to mainstream media, as you’ve mentioned extensively, is supposed to be a way for sides of a story to be put forward that wouldn’t normally be filmed.

You’re spot on when you say that broadcasters seem to be taking things to an extreme and 24 hour TV news is to blame for this – completely – too much time and not enough news/resources to fill it.

The BBC doesn’t seem to be waking up to this (to a certain extent) with a new guideline that suggests ‘we’ should be joining conversations on other sites instead of starting them again on ours.