[insert nails on the chalkboard sound] user generated content

Reading the article Death to User-Generated Content
struck a harmonious chord in my head. "IT'S PERFECT!" I thought to myself. In fact, those "junkies" are not like drug junkies, but high school junkies infesting Facebook and MySpace. Their form is so robotic and predictable: post a stupid photo, video, or some other kind of content and EXPECT a result with "LMAO! OMG no she didn't! ROFL!" It drives me insane. "Authentic media" sounds so much more interesting than "user generated content" (UGC). UGC sounds like a social faux pas and so "blah".

It is interesting even what Al Gore is trying to do with Current TV (though he needs someone who is better at coming up with names), allowing other users to (please forgive my phrasing) generate content. It is another step closer to reality television. He has nabbed an Emmy for it with his partner in the project, Joel Hyatt. Now, the only thing they are/are still missing: that tiny group called an audience. The problem is that it might not be with the actual programming itself, though it could be of poor quality; rather, it could be because of the association that many view as slimy with Al Gore at the helm (and Joel Hyatt). According to author Brian Stelter, in the article Al Gore's Other Cause: Current TV,

"Current is now available in 41 million U.S. households, and 11 million more in Britain and Ireland. Derek Baine, a media analyst with the research firm SNL Kagan, estimated the channel earned 11 cents a month for each subscriber, more than most other young cable channels."

Then again, maybe people would rather just get what they want for free from [insert nails on the chalkboard sound] user generated content and YouTube. Or it is Al Gore...

The Mouth's Word

In a world where advertisers (according to a recent study) are considered to be only one notch above used car salesman, advertisers are looking (as well as marketers) for a new way to reach consumers. As Shel Israel/Robert Scoble's book "Naked Conversations" mentioned, Interruption Marketing was simply obnoxious. One of the resultants was viral marketing (which word of mouth falls under). The reason for word of mouth's success is the layer of truth and understanding. The most powerful word of mouth (WOM) comes from people you trust, namely friends and family. That is not to understate the power of WOM through blogs: they are a powerful marketer's tool.

Blogs create a one-to-many relationship, which provides for a good way to get your message out to the public. Blogs also allow one to comment on prior posts/comments. This is important because as jackie Huba states, "...Two-way marketing is essential to evangelism. Word-of-mouth tactics may backfire if they are one-directional." (Scoble and Israel 38)

Another key function for marketers/advertisers is the ability to advertise on blogs. For instance, on an ESPN blog, one advertisement could be for Cleveland Indians playoff tickets or for a related product. This way, WOM is working in conjunction with interstitals, blog ads, etc.

A quick example of WOM at work is the video that has been long circulating (by today's circumstances) is The Landlord. My friend sent it to me and so I knew I had to check it out. Through WOM this video has had an obscene number of hits.

The only thing I can predict that will come next is taking blogging and Google's YouTube and Google Video (among other services) to become video blogs. WOM would be an excellent choice for promotion because it is so easy and cheap.

Scoble, Robert, and Shel Israel. Naked Conversations. 1st Ed. Hoboken, NJ: Jon Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2006.