User generated content

There is an enormous amount of material provided by people who are not media professionals. Referred to as User Generated content (UGC), some is obviously derived from consumers while at other times its less clear. Even the Royal Television Society has an award for the best use of UGC. This was recently won by Sky News " in recognition of its groundbreaking work in getting users involved in content and distributing video news." The UGC award was won by Skys's Green Week, which saw people throughout the country invited to help create a snapshot of climate change. In addition to special reports, exclusive interviews and practical advice, contributors were invited to make a video about the environment. Sky are not the only industry professu=ionals making use of UGC. Jake reports that Sony and Yahoo have collaborated on a venture to use this content. Michael makes the point of the implications of the use of UGC on journalists and broadcasters. Rob also highlights the way that the media industry feels threatened by UGC and while they expect to be making money from it over the next few years they are unsure as to exactly how!