Is UGC a fad or just good for some things?

What purpose does User Generated Content (UGC) serve after all? Is it really the case of a phenomenon that is rapidly turning into a fad? Will we see a resurgence of old school type of media businesses as it proves to be the only really viable type at the end of the day?

No one can blame people for starting to ask these sorts of questions. At least when it comes to media and entertainment. Because there are more and more signs that people by and large simply do not follow the leads of the UGC priesthood.

Let me draw out a couple of examples.

Yesterday brought the story of Kyte.TV which is taking even more funding and moving away from the UGC space. Why? Because people aren’t uploading enough media content to support af claim for a UGC based model. People who upload are predominantly on YouTube, and even here statistics from last year clearly shows that is an abysmal few people who actually upload content - far less than the one percent often quoted in the 90-9-1 rule of UGC.

Kyte.TV also shows another significant problem of relying on UGC - the lack of a business model. It seems like there are two options today: Google AdSense or surviving on VC funding. Well, it takes little brain to realize that option two is not viable, and as far as option one is concerned it’s still an open issue whether a business can actually scale and support employees, infrastructere etc. just from this one source of revenue. UGC as a business seems like an uphill struggle to put it mildly.

On top of all this if you look at the top bloggers around, it’s evident that what they’re really aspiring towards is becoming what they always say they hate - journalists and media. They are all looking towards building media empires or at least networks from their blogs and become part of the media incrowd. This goes for TechCrunch, Giga Omni Media, ReadWriteWeb et al.

All put together it seems like the whole UGC wave is being kept alive by a core of high priests and strong believers but without any real traction among the majority of ordinary people. Yes, I am fully aware that loads of people upload video, post blogs and photos and comment on news and entertainment. But compared to what could be if this was really EMBRACED by the people at large, it’s still next to nothing.

Is it possible that the vast majority of people just don’t care enough to be a part of this. I think the answer is a big ‘Yes!’. Life’s simply too short.

But then looking at the other side, it’s interesting to see what actually works? What gets real traction and build momentum? Or - as you could put it - what has a high ratio of participation?

Look no further than the various guides, how-to’s and niche communities, where people exchange ideas, tips and comments of value. Value is key here. If a service provide a significant value in peoples lives, they will participate in order to gain an advantage they can put to good use. If they help people in the process, fine. But it’s ultimately a question about solving their own needs first.

The need for usefulness is just plain bigger than anything else in our busy lives.
And that’s why UGC may ultimately be a fad in news and entertainment, but the greatest thing since the invention of the World Wide Web in more useful applications.