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IAMAI weighs in on Web2.0 and User Generated Content (UGC)

April 12, 2007 · Posted in Misc, Tech tidbit

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has a fortnightly newsletter called Thinking Aloud. The focus of their latest issue is Web2.0, social media and User Generated Content (UGC).

Kavita Iyer, CEO - MingleBox explains what UGC means and the power of UGC:

Earlier media platforms were more broadcast in nature and all a person could do was mostly consume. So there were few producers and a large number of consumers. Think of it as a one-to-many relationship. Now the same consumer has turned a producer too, leading to a many-to-many relationship. All of us produce content, leading to many-to-many relationships. The one-to-many relationship, though still continues, albeit with a change in the roles. Now it is you and me who produce and consume at the same time. My community consumes what I produce, that being the new one-to-many relationship. I, being a part of the community, consume what others produce.

Vikas Tandon, MD - Indigo Consulting talks about corporate blogging:

A Blog is nothing but an online journal about whatever it is that suits the writerâ€™s fancy. And therefore a corporate blog is a journal of whatever it is that the company wants to communicate to its audience â€“ customers, employees, stakeholders, and general public.

By its very nature, a website is a formal identity of a company in cyberspace. Think of a blog like meeting a customer for an after-hours drink. The relationship is still professional, but the context is unofficial. It allows you to take the relationship one level deeper.

And thatâ€™s where lies the key to the success of a corporate blog â€“ identifying and defining a clear purpose to the blog. Why do we need a blog? Who will it address? What do we intend to communicate via the blog?

Atanu Mandal - President ACL Wireless explains mobile Advertising 2.0 (I’m still wondering why the 2.0):

People do more than just talk or communicate on their mobile phones. A significant percentage of users are using their mobile phones for a whole lot of content services; starting from text based services to rich media content such as music, games and video. They are paying a fee for the use of these services. The good news is, this number is growing by the day.

Some people are receptive to adverting on their mobile phones. Some independent surveys have quoted this figure to be as high as 20%. There are technologies and solutions to serve customized and contextual advertising on mobile. If users are looking for travel information, they can be served advertisements of hotels or travel agents.

Rahul Bahuguna - Senior Biz Analyst - MIH Pvt ltd elaborates on breaking barriers between publisher and user:

So what makes a publisher come to terms with the new type of users?

* Stop thinking about people as users but consider them as partners.

* Create opportunities for people to be encouraged to use the content they’re creating. They own the content and with the tools you provide can employ it for their self-promotion or use it within their communities or network.

* Make your platform transparent for your advertisers. Users generate enormous amount of content, and this can be monetized for advertising. Advertisers are wary about promoting their brands around what can often be termed as ‘bad’ user generated content.

* Change your metrics for measurement. Page views and hits may sound good but these metrics are again dependant on the content. You need to realize that the real value lies in the community you have created.

* Consider revenue streams other than advertising. If you’re building an environment in which people can do things with their content, some of the things they may wish to do with them open up other potential revenue streams - getting things printed, published, turned into books.