Letting the Inmates Run the Asylum: LOLs, FAILs and User-Driven Content

I Can Has Cheezburger? and Failblog.org anchor the web’s leading network of humor and entertainment web sites. All of the Cheezburger Network sites are built upon a user-generated content (UGC) business model. As one of the few companies operating profitable UGC businesses, we have a unique perspective on way UGC influences creation. Learn by example how it’s done and why you need to be aware of user-generated and user-driven content.

The purpose of this talk is two fold:

• To illustrate that regardless of business category (media, e-commerce, or otherwise) anybody who is creating content needs to be thinking about how UGC fits into their space, and how the evolution of UGC presents threats and opportunities to their business.

• To show in detail how UGC is implemented in a variety of contexts so that the audience can see real-world examples of how UGC is leading to better content, greater relevance, happier users, and lower costs.

First, I will briefly explain what UGC is, the principles it’s based upon, how and why it works.

Then, I will illustrate via examples that UGC is not a new phenomena, but that technology is making it more easier and more effective.

Next, I’ll show how the evolution of UGC is resulting in a disruptive, yet transformational opportunity for content creators. Technology is enabling the evolution of UGC into UDC: from “user-generated content” to “user-driven content”. The result is higher quality content, that is more relevant to the audience…and the dirty little secret: at a lower cost.

Finally, the talk would be incomplete without showing the audience in detail how UDC is implemented in the real-world. The talk will walk through a wide variety of examples from companies in all business categories (media, e-commerce, etc.) who are using UDC successfully. In addition, I will highlight best practices and pitfalls to be avoided.