A report commissioned by the Ofcom has concluded that areas of User Generated Content require attention.
The Value of User-Generated Content, produced for the communications regulator by Turner, Hopkins, said many of the creative technology companies spoken to for the report were nervous about regulation.
It identified a number of areas of concern namely:
• Participation and availability
• Intellectual Property law and its relationship to innovation
• Data and content exploitation
• Media Plurality and competition
• Education of users on issues such as IP, data protection and illegal content
• Broadband infrastructure in key production areas (e.g. Tech City)
While not new, Turner, Hopkins said USG had now gone mainstream, boosted by the growth in broadband penetration and the development of smart phones and tablets. “While older forms of UGC practice were a relatively niche activity, the rise of lighter touch UGC has led to mass participation in – and engagement with – a wide range of fields, from local and national politics to entertainment, sport and the arts,” the consultancy said.
It added that YouTube together with Facebook (for social), Twitter (for microblogging), Tumblr and Pinterest for social curation and SoundCloud for audio had emerged as significant platforms.
