What is User Generated Content (UGC)

User generated content 

Put simply, all the photos, videos, articles and comments that we upload to the web; is user generated content. 

Facebook and many commercial websites, will display what they consider appropriate advertising for you. 
The adverts are chosen based on your online activity, and the kind of content you like and share, and the comments you create. 

Bloggers have known this for a long time and they made money from this simple fact. They would create some content and place it on their blogs. 
Advertisers would pay for advert space on these blog pages. Simple.

But things are changing fast. The old regime is crumbling. New ways for writers to get paid have emerged and now bloggers are turning away from the giant ezines and setting up their own websites that they can control totally. 

It's a real revolution as writers do not have to rely on ad revenue supported platforms anymore because the public can support the writers they like with a donation directly into their Paypal account. 

This may cause a whole restructuring of the way business is done on the web. 
People are fed up with the insanity of having their private lives exposed to the snooping cookies of the search engines. 

This may well signal the next evolution of the web. Where content creators can make a living without giving up every scrap of the personal details.

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Images are as important as video to grab people's attention and draw them in to make a purchase. You can buy this image and have it printed on just about anything. Like this iPhone case. I had to spend a lot of time ad money to go and photograph this image of Baalbek in Lebanon. 

This is part one of a video documentary that I made of the temple complex at Heliopolis (City of the Sun) today known as Baalbek Lebanon.

Baalbek Lebanon Documentary

Blogging and Vlogging (video blogs) is changing. Using YouTube videos as part of your content marketing is still a relatively new medium. Adding videos to your content increases the value added to the readers of your blog. 

As a responsible content creator it is your duty to try to find accurate facts and present them in a meaningful way. Although many used sensational titles and headlines to grab attention. This is not the way to build your crediblitiy as a content creator.

The public are becoming suspicious and aware of these adverts following them around from website to website. 
Some are questioning their sanity as they try to figure out what is happening to them.

They report feeling paranoid by 'those ads' that seem to follow them everywhere. 
They were probably unaware that websites plant small programs (cookies) in their browsers. So wherever they go the ads just keep following them. 

The public are becoming a little more tech savvy thanks in part by European laws that forced companies to make web users acknowledge that the website they were on, was in fact tracking their behaviors. 

By accepting the cookies policy you have agreed that they can follow you. 

Accordingly your online activity is highly valued by advertisers. It may give an indication of your interests and appropriate ads will be feed to your browser.  

This has been the basic business model of most commercial websites since the development of the web, even before the rise of the search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. 


When you search for something. The search engines hopefully find what you are looking for, and present you with the content you wanted, and a selection of related adverts. 
As search has improved, so has the accuracy of targeting advertising to specific users. 

This method of targeting has ethical, social and political ramifications. The process is fully automated. It will deliver to you exactly what you are searching for, if you interact with it long enough.

You could end up being targeted for every conceivable Star Wars product ever created. 
Alternatively you could quite easily be radicalized into a myriad of weird and wonderful belief systems. 

Depending on your level of self awareness, your choices may well determine your future.   

Back to the mundane

So where to place your content?

Always check out new social website Start-ups. There are new social websites springing up daily and disappearing just as quickly.  

It is always worth checking out the new website start-ups, just in case they have thought up a new money making idea.

It is also advisable to spread your content around on several websites or buy your own website. Instead of placing your photos on Facebook. Put them on a website that pays you or sell's your photos for you, like. Redbubble

This way they are protected from being copied without your permission.

It is also a good idea to throw a bucket of water over your head when you become to comfortable on one website. Things always seem to fall foul of the Google monster.

Blogging itself is changing and continues to evolve. There are many ways to be socially engaged online, and get paid via advertising for your user generated content. 

Another website that paid for your content has already gone bust.  
It was a new social network called tsu.co. (pronounced sue) You have to have an invite code to join. (see video)

As with the other websites above, they paid you for every view and share that you make. 

Tsu.co is different in the way that they generate income. They did not rely on outside web traffic, but generated internal traffic from the interactions of the members. 

Tsu has grew very fast. It was ranked among the top websites.

It's was like a hybrid cross between Facebook and Twitter, except you got paid! via cheque. 

Earnings on tsu depended on levels of activity but posts can also generate cumulative earnings over time and if they are shared on Twitter etc.

A lot of time interacting on the website is not required.

User Generated Content (UGC)

So how does UGC work? As mentioned above, people search for all kinds of information. Your content; articles, videos or photo posts, can help them find what they are searching for, in an interesting and rewarding way. 

Users can make a income by supplying the answers to their queries. This is not a new idea. 

Where users supply these answers is optional, on your own website or someone else's like Bubblews, Blogger or on one of the 1,000's of other content sites.

None of these ideas are get rich quick schemes. These all work to a point. Some better than others. Having tested them all personally. 

Content is created by humans. It helps if it is interesting, entertaining and factually correct. 

Computers are very useful but they cannot create content, at least not like humans...yet!

This is one area where people are still superior to machines. People are searching for answers to all kinds of questions. From 'the meaning of life' to 'how to make pancakes'.

Someone has to produce this content. Once users have created the content then it can generate a passive income over time. 

Think about the following questions.

• How much did you make on Facebook in the last year? 

• How many photos and videos did you upload?

• How many comments did you make? 

• How many times did you like and share things?

Most users don't do 'content', because they think it's difficult or boring.They do not realize that they are doing it already. 

In fact, you are probably already doing what you need to do everyday, on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. 

You are giving your content away for free and Facebook, Twitter and every other social network  is making a fortune from it.

My name is Michael Mulcahy. I am an IT Teacher and Lecturer in the Social Sciences.

I am conducting participant observation research, into online activity/working via social networks. 

Starting in 2010. I joined some writing, video and photography websites. 

The research centered on the time, effort and engagement required to make income from the web, without actually directly selling anything.

Going Mobile  

It seemed like everyone was online, permanently.  I wanted to know what people were doing all day, every day. This trend has accelerated with the rapid move to mobile devices which account for over 50% of web traffic as of 2014.

Few sociologists if any, are actively investigating this fascinating cultural and seismic shift in human interactions via new technology. It is still a relatively new field of research.

The interesting aspect of this work for me, has been to witness that so many people seem totally unaware of what is actually happening in their daily engagement online. They have little if any idea that their activity and data is so valuable. 

They seem to have little or no understanding of their activity. Other than the superficial. They see the social networks as places where they can share things without actually thinking about what they are sharing. Or who with.   

While it is evident that it is possible to earn an income in a variety of web based ways. Many people are ignorant to ignore this simple fact, even though they are probably already doing most of this stuff anyway. They are just not getting paid for it. 

For example. How many videos have been uploaded to Facebook and other social websites for free when they could quite easily have been uploaded to YouTube and made the owner some money. It's not difficult. 

Secondly, it's quite simple to find out what people are searching for by using any number of keyword search tools, and create content to satisfy those queries. Maybe it is because it is so obvious, that many people have missed the point.

To track and analyse content searches use Webmaster Tools. It's free.

The web is a great way to try out new ideas. People on the web are more than willing to give you their opinion. Although this type of work will not replace any real job any time soon. Income streams are biased in favor of the owners of search.

Types of income related activities on the web, fall into many areas. Here are three simple ways with zero entry costs. 

Write a Blog. Sharing Videos. Image Sharing.

All UGC methods of earning rely in some way or another on sales of products, page views or both. 

You do not have to sell anything at all. That is handled by Google ads, and a whole bunch of other advertisers trying to get on 'your' web pages. Especially if your work becomes popular. 

Your content's subject matter is entirely up to you. For example: If you have a popular koi fish article online, they will be fighting for space on your webpages. The video below of Koi feeding is a good example of the kinds of content that has a ready and waiting audience.

Advertisers have moved lock, stock and barrel onto the online market. The content of each of the above three formats are as varied, as the number of people that produce the content. 

Computer Skills

Computer skills are obviously helpful. For example:- Many users  spend a lot of time online already, but have rarely thought about what they are actually doing. 
For many it is just a distraction from the everyday humdrum job. Often they are playing games.

Many successful online enterprises focus on specific areas of interest.  For example. Budding writers, artists and people working in the crafts are very popular.

'What it is like to be a teacher, lawyer or a mother of 15 kids'

There are people that may be considering one of these as a  career choice or a life experience. They can learn from the insiders view of that job or vocation.

It is advisable to sign up for an Adsense account if you intend to write online. Google's adsense can contribute to the earnings potential of good web content. There are also many other advertisers out there that you can approach directly.

There is no secret formula. Just good old fashioned, hard work and effort. Directed in a focused and precise way. 

Finally and stating the obvious. There is a lot more research needed into this whole area of the web. It is still in it's formative years.

10 years ago there was no Google or Facebook. What will the next 10 years bring?

They are literally millions of legitimate looking scams on the web.  If someone tries to 'sell you' the insiders tips to the web. Ignore them. 

There are no insider tips, just create the kind of user generated content that people are searching for and it will be rewarded. 

Solve their problems or answer their query, and you are on the right road to successful content creation. 

                                                

©mamulcahy 2010 - 2016

The Role of Gift Giving (sharing) in Social Networking

The giving and receiving of gifts by humans and other species has ancient roots and is hardwired into our very survival. 

The concept of the gift covers a range of situations and circumstances and has been recorded throughout human history.  

Today the web is the primary domain where these types of interactions can be observed daily. 

The gifts are in the form of posts, likes, shares and comments.

We tend to think of gifts in a very simplistic way and yet the gifts function, has far reaching implications and can determine many aspects of our everyday lives. 

What drives the gift giver is more important than the gift itself. The gift can become a commodity of exchange. 

The content that people most readily share is the content that they feel makes them look good, intelligent, caring and a whole lot of other feelings. 

Their sharing behavior is an online representation of themselves. Or more accurately. Who they would like us to believe they are.

It's like giving them a megaphone or holding a mirror up to themselves. Their content shares reflect their personal opinions, values and attitudes.  

Many animal species, including birds and mammals, regularly give each other gifts, usually but not exclusively; related to courtship rituals.

It has been extensively studied in both the Psychology of gift giving, and the Sociology of the Gift ritual. 

Most research has focused on the social cohesion aspects of these practices.

This gifting behavior is evident in contemporary life. In our interactions on social networks :- Posts, Likes, Shares and Comments.

Reciprocity or mutual reciprocal assistance, according to many economists, is based on rational self interest. 

The idea is simple. 'You help me, and I will help you'

In terms of social networking, this model appears to make sense but does it really work. 

Some people share things randomly with no thought of reciprocity, these types of shares I have labelled as a 'pure gift'. There is no expectation of reciprocity.  

To the person doing the sharing, the object has become their property, with the originator removed from the gift/post in question. 

The originator of the content may get a mention or credit occasionally.

The person that produced the object (gift) also feels no obligation to share the other persons content either. There is no social relationship between these two agents.

Pinterest is a perfect example of this phenomenon. People make up boards of other peoples photos with no thought of where it came from, or any feeling that they should even thank the originator of the work.

Up to and until they become content creators themselves, when this form of reciprocity may appear quite important. It may be useful to have your work shared, but what is really going on here.

When we drop our photos into pinterest, people just pin them wherever they like, they may follow you, because they find your work interesting, or more often because they want you to follow them back.

If a content creator spends a little time on search engine optimization (SEO) and in the process make their content useful and easy to find. Then they do not have to get involved with this aspect of social interaction, giving and sharing, but they still do.

So the question is why do so many people continue sharing other peoples work.  They may have formed a relationship, in the process of developing an online presence or persona.

Gift or Commodity

The gift of sharing then; becomes a commodity in itself, that can be exchanged for reciprocal shares from those whose products you share. This is a common feature of many online communities, and as we have seen, it is not necessary with a little SEO.

So sharing under these terms cannot be considered altruistic. (unselfish)

Working together obviously works better and faster than going it alone. In the process people can and do form mutual bonds of assistance.

Someone in your social network will share something with you, a nice photo, article or video and if they have a monetary interest, then it is not a gift at all, but a commodity that they want you to share.

The concept that  'we don't give to receive' seems at odds with some online behavior. 

We like to think that altruism is at the core of our beliefs about gifts. Our actions suggest another reality.

Search engines like Google encourage this commodity exchange and is in the weird position of being both gamekeeper and poacher. 

They want people to share things, but at the same time they do not want people to 'game the system' (manipulate posting activity)  

They solve this dual dilemma by monitoring the number of shares of a particular post, after the social network group has finished their sharing activity. 

If the shared item is of little interest i.e. no one else shares it, then it may be demoted in importance, relevance and page rank.

Is the gift ritual changing, and what impact may this have on social cohesion. Is the web socially cohesive or divisive. 

To understand this we need to look into the social, psychological and historical roots of gift giving. What was the purpose? Was there a purpose? Are some forms of sharing, a truly altruistic or unselfish trait.

The prime reason to cooperate is grounded in survival of the self and the wider tribe. Mutual assistance in this case makes sense but doesn't describe altruism. 

The member of the tribe that jumps in front of the charging elephant to save the tribe is exhibiting truly altruistic behavior. Knowing he will not survive, still jumps in. He gave the tribe the ultimate gift. We see this behavior in the fire fighter, who enters a burning building to save strangers.

  

Gift giving can have deep psychological meanings. It is used by many societies as a bonding ritual, and also as a form of control, involving a wide range of human characteristics including, who has the most power, in terms of influence or financial status.

In familial settings these intentions can be expressed in 'who gave the most expensive gift, or the least thoughtful gift'. It can become a real minefield of politics and emotions.

There are records of the island people of Yap, Micronesia and elsewhere, who solved the problem of having little on no material goods to gift to others. They resolved this by giving each other shaped stones. These stones took on a unique value over time. The older the stone the more valuable it became.

This simple, elegant solution helped to remove peer pressure, as everyone was in the same position. The giving of lucky or wish stones is still a common practice today, even in western culture. 

The stones are passed around by the Yap islanders. After a few years the giver will probably get their own stone back again. It solves a problem, in which everyone can give equally, and no-one loses face.

This isolated island example, indicates that there is something significant going on here. It has a deep meaning and everything to do with social cohesion. Or keeping everyone happy and together. 

There are many examples in nature. Birds exchange gifts and Adele penguins also give their partners stones, as well as mating for life.

There is something important going on in this apparently simple behavior  It is not as simple as we may assume. Primarily it has implications for survival.

There is a delicate balance between giver and receiver. The receiver, is allowing the giver, the privilege of thinking about a gift for them. Which they can accept graciously. 

The giver is in the powerful position of deciding, which gift to give. A deliberately ill considered gift, can cause offense. This of course may be the desired effect or alternatively. The giving of a gift that financially cannot be reciprocated, can be interpreted as a form of economic dominance, and therefore quite abusive.

The giver gets a payoff, because it may make the giver feel  good, to give something to someone, so isn't that actually a selfish act. 

The receiver may not be in a financial position to reciprocate, and so may feel pressure and develop a resentment, towards the giver.

Reciprocity Is Complicated

Maybe you feel obligated to give a gift. Then you feel annoyed, that you have let your emotions get the better of you. 

Like fish in a shoal we generally want to go with the flow. Reciprocity can be a strong characteristic. Being unable to reciprocate can have negative effects emotionally. There are examples of pure altruism all around us. 

Acts of pure altruism exist. 

How many times have you dug deep into your pocket, to help someone you will never know or meet. 
Some people or animals may have been caught up in some disaster, and the only thing that you can do, is to give some money to the relief fund. 
Helping someone in the street, who has fallen over.  Returning mail that has been wrongly delivered to you, and the myriad of other ways that we help each other daily, with no reward in mind. 

Gift giving and the nature of sharing on the web is influenced by who we are. Every tribe has selfless members. The way we interact online will reflect this.

The web has made meeting people worldwide much easier. It may in time lead to more social cohesion rather than less.

If you found this article interesting and would like me to write more on these types of themes then show your support by making a contribution to keep me writing 

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