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Revenge of the experts: Is user-generated content out?

March 10, 2008 | Internet Marketing

While the phenomenon of user-generated content is still going strong, some media watchers are sensing a resurgence in the vitality and viability of professionally written and edited content online. As Andrew Keen, author of "The Cult of the Amateur," put it, "Nobody wants to advertise next to crap."

By any name, the current incarnation of the Internet is known for giving power to the people. Sites like YouTube and Wikipedia collect the creations of unpaid amateurs while kicking pros to the curb—or at least deflating their stature to that of the ordinary Netizen. But now some of the same entrepreneurs that funded the user-generated revolution are paying professionals to edit and produce online content.

In short, the expert is back. The revival comes amid mounting demand for a more reliable, bankable Web. “People are beginning to recognize that the world is too dangerous a place for faulty information,” says Charlotte Beal, a consumer strategist for the Minneapolis-based research firm Iconoculture. Beal adds that choice fatigue and fear of bad advice are creating a “perfect storm of demand for expert information.”

Get the full story at Newsweek

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