Want to see what one of the first marriages between traditional and new media has produced? Check out Current TV. About 30% of the content aired is generated by viewers. The network solicits “pods” – or short (3-7 minute) films – from anyone who cares to get their news and views aired on television. Check out the website to view the submitted pods and vote to see which ones make it to air.
This weekend they highlighted a lot of pods sent in from US troops and their families that give a real backstage pass to the war. On any day you can see pods sent in from mostly young adults covering their lives in places like the West Bank, Baghdad and Mogadishu
From a communications perspective, this is small – but not quiet – movement toward the democratization of content. As more people seek and find content generated by their peers, their expectations rise.
The next time you are involved in creating content for a meeting or event, think about what type of expectations your audience has. Did they pay a lot of money to sit in an air conditioned ballroom to hear messages trickle from the top-down? Or do they want to know how the person sitting next to them is doing to make their product/service/widget better/faster/cheaper?
How are you democratizing the content at your shows?
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