How “user-generated content” got a bad name
We’re in Paris, in June, 1912.
As the sun sets a maker of fine sable brushes sits outside a neighborhood bistro with his good friend, a master manufacturer of tubed oil paints. They meet every few weeks to have a drink and talk about business.
Just as their wine arrives Pablo Picasso walks by with a gaggle of Montmartre buddies, laughing, joking, shouting back and forth, spilling from the sidewalk onto the cobbles.
They pass, and a relative calm ensues.
“Well, how’s business?” the brush maker asks his friend.
The paint maker watches Picasso and crew disappear into the night. He remembers some of their work he saw earlier in the week. “Business is OK,” he says, “but the user-generated content is going to hell.”
September 25th, 2006 at 8:08 pm
Ah of course! I often think that my client work would be so much easier if there were no clients involved. Interestingly, one group is laughing and having a great time, the other is quietly contemplating the forthcoming challenges. Fun story!
September 27th, 2006 at 7:49 pm
I think you might want to re-read the post. It’s about the relative context of “users” and “content creation,” and the implications for brands. It has nothing to do with the issues you mentioned.