@ MidemNet: Content Filters Have To Be Balanced Against Cool Factor
[By Robert Andrews] User-generated videos could be a $25 million-a-month industry, according to the CEO of one video sharing network, GoFish. Michael Downing told MidemNet delegates that, for the last couple of years, the growth in the sector had been more effective than in music or social networking alone—with over 120 million people and 10 billion UGC downloads involved per month, according to his company’s research. He projects that will double by fall. “The promotional aspects in this sector are tremendous and the moentization and economic opportunity is a very real one.”
Downing asked the audience to imagine tracking which of those videos had commercial music attached to it—“you’re talking about an economic opportunity in excess of $25 million per month.” He said GoFish wants to track, audit and ultimately pay that content owner: “We’re not there yet but we’re getting closer. The technology is there and the opportunity is there. It’s about who is going to bring these things together.”
Downing and MTV Networks’ global head of digital media Mika Salmi gave advice to other media companies keen to monetize user-generated content:
— Salmi: “The big problem for a public company like Viacom is the pornography aspect to user-generated. Unless you’re screening anything, the danger is that someone will slip some child pornography by. That scares them. So until now, it’s been very managed, in a box.”
—Downing: [If you censor too closely], “you lose your street cred, you’re no longer cool so it’s a balance. If you’re filtering too much, at a certain point you’re going to corrupt the phenomenon.”
—Downing said GoFish recently pulled in 1.3 million visitors and 3.5 million views for videos uploaded in response to a tie-up with the American Idol contestant Taylor Hicks. “If you want to get high CPMs, you must create a space where [advertisers] have safe, comfortable content they can come in to sponsor.”
—Salmi: “You have to set some parameters. It sounds boring, but it makes it so that the output is within the range of acceptability. If there is a prize, they will follow the rules much more. If you just make it an open field, you never know what you’re going to get.”
—Downing: “The promotional aspects in this sector are tremendous and the monetization and economic opportunity is a very real one. It’s a significant opportunity for everyone in the food chain.”
@sdkstl
Jan 20, 2007 9:31 AM ET
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