User Generated Content and the Entertainment Industry

    This week I will be looking into user generated content and how it connects with the entertainment industry.  First of all, what exactly is user generated content? User generated content is our own work that we create for others to view.  Examples of this are blogs (just as I am creating now), user reviews on sites like Yelp and Amazon, and how anyone can upload and promote their very own work on YouTube.  

    User generated content seems to have both, a good and bad impact on media.  Lets start with the good.  With Amazon.com, they are launching a user generated content movie studio that would be perfect for those just getting started in the filmmaking industry. "Each entry automatically becomes optioned by Amazon Studios for 18 months, and should any entry get turned into a finished movie, the creator will get $200,000, with a further $400,000 bonus available should the movie make enough money at the box office" (techland.com).  This sounds like a really good idea for those interested in screenwriting or filmmaking to get a chance to start up their possible career.

Now the bad.  User generated content often gets thought of as bad quality or inferior to professional content in terms of art.  YouTube is a primary network of videos posted by users.  When a user posts a user generated music video that is primarily put together of original work aside from the music, that video may get flagged and taken down for copyright infringement.  This is also the case on other social networking sites like Facebook.  Post a video on the site and it will get taken down for copyright reasons concerning music.  This can be frustrating for those of us that wish to share our work with the world but cannot because of the song we chose to put in the video. This has happened to me on several occasions. 

    For the most part, user generated content is a positive thing.  It is ultimately a great way of communicating.  Allowing anyone to post what they wish (as long as there are no copyright issues) for the world to see, whether that be a review on amazon, a compliment to a friend on a Facebook photo, a video made by an aspiring filmmaker, makes for an easy way to help, inspire and share our talents. 

http://techland.time.com/2010/11/17/amazon-launches-movie-studio-wants-user-generated-content/

Intro

          Hello everyone! This is my first blog post and I am excited to see how blogging goes for me. I have created this blog to discuss the topic of social media and how it is applied to the entertainment industry.  This can consist of video production, movies, music, television, advertising, etc.  I am a communication design major with an option in media arts at Chico State so the topic of media interests me on a personal and professional level.  

I have been an avid user of social media sites since I was about 13 years old.  I started with email and instant messaging and then made my Myspace page.  Once Facebook took over, I joined Facebook along with Insagram, Pinterest, Vine, Twitter and I am sure there will be more to come in my future.

          With my field of interest being something along the lines of media, I am looking forward to looking into different ways social media and the entertainment industry go hand in hand.  Just about everyone uses some form of social media today in age.  From young kids to adults to businesses, social media is being used.  We see what others are interested in or what they are doing with social networking sites.  Log onto Facebook and see that one of your friends just went and saw the latest movie and loved it.  This can spark interest for another person to go see this film that they may not have had interest in before.  We see advertisements of the latest films, music videos, television series, etc. on these social networking sites as well. This is the primary way of making money for most forms of media entertainment. Social media is a good way to determine what is worth seeking further interest and time into.  If other people are "tweeting" about how horrible a movie is that will attract others away from the film, and if people are posting about what Miley Cyrus did during the VMA's, people are gonna go looking for that video.  

          I know that with my major in media arts and my personal love of social media, my future will be working with it in some form whether it be within my profession or on my own time. I am looking forward to seeing where social media takes us in the future.