User generated content

There is much discussion of web 2.0 technologies, associated web site phenomenon and in particular user generated content. It raises all kinds of questions. Is content dumbing down? Who is accessing this content? Who has the time to produce it all? Is it giving rise to an alternative economy, does it make business sense … ? I could go on. Just today some major brands withdrew their advertising from a user generated content site because of concerns that their name appeared in juxtaposition to unsuitable content material. Maybe that is inevitable given the apparent chaotic, anarchic and irreverent content that some might choose to post. Then on the other hand there is the success of Wikipedia - amazing by any standards. The Internet certainly seems to be a fertile ground for overnight successes. Started in 1999 Wikipedia today claims 1.92 million articles in English, has 4.8 million registered users 1,200 volunteer editors who edit articles that anyone can submit and requests donations to keep it running. According to accounts on the site, donations were $1.3 million in 2006. What kind of business model is that? Recently we learn that an article by Harvard Business School has explored ‘issues of how online cultures are made and maintained, the power of self-policing organizations, the question of whether the service is drifting from its core principles, and whether a Wikipedia-like concept can work in a business setting.’ All amazing stuff and if it were not for the huge numbers of visitors to the most notable Web 2.0 sites would they be of business interest? It certainly marks a sea change, but will it impact b-2-b or is it all totally disconnected from the old world notion of business as selling products and services to make a profit?