Web 2.0 - Paid "Consumer" Content?
The rise of "web 2.0" has been surprisingly fast, and is starting to add up to really big $ (see: MySpace, YouTube). When any massive technology trend takes hold, it is always interesting to watch entire industries crop up around said trend (witness the entire market that has been built around Google's AdSense). One that will be particularly interesting to watch is the trend towards paid user content in the blogosphere and product review spaces. Michael Arrington put up an interesting post on TechCrunch yesterday on several new companies (PayPerPost, ReviewMe and others) playing in this space. The issue comes down to trust - can I trust the content I'm reading?
For example, a mother reading a product review on a stroller by other moms who have proactively chosen to place a positive review on a site is much more compelling than one placed by a paid "reviewer" (potentially paid for by the stroller manufacturer) - but how does the reader know which is which?
The product review space continues to evolve, with companies like BazaarVoice rapidly growing hosted platforms in addition to traditional sites like CNET and ePinions.com. Additionally, companies like VeriSign are offering "brand intelligence" services designed to help companies garner intelligence from blogs, traditional media and other sources to monitor their brand in the "digital" world. As consumer brands learn more about the online world, and the increasing influence it has on shoppers and readers, be sure the trend will accelerate.
It'll be interesting to watch...
