The fear factor of social media

I’ve had lots of conversations recently about user-generated content and the fear that advertisers feel about going near it. Specifically with regard to MySpace, it’s no secret that they have their work cut out for them in convincing companies to be associated with their brand and some of the content that ends up on the site. But more generally, advertisers are scared of user-generated content.

Their fear is very well placed. Because - as even these companies will readily admit - they do not understand user-generated content and it is only rational to fear that which you do not know. If everybody leaves our event on June 21st with a much deeper understanding of these things than they came with - and that is my intention - things will have moved in the right direction. What is then done with that comprehension and knowledge will be intensely interesting.