Social Video and User-generated Content

Summary information from Day 2: CONNECTIONS™ May 2007, hosted in Santa Clara, CA

What will be the ultimate impact of the social video movement? This panel shares views and analysis of what Web 2.0 will really mean to the video space once the hype subsides.

Huan C. Le, Vice President, Business Development, Break.com
Fred McIntyre, Senior Vice President, AOL Video, AOL LLC
Matt Sanchez, CEO & Co-founder, VideoEgg, Inc.
Garrick Schmitt, Vice President and National Lead, User Experience, Avenue A Razorfish
Michelle Wu, CEO, MediaZone
Moderator: John Barrett, Director, Research, Parks Associates

Specific Questions to Address:

• How important is the consumers’ role in social video? Do they provide more than just a way for sites to by-pass copyright laws?
• Will advertisers pay top dollar for cheaply produced, user-generated content?
• Will advertising on user-generated content always be discounted against commercially produced content?
• How blurry will the line be between commercial and user-generated video?
• What will be the long-term impact of social video on the entertainment business?

The rise of video sharing has surpassed even the growth of social networking sites. Panelists discussed the role of the consumer in social video, the opportunities and challenges in monetizing social video, and the future evolutionary path of social video. John Barrett introduced the topic by discussing the types of content that users are viewing on video-sharing sites. There is a misconception that the bulk of videos being viewed on video-sharing sites are user generated. According to Parks Associates’ research, the most popular forms of content being viewed on video-sharing sites are professionally created — 76% of consumers surveyed watch Movie Previews, 75% watch TV Clips, and 72% watch Music Videos.

The panelists felt user-generated content will play a key role in consumer services moving forward. The current emphasis on content, however, will gradually transition to an emphasis on community. Moreover, the revenue potential of the space will eventually push players to resolve the digital rights management issues surrounding the use of commercial content in user-generated content.