Making It As A Web Celebrity (aka: User-Generated Content Is Mostly Crap)

There's a good post at Valleywag about the fading promise of big-time celebrity driven solely by the web. (Which, much to their credit, they never called a "web-lebrity.") Basically, the piece talks about how difficult it is for someone to make money purely as a web celebrity.

But it is also another small indication of the welcome move away from all things user-generated. Not so much because of the source, but because of the quality. 99% of user-generated content is garbage.

I couldn't help chiming in in the comments.

From the post:

Advertisers only value authenticity when it's carefully scripted; the actual surprise of live broadcasts — violence, profanity, and sheer weirdness — is not a value proposition for them.

To which I responded:

"You nailed it. I think that this is another step in the welcomed collapse of all things user-generated. The initial appeal of perceived authenticity is fading fast. We're over it - now that we've all done it. Creating and producing quality (consistently watchable) content is beyond most people's ability. Entertaining is hard work. And advertisers - and viewers - are done settling for sloppy, incoherent, self-referential fanboy dreck. We are all not nearly as cool as we think we are.

I couldn't resist commenting again a couple hours later:

User-gen is done.

Good music, art, film, landscaping, cooking...anything of VALUE takes time to create, nurture and produce. Current "content" suffers from a thin and shallow respect for the artistic process. Art takes time. This stuff ain't easy.

Advertisers were attracted to the commotion of it all - not the quality. And now that the hype is waning, advertisers will take their $ elsewhere.

Comments

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I'm confused. You're desiring the death of user-generated content in one post, and then championing indie filmmakers in another.

Aren't these both the same? Encouraging the personal creativity/expression of the creator without being inside an approved/corporate system?

I agree with you. Most ugc is crap. And I'm also an actor/director who loves indie film AND will also say that MOST indie film is also crap.

Ultimately, the public decides what is popular/good/worthy. But I'm curious where you draw the distinction between ugc and indie film?

Aren't they the same thing, only different form of media?