NUGC

Or, No User Generated Content. Yes, the most difficult feat in the online world is getting users to contribute. For every YouTube and Facebook there are ten thousand failed wannabes.

Surfing the web for video sites can sometimes feel like wandering the borders of a vast desert where there are vague remnant of life. A building here, a scattered collection on houses there. But, all abandonded and decaying.

The number of UGC sites with under a hundred videos is astounding. So what went wrong ?

Well, first of all is the 'build it and they will come' mentality. Frankly, 'they' don't give a damn.

Secondly is the fact that you're not essential. And this is a Catch 22. You're only popular if you're popular.

Then there's the elusive mavens. Those influencers who get everyone buzzing. They're not who you think they are.

Oh, and the kick. If you get the kick - the big break that creates a positive vortex around your business, then you're happening.

But this is an elusive mix. The online Xanadu. As rare as a unicorn walking down the high street.

But you can settle for arbitrage. You pay for an audience and then earn more from them. This is a more pragmatic view of the online world. Sow and you shall reap..

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