WordCamp 2009 Scott Porad: who’s in bed with who

User generated and user driven content: it’s a thunderstorm out there & that storm is changing everything, including who’s in bed with who. In this case, sleeping around is awesome.

How can my users help me create and drive my content and keep it relevant?

It’s nothing new–peer related reviews like academic journals, letters to the editor, America’s Funniest Home Videos, and the Gong Show are all examples of user generated content.

But someone does the editing, the choosing of what gets “published.”

No more. He cites, The Wisdom of the Crowds by James Scherecky (sp?); the crowd will figure it out better and faster than an individual.

People want attention, people want fame, but only so much. And they want to be “internet famous,” not American Idol famous.  People want to feel special and part of something. They want to feel “I can do that” –that they can be part of something greater or bigger than themselves.

What do you screen for? Violence? Porn? Obscenity?

Scott Porad

Scott Porad is the Cheezburger Technology Officer of Pet Holdings, Inc., the company behind I Can Has Cheezburger? and Failblog.org. The Cheezburger Network is a collection of web sites where everyday millions of people share moments of joy through the humor and wonder of LOL.

Previously, Scott focused on e-commerce and online retailing at drugstore.com, and online media and content management systems for ESPN.com at Paul Allen’s Starwave. He writes about his experiences working with the Internet at http://scottporad.com.

Outside of work, Scott hangs out at home in Seattle with his wife and two boys where he’s planning to build a treehouse this summer. He’s hopelessly addicted to golf and loves music which he writes about occasionally at http://ineedmoreears.com.