Top US Web Brands Supported by User Generated Content

Sun, Aug 27, 2006 Posted By:Eric Friedman

Advertising, Marketing Blogs, Marketing.fm, Software, Technology

According to Nielsen//NetRatings – 50% of the Top US web brands are being supported and continue to grow with user generated content.

The analysis done in the above linked press release details the top 10 web brands based on percentage growth over time, then shows a table with the top 10 web brands ranked with year-over-year percentage growth.

As you can see the top 5 in July 2006 as compared to July 2005 are; Myspace, Google, Ebay, Mapquest, Yahoo!

What does this mean for the consumers contributing to this trend?

At some point soon, I believe that these consumers are going to start wondering where their share of the revenue is. Some of the sites are social networking portals – which translates to a free service being provided to the user, funded by advertising, but some other sites are clearly looking to profit off of the hard work of the U.G.C. (user generated content)

With sites like YouTube having an estimated worth of over $1 billion, why not share in the profit?

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This post was written by:

Eric Friedman - who has written 648 posts on Eric Friedman – Marketing.fm.

Analyst at Union Square Ventures, blogger at www.marketing.fm and operating experience within SEM, SEO, and Social Media. You should follow me on twitter @EricFriedman

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  • Great post. It's an interesting notion---that users will start demanding rev share from their own generated content. Really? Maybe. In some cases like music---probably. Because musicians are already "in tune" (ha-ha) with how the biz works/is.

    However, the kid on MySpace who posts pics about their last days of summer before they start their senior year?? I doubt it. Their barely wise to creating/uploading content--let alone know that they should make money from it. Plus, I think the majority of users on these sites are simply happy to have a destination to go to, express themselves, and communicate with like-minded folks... and have their 15-minutes of fame.

    Maybe in Web 3.0....
  • Eric - thanks for diving into my blog and projects. ArtistServer is definately my main focus, but I can't help but launch a new site every few months :)

    >>Have many people signed up?
    The site has 16,000+ registered users. On average, I'm seeing 450+ new signups, and 3.5 upgrades each month with no advertising. Most signups are standard member accounts, not artist accounts.

    >>Also, why not still rotate in your own adsense code, at least 5%-10% of the time?

    The option for people to use their own adsense code is only available to those who upgrade. Traditionally, when someone starts paying for a website or service online, ads are no longer displayed on their pages, which means there's no loss in revenue since those pages would not show ads in the first place. Those who continue to use the free account display the site's adsense code 100% of the time. Plus, all content is displayed on common pages throughout the site, which will use the site's own ads. My goal is to grow subscriptions and build community, rather than serve ads.

    I only know of a few artists on the site who are using this feature, I was planning on waiting a few months before asking if they would share their data. What's nice about ArtistServer's ad management tool, is that artists can create and use their own ads too. Currently, most artists who can run their own ads turn off the ads off and prefer an ad-free site.

    Thanks for replying - I subscribed :)
    Gideon
  • Hi Gideon,

    I had a chance to checkout your blog, the AS site, as well as some other projects you are working on via MarkenMedia...and I thought I was busy!

    I think its great you are allowing your users to profit share with their own adsense code. Have many people signed up? Also, why not still rotate in your own adsense code, at least 5%-10% of the time? There are hosting costs and the admin duties you seem to handle in the forums etc...

    I think revenue sharing will become commonplace - and we will start to see more people with the ability to start recieving it, meaning more end users with adsense accounts in the first place. I know of many forums that are currently allowing users to share in their adsense earnings which contributes to the forum community as well as keeps users posting.

    I have checked out revver - and I know one famous instance in which the guys who made the now famous "mentos" experiment video - made thousands of dollars via a rev. share. Great example of everyone "getting" a piece.
  • QUOTE: " I believe that these consumers are going to start wondering where their share of the revenue is."

    Eric, I feel the same way. Not only do I feel it's the right thing to do, I see revenue sharing as a great opportunity. Why be a destination when you could be a destination and a market?

    It's about empowering people, and creating opportunities - if you're holding all the cards, people won't want to play. :)

    I run a social music site at http://www.ArtistServer.com - there's 6,000 songs and 16,000+ registered users. Just a month ago, I added the option for 'upgraded' accounts to use their own Google AdSense codes on all their content pages, or the option of running their own ads. You can read more about it here: http://www.gideonmarken.com/index.cfm/blog/811

    I feel if it's their content, and they've upgraded their account, they should earn 100% of the revenue from ads on their pages. After ArtistServer grows a bit larger, I'll then consider revenue sharing for the free accounts too, but on a split percentage.

    I'm sure we'll see revenue sharing becoming more common in the next year.

    Are you familiar with http://www.revver.com - they have a revenue sharing program.

    Have a good one,
    - Gideon Marken
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