Gerade über Derek Powazek gestolpert, der 1996 FRAY ins Leben gerufen hat. Powazek, Fray? Worüber redet der Junge? Sie haben recht: das alles ist recht chaotisch, habe die Fährte gerade erst aufgenommen und nur eine Ahnung, wohin sie führt. Der Plot: Eine Storytelling Web Site wird zum Magazin. Das ist doch hervorhebenswert genug: von online zu offline also, gegen den Strich.

Gestolpert bin ich auf Powazek über einen Blogeintrag von ihm, der meine ganze Aufmerksamkeit auf sich zog: Death to User-Generated Content.



Powazek im O-Ton: "Writers produce stories or articles. Authors write fiction or memoir. These are words infused with meaning and romance. Can you imagine a writer saying "I am a content provider" when asked what they do?" THIS GOES DIRECTLY AGAINST ME. BE CAREFUL DEREK!

"Lately the notion that the web is about "user-generated content" has been getting more traction. With the success of MySpace and Flickr, pundits are looking for a trend. And they've found one in this hateful phrase. But "user-generated content" is nothing new online. In fact, it's what the network was designed for.

So let's not give in to the buzzphrase du jour. Let's use the real words. Those people posting to Amazon pages? They're writing reviews. Those folks on Flickr? They're making photographs. And if we must have an umbrella term to describe the whole shebang, I have a suggestion. Try this on for size: Authentic Media.

Authentic media comes to you unfiltered by the global brands and conglomerates that have taken over the mainstream media. Authentic media is the raw, first-person narrative you can find on blogs and homepages. Authentic media is what happens when the mediators get out of the way and give the mic over to the people who actually have something to say.

The best part about this phrase? It paints the rest of the mediascape as inauthentic. I can live with that."

Me too. Thanks Derek!