If you want something done, do it yourself
IDEA No 87
USER-GENERATED CONTENT
Ever since there has been content, there has been user-generated content (UGC). In fact, it only became user-generated when it had an opposite – professionally made content produced for broadcast.
In this context, UGC’s earliest form is ‘letters to the editor’. But as these are often aligned with a particular publication’s tone and politics, they have little in common with UGC as we now understand it. User-generated content today has an anarchic quality. An extension of the DIY ethic of punk culture, its roots are in fanzines, mix tapes and pirate radio, a reaction against the mass-media machine.
The roots of the Web lie in this DIY culture. Its precursor, bulletin boards ...
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