Tuesday, August 14, 2007

it's ok to consume...

I commented on a recent post by Mitch Joel - from the fantastic 'Six Pixels..' marketing podcast - on the evolution and widespread adoption of the tools of 'user generated content'. At one of the recent concerts by the re-formed lightwieght phoneys of 70s new wave The Police - despite the insights within his post I'm still not sure Mitch really gave a good enough reason as to why he was actually there in the first place ;) - he noted the mass of mobile devices capturing either audio or video at the concert and the subsequent upload to the various channels within hours of the event. Mitch observes 'So, why is there so much User Generated Content? The answer is simple: because they can. Content creation from the User’s perspective is no longer an option. It’s a right… '
Anyway it got me thinking about the same thing that has started happening at the football. Here's a bit of my comment (i've only reproduced it here because i wanted it captured in my own space for posterity)
'...the winger goes on a mazy run, beats 3 or 4 defenders, delivers and inch perfect cross to the big striker who powers a thunderous right foot strike into the back of the net past the flailing goalkeeper. as the camera pans to the striker running towards the delirious fans behind the goal...where once there were wild eyed faces of ecstacy with outstreched arms theres a metallic cyborg army of clicking one eyed monsters.'
At the end of the day (gratuitous football cliche) the clamour to create content can sometimes get in the way of simply enjoying and consuming. With music and football surely its about immersing yourself in the experience and simply getting off on what it is? Dunno.

6 comments:

Mitch Joel said...

My other thought - which I don't think came through on my post is that most people are too busy recording the moment instead of enjoying it - which is a whole other post that O am working on.

Eaon Pritchard said...

exactly. cheers Mitch

Do You KNOW Clarence? said...

To hijack some of your verbiage, Eaon, 'at the end of the day' doesn't everyone want a chance in the spotlight?

A lot of user generated content I consume often appears to be nothing short of 'I hope this will make me famous'.

It feels like a legitimate hustle if you are capturing these moments because you'll never experience them again -- especially if players on the pitch are making sure they are properly on display, just for YOU (and the 10,000 screamin' fans behind you!!)

Then, it's an altogether different scenario when everyone forgets to enjoy the moment in the way Mitch describes and you allude to. Personally, I like to get down in both ways -- just not to the point that my capturing moments overwhelmes my chance of enjoying it!

BTW -- I love the cartoon!!!

Eaon Pritchard said...

cheers C,
btw I'm pimping my cartoon thing,
freebies for friends of course.

Anonymous said...

Darren Mackie wears the number 10 shirt, you part-timer. [winky semi-colon thing]

Eaon Pritchard said...

mackie actually scoring a goal is pure fantasy so details like shirt number are irrelevant.