StrawberryFrog, a global agency with offices in Amsterdam and New York, recently blogged about the impact and future of consumer-generated content.
Tori Winn, Digital Executive Creative Director at StrawberryFrog, gave her take on the future of consumer-generated content, concluding the future is bright.
Indeed, the emergence of consumer-generated content is rapidly empowering consumers. That’s a good thing, and it’s here to stay.
But it comes with a cost. The flood of ideas, views and expressions is adding to the Web’s already murky sea of disconnected, mostly mediocre content. Some community forums, like Digg, generally help users get the good stuff to the surface and sink the rubbish. Still, despite their popularity, they just can’t filter the vast bodies of information fast enough.
As a result, business owners and marketers must work harder to be seen and get their messages across. To thrive – or even survive – in the Web 2.0 environment, businesses must increase focus and relevance of their web content and messages in general to truly connect with customers and meet ever-increasing expectations.
But carefully defined, customer-centric words require stronger platforms. They need the support of good design, which focuses less on aesthetics and more on function.
Like never before, we need to write and design for our clients, not for ourselves.
