CGM2 - Consumer Generated Multimedia

The not to distant future of CGM is arriving more rapidly than many marketers are capable of handling. CGM is no longer just about blogging, message boards, and the number of friends you have. The masses are rapidly turning to the same rich-media formats we see in online advertising to express their thoughts.

Pete Blackshaw, a writer for the Clickz Network, recently identified some forms of consumer generated multimedia in his article “The Pocket Guide to Consumer Generated Media.”

Moblogs, photo sharing, and tagging
Moblogs are mobile-enabled blogs that let users post photos from anywhere. Interestingly, many of the online photos today are efficiently tagged with labels such as "BadMcDonaldsExperience," which makes them easier to find, organize, and index through search engines. Camera phones play a huge role in moblog growth.

Vlogs, personal videos
Vlogs are basically video-based journals, almost like reality TV for online. Thanks to iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, and other tools, it's getting easier to create sticky, viral, even incriminating online video.

Podcasting
Yes, podcasting is a form of CGM. Think of this as TiVo meets radio. Consumers create their own radio broadcasts and make them available for others. Because they're so darn easy to create, expect to see a ton of them.