Wanted: Nick Haley
MelbinNoir would like to officially extend an invitation to all Nick Haleys (your name doesn’t actually have to be Nick Haley) but you must share his devotion for creating content out of nothing but your sheer passion for a brand.
Wondering what I’m talking about? Here’s the story: Nick, an 18-year old college student from England and massive fan of the Apple iTouch, created a commercial for the iTouch, posted in on YouTube, got discovered by Apple marketing execs, and got shipped off to Apple’s ad agency to collaborate on a “professional” version of the ad.
Here’s the original commercial on YouTube:
This story is one of many examples of the way “average” people are starting a conversation with the companies they purchase from/websites they surf/artists they are fans of. User Generated Content… there is a lot of hype around it, especially from the brands that can leverage it to their advantage ie Apple.
Starting my own website that services a niche community in Melbourne, I have to ask myself, how will I generate content, and what role, if any, should user generated content play for MelbinNoir?
There are several issues around user generated content including unreliability, legal issues such as privacy and consent and of course, quality.
If people connect with the content and service MelbinNoir offers and become passionate about the site, there is a greater chance they will want to participate and build a relationship with the site creators and with fellow visitors. MelbinNoir will have to offer quality content combined with extreme user-centred directory to appeal to our target market and begin our relationship with our audience.
ps. any suggestions from Nick Haleys are still very welcome.
