Citation
Freeman, M. (2013), "UContent: The Information Professional's Guide to User‐Generated Content", New Library World, Vol. 114 No. 7/8, pp. 360-361. https://doi.org/10.1108/NLW-05-2013-0042
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
In this whizzy all‐singing, all‐dancing cyberworld that the modern LIS practitioner now inhabits new terms, concepts and systems are spewed forth relentlessly – cybercartography, flickr, Yahoo Pipes. Social tagging, self‐publishing – the list seems endless and mutates constantly. Sisyphus would feel at home here. To try to deal with this flood (in typical American breezy style) the author takes the encompassing theme of “User Generated Content” and produces a helpful – if rather dense – book on this whole rapidly evolving topic – a state of the art handbook in essence. Key questions always asked of the information in the internet are “credibility” and “authority” – can User Generated Content have any credibility or be taken seriously when every Tom, Dick and Harry can get his sage comments (or obsessive ravings) on the web? The furore over Wikipedia entries and TripAdvisor Reviews seem to buttress the scepticism of many readers about the value and currency of such sites.
On the other hand User Generated Content could be said to sustain and extend a free democracy, help business, reach wider and more diverse audiences. The cons are censorship and moderation, control and intervention, illegal or subversive content and so on. Copyright is a burgeoning nightmare. The author deals comprehensively with such services and topics as Wikis, Facebook, Blogs, Podcasts and gives plenty of useful examples of good practice and a clear user focus.
An interesting book, with some good practical examples outlined for LIS practitioners. There seems little doubt that User Generated Content is here to stay and will grow and inevitably present problems of access and control to the LIS profession – this book should help with this oncoming flood. This book is well produced, with a good clear index and helpful references and end‐notes.