focus on new media

Taming the new-media wild child
Event brings media players together to discuss impact of user-generated content

Loh Chee Kong, cheekong@mediacorp.com.sg , TODAY, Sat 23 June 2007

AS traditional media players fight tooth and nail to establish their presence on the Internet, the ballooning popularity of user-generated content — or UGC, as the industry calls it — has left them in a quandary.
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And although they have little choice but to exploit the phenomenon, many are still figuring out how to regulate the content. The New Media Conference at BroadcastAsia on Friday brought together practitioners in the media and content development industries to share ideas on UGC.
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While the Internet "is incredibly hostile to gatekeepers", National University of Singapore's Robert Firth, a senior programme director at the Institute of Systems Science, also noted that it was a highly-charged environment.
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Said Dr Firth: "In this room, I know what your expectations are and the social context you are in. But the Internet is a very big place. If I go on the Internet, just by saying 'Sir Salman Rushdie', for example, I will offend 500 million people."
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Stomp editor Jennifer Lewis observed that Netizens here "get mean very, very fast" on online forums and that refraining from personal attacks was "something Singaporeans need to mature into".
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On Stomp, The Straits Times' online portal, there is normally a time lag before the editors moderate any posting.
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Said Ms Lewis: "Are we playing God? Yes, in a way, a little ... but it comes with a lot of experience."
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Nevertheless, she added that sometimes the editors allow controversial comments to "ride out" for a few hours, after which the community "rights itself".
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But Dr Firth said the answer lay in feedback, "not in self-censorship, not even self-regulation".
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He said: "If the community rates a piece of content and you have to click through the rating, you have been warned. You know what to expect."
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Mr Steve Manthorpe, a Creative Industries Development Agency associate, suggested getting Netizens to meet up in person.
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"I used to be in a forum where there were two people who absolutely lacerated each other. But when they met, they were sweetest to each other. They were buying each other drinks," said Mr Manthorpe.
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However, he rejected the idea of a code of conduct, adding that it "would be like a lock on the door — only there for the law-abiding. Anyone could put a foot through the door".
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While the panellists could not agree on the best way to filter out "objectionable or politically incorrect content", they concurred that given the explosion of online content, the role of media organisations had in fact gained significance.
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On top of being content producers, the media organisations were now becoming "organisers" of information, said Ms Ong Lay Hong, MediaCorp's chief editor for Chinese news and current affairs.
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Mr Mark Britt, Microsoft Asia Pacific's business development director, likened this new role to that of a curator.
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Said Mr Britt: "When you enter a museum, there's that one person who can bring you to the area at the back, all the way down to where there are really good things."