With the popularity of sites like MySpace and YouTube, I can easily say that the popular web is moving more towards user generated content. The popularity has already begun and according to a post on LinuxElectrons, they expect it to grow rapidly through 2010.
For me as a developer I see real benefit in this model. Sure it takes quite a bit more time to create a system of this nature, but the site can potentially grow large quickly with the help of its users. In traditional models someone usually on the administrative side had to generate content in order to keep readers coming back.
Now even with my own site and similar blog style sites, comments are the user generated content. I create the initial content, but the community atmosphere between a good blog posts and the comments of other users are really what makes good content. By taking multiple opinions on a subject, it makes things more interesting.
On a site like this, hardly any of the content is what I call controversial, but other blogs I read, readers really pull to one side or another and post some really interesting comments. That’s probably the main reason I read these sites.
All in all, user generated content whether it be in the form of blogs, or social networking, or even something totally different will continue to grow in the future. I don’t know if I can say until 2010, but I can say that it will be the future of the next generation web sites and applications.
