Does User Generated Content mean Cash?

You bet it does. Look at how you shop online: You heard about a book that will make your job easier. But are you willing to pay full price plus shipping? What would make you 100% confident of your purchase? Feedback. Many times I read 25 comments from owners before I read the store's listing. It's funny that I trust 25 strangers opinions, and also that I trust the comments are not from the author logging in 25 times with different names!

But that is how society has always worked- word of mouth. It can drive sales and it can find that perfect employer. Place word of mouth on the internet and you have communication between users across the country like they are next door neighbors.

Technology companies have created applications for content, feedback, and context, simply known as user generated content (UGC). UGC with the power of search provides specific information and product based solely on feedback. Companies that use this technology for revenue call it social commerce.

The next wave for UGC will be the mash-up of location. How powerful is it to know where feedback is generated? Persuasion is definitely greater if content comes from someone close to home rather than many states away. Or how about the use of location analytics to see what region has the most purchases of your product or leaves the most feedback?