The Case for COMM -or- Why "User Generated Content" Just Doesn't Cut It Anymore

In 1985 I was cruising the future on a 300bps modem tied to my C-64 rocket and it was a whole new world! All at once I could communicate with people I didn’t know, couldn’t know and wouldn’t know and instantly (instantly meant something different in 1985) get a response about anything, everything and nothing. It was a magical time… a magical place… it was OZ with green screens and passwords! The Yellow Brick Road was paved with emoticons, flame wars, gFiles and the XModem protocol. No one got it, no one wanted it, the online world was a haven for geeks, freaks and lawyers trying to catalogue case files.

They called us BBSers and we saw the future in them thar hills. From the beginning of the modemized world we were creating our own content, driving data and sticking conflict into any and every crevice we could latch a conspiracy onto. At first it was a lot of “Hi, my name is BIBBY THE FIREHEAD and my friend SKIPPSTER said this was a k00l place. Uh… what do I do now?” Handles, aliases and ruggish behavior littered the online world, but a glimmer of light was sparked and the beacon of the Internet was on the glow.

Flash forward to a world gone online slap-happy! Data jump, baby! Got data? Who’s data? Want more? Want less? It’s your choice. My choice. Our choice. Screw the dot, the age of COMM is here!

Every few years the world leaps forward with just how much information is easily available to the common man… the end of 2005 seems to be that time again (Got Coke?). No longer are we dependent on a single local newspaper… two or three nationals? HA!… only a few good news sites online? Not this week! Long gone are the days of three (or four) VHF and a couple of UHF television channels (you’re OLD if you get that reference)… and recently dead are “only” 50 cable channels… I’m up to 220 in my neighborhood… but go ahead, download the best of last nights programming and skip the commercials. It’s no longer about what WILL we choose but about what WON’T we choose. Want to find out what happened to your old pal JJ? That’s so last week! Let’s see what he’s thinking about today, this hour, RIGHT NOW! We have the remote, a bowl of popcorn and the Barcalounger of Tera-Petrabytes… screw what information YOU want to give us, WE pick and choose the blogs, wikis and podcasts that matter to us! Our news is no longer a broad stroke, it’s a tactical strike!

We command, control, communicate and commune. No longer are we BBSers, Internet Users, Dot-Commers or Geeks. We’re in charge of what we see, hear, read and feel in a way like never before. Is it a revolution or an actualization? Does it matter? Go to www.pickyourfightaboutanything.com and have at it… that’s your business, not mine. We no longer want just the right to free speech; we demand the entitlement to be heard.

It’s 2005 going on 2006 and some of us have been on this Internet ride for over 20 years. Let’s get tattoos. But who are we? Are we Bloggers? Are we Podcasters? Are we Wikians? No. We’re all of that and more. I’m a Seller on eBay, I’m a Member on forums, I’m a Contributor on Usenet, and I email my mother. It’s all “User Generated Content”… and let’s face it, that’s a mouthful no matter how you say it!

Part of the problem with “User Generated Content” is that we call it “Content”. While that might be an accurate name for most of what we do, it’s not all encompassing and certain aspects slip through the cracks (I don’t do Coke or Pepsi, I drink Fresca… where do I fit in?). However, it is all COMMUNICATION. “User Generated Communication” hits it all... text, voice, photos, video, smell... it’s all about communicating SOMETHING... ANYTHING!

So, with that in mind, I propose we adopt a new word to our collective online vocabulary: COMM.

COMM (noun): Any form of “User Generated Communication / Content” such as a Blog, PodCast, Wiki, eMail, etc. “Time to check the COMMS about the big flood!”

COMMING (verb): The act of creating “User Generated Communication / Content”. “Everyone’s COMMING about the President’s impeachment.”

COMMER (noun): An individual who COMMS. “He’s a COMMER who blogs and podcasts twice a week about the care and feeding of tropical fish.”

COMMED (verb): Past tense of COMM. “He was COMMED about for days after winning the gold medal.”

COMMIE (diminutive noun): A casual or juvenile COMMER. “Mike, at 8-years-old, was only a COMMIE and wasn’t taken as seriously as older, more active, COMMERS.”

It’s respectful to our roots, it’s pointed towards the horizon, and it’s short enough not to interrupt the DIVX I’m watching.

I’m COMMED out.
Kep!