iMedia: Do I want Social Media and UGC, or not? Apparently, it's a conundrum

I listened to two iMedia sponsors today brag that their ad networks contain no social or UGC. And yet I feel like I sit in meetings all week long where companies flail for ways to be IN social and UGC. What gives?

Undertone Networks stated that they have NO inventory in such media, while Casale said they offer a specific UGC/social channel. But that standard buys don’t include such media unless it is specifically requested.

So ad networks have to be careful about content, because they have a lingering reputation for running ads in junk. So that’s part of the divide here.

But it also speaks to our industry’s wider conundrum: we want to be in places that by their very essence are not professionally produced or screened for appropriateness. And if a UGC site did heavy handed screening, it would likely find itself without most of its users in about 25 seconds. Yesterday I made a post about the new popsauce network and their approach. I would be very interested in hearing how other networks and sites are coping with this issue. Because the solution isn’t a yes or no. It’s not binary. We need to figure out a way to tie the potential benefits of being in such high involvement media with the risks.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.