One Shining Mashup

Hello again. I was out all last week on vacation. More on that, specifically the "Disney Experience," in a future post.

As most of you know, college basketball is currently in "March Madness Mode" conducting its annual tournament to determine a champion. For as long as I can remember, at the end of the tournament, CBS has put together a video montage of photos and highlights from the tournament - game winning shots, tension-filled faces, cheerleaders cheering, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

This year they've added a new wrinkle in that you can go online and create your own video. Include only highlights from your team if you want. Make fun of that arch rival if you want.

It's a neat concept to engage the audience. Check it out at http://mashup.cbssports.com.

Apple: Cool to the core

Aaron Russell nicely summarizes the story of 18 year old British student Nick Haley whose home-made video tribute to the iPod Touch became a national television commercial.

As the amount and quality of user-generated content grows, companies need to find effective ways like this to make use of the content and empower and embrace their devoted users.

Search and the long tail

A recommended read about search, user-generated content and the Long Tail.

Via Bazaarblog