User-generated content
 User-generated content (UGC) is content derived and produced by the mobile phone subscriber, rather than any company with a commercial focus.
Such content could be in media formats such as music, data or video. The emergence of high-speed mobile networks such as 3GSM is enabling the delivery of user-generated multimedia content.
UGC can include content such as jokes, submitted by mobile phone users and then made available for download for other users. Mobile chat is popular, where users exchange views, gossip or information within certain guidelines, and usually with a moderator monitoring activity. This type of content is essentially about two-way interactivity within a 'community.'
Consumers can create their own music that other mobile phone subscribers can then download for their own use. For example, China Mobile held a talent contest in October 2005 designed to highlight the 'Do-It-Yourself' music trend and prompt the creation of new content. China Mobile's users were invited to submit their songs, and over half a million people have entered the contest since it began in 31 provinces. Their music now appears on China Mobile's portal, and audiences can vote for their favourite singer through SMS, WAP, IVR and the Internet, download the songs, or use them as a ringback tone.
Meanwhile U.S. operator Cingular has launched a 'Mobile Music Studio', offering unsigned artists and bands on MySpace the tools needed to turn their self-produced music into ringtones.
UGC is beneficial to both the operator and users, as distributors do not have to pay for the copyright of 'amateur' contributions. UGC content is significantly cheaper to purchase and distribute than songs from established music labels.
User-generated content is also expanding beyond music. One example of a successful multimedia user-generated content service is 3UK's SeeMeTV. Launched in October 2005, the channel features mini-movies recorded by 3 customers via their mobile handsets, which are then sent to the operator as a MMS and uploaded to the SeeMeTV channel.
By March 2006, 4 million user-generated videos had been downloaded, earning budding directors £0.01 for every clip watched. A total of £100,000 has been earned by 3's customers to date, with top earners receiving over £2,500 per month.
Citizen Journalism
 Increasing use of mobile phones to share photos and videos has led to the emergence of 'citizen journalism', giving all mobile phone users the opportunity to play an active role in the process of collecting, reporting and distributing news and information. In many cases, citizen journalists are just accidental bystanders who have a camera/video phone and witness news events. The user is able to record the event and send it as a MMS direct to a news organisation.
Traditional news corporations such as the BBC and CNN welcome the receipt of such content, which is often of sufficient quality for television broadcast. Photo agencies such as Scoopt also enable users to sell photos and video to the media, and receive payment for all content sold. | 
