BeebTube Part 3, according to the plan, was supposed to wrap up today with a nice conclusion, craftily weaving together habits of young internet users with the obvious need for PSBs in Europe to take user generated content seriously. Part smoking jacket, part Sex Pistols. “Come on Europe,” I intended to say with a flare of academia, “the ship is sailing… don’t miss the boat… get with the program!”

Well, get with the program they did… sort of. And meanwhile they managed to make my point for me — better than I could have made it myself.

Just as I sat down to post the third installment, I noticed a NY Times article discussing the European Union’s foray into user generated content, YouTube style, only they forgot the “user generated” part.

The Times article (found here) discusses EU Tube (see: http://youtube.com/eutube), a collection of short videos placed on a YouTube channel apparently designed to raise awareness about the philanthropy of the Commission. As best as I can tell, the videos are entirely created by the Commission, or someone on the payroll at least. The videos are interesting and informative, but have approximately the entertainment value of a pile of rocks, with one exception. The movie “Film Lovers Will Love This!” is a quick montage of sexy scenes from European films and is actually entertaining (”European Films - What a Joy!” would be a runner-up). Only this movie, in its raunchy way, seems to catch the spirit of YouTube. The rest are purely self-promotion.

There’s a reason that the user generated content era has the term “user generated” in front of it: it’s what we, the users, want.

Get it!?

Yes, I care about the world. Yes, I care about what the Commission is doing. But yes, I want to see a cat playing a piano…or some comedian dancing like Napoleon Dynamite…or Napoleon Dynamite dancing like Napoleon Dynamite! And, since I’m ranting, here’s a tip for the Commission: you can’t fake it!

Even if it’s got nothing else going for it, at least it’s a clever play on words. EU Tube (hint: say it out loud three times fast) is a step in the right direction and, at worst, a decent way to distribute content. But, to me it’s still missing the most important part: the users. (Think “YOU” Tube not “US” Tube).

Perhaps the Commission can take a tip from the fact that “Film Lovers Will Love This!” has had an impressive 3 million views, while most of the others are hovering in the tens of thousands. It seems that people don’t come to YouTube to be preached to, they come to laugh. And, “Film Lovers” is the only one in the bunch where the Commission doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Ultimately, the concept behind YouTube, the idea that gives it momentum, is that we want to see ourselves. Ours is a generation that is getting to know ourselves through the media, through our media. What the Commission seems to miss is that YouTube, in its pure form, has value in connecting people in a way that no institution can replicate–even if it seems easy to dismiss, like a cat playing the piano.

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Read more at: youtube-ugc-and-psb-final.pdf