Take a quick look around the web and it becomes obvious – users really do create the best content. The articles of wikipedia, the videos of youtube and the LOLcats of the cheezburger network- all examples of platforms based entirely on user generated content.Now think about your students, faculty and staff. Given the opportunity, what kinds of stories might they tell? What amazing images and videos would they share?

In this 45 minute session, I will show you how to create your own platform to collect and maintain user generated content. It might be easier than you think.

Over the past few years, I have created several systems, both inside and out of the realm of higher education. Using these examples, we can explore the highlights and pitfalls of collecting user generated content.

HighEdWeb 2012 presentation:

#MCS12 Marketing, Content, and Social Strategy Track

• Where: 102 A & B, Frontier Airlines Center, Milwaukee, WI
• When: Tuesday, 2:15–3:00 PM
• More Info: at the HighEdWeb site

The slides:

• ALL THE THINGS! (2012 Slides)

Examples to get you started:

• Pre-built:
  • news.pcc.edu (WordPress comments)
• API:
  • 2012 Art Beat photo pool (Flickr API)
  • PCC’s YouTube channel (Many of the videos were uploaded using the YouTube API)
• Custom:
  • 50th.pcc.edu (Resurrected for your enjoyment)
  • opportunity.pcc.edu (Current iteration of the site)

Some code to play around with:

• Custom 50th installation
• Photos API (Flickr)
• Video upload API (YouTube)

More Resources:

• WordPress.org
  • WordPress Codex
  • Custom post types
  • Custom fields
  • wp_kses (Strip Evil Scripts)
• Flickr API
  • Flickr upload API
• Disqus
  • Discus universal code
• YouTube API
  • YouTube Upload API
  • YouTube upload widget (experimental)