This morning’s Observer column — about user-generated content…

The London bombings of 7 July 2005 marked the first time we had seen such content impact on traditional news media in Britain. On that terrible day there was far too much going on, in too many locations, and movement was so restricted after the initial shock, that networks found themselves unable to cope and were desperate for any footage and imagery that became available. It flooded in from the cameraphones and digital cameras of observers on (and under) the ground; a lot of it was striking, moving and informative; some was tasteless, even ghoulish. But whatever its characteristics, it was greedily accepted by the networks. Mainstream media suddenly began to understand what user-generated content meant…