I guess we've known for a while that user-created material has been gaining popularity, especially in the media world. Hence the rise of blogs, amateur films, etc. But, it's not just blogs that are turning out to be profitable.

Increasingly, the new, new thing in media is getting paid for the homemade. Reflecting the surge in the popularity of user-created material, both online and traditional media companies are opening their wallets to make sure that the best of it finds its way onto their television shows and Web sites.

According to a Times business section article, it pays to film your baby sibling's first time eating a pickle. You might just win a flat screen TV! That is, if you make the cut at iFilms and VH1 selects your piece for their show, WebJunk20. But not to worry, they're not the only ones paying for creative content. YourTube.com is offering money and a trip to the winner of a contest that involves creating a music video for a band. And another website offers a monetary reward for the best short film shot at Mardi Gras.

Thanks to advances in technology, there's no dearth of material to choose from. Of course, not all of it is high quality, but still:

user-created material increasingly competes for the audiences of traditional media companies and holds some appealing qualities as a business model. For one thing, it is cheap. And it taps into the social aspect of interactive media that has fueled the advance of the Internet.

As in any situation where money gets involved, people are beginning to worry if it'll have a detrimental effect on people's motives for contribution. Will it become less about the "social aspect" and more about the economic one? Says, Dan Ariely, a professor at MIT:

"Right now, people are doing all sorts of things on the Internet for the good of the community — it's like volunteering. The question is, In what ways will it change the willingness of people to help? In this way I actually worry."

The thing is, financial incentives for contributing have been around for eons. It hasn't totally stopped up people's willingness to participate when no reward is offered. (Though, I have to admit, I'd take part in Psych lab experiments at college, usually only when I was going to get class credit for it!). Either way, media folk don't see these user-created contributions as being particularly profitable beyond the odd trip to New York City or $1000 here and there. As Chris Charron, an analyst at Forrester Research says, "people should not be left with the impression that they can make small fortunes sitting in their underwear at home surfing the Web."

Really? That's too bad.