The last trend on the internet that has taken solid roots is the ability to take old videos, convert them into digital format and upload on the net. Photos are significantly easier, simply upload the existing digital images (or simply scan old photographs) and users are ready to go send these contents into Facebook, YouTube, Picasa and other media storing and sharing websites. User generated content is the main bulk of today’s online media, and that volume is not going to stop growing anytime.

Thanks to the standardization of digital cameras on mobile phones, there are now more and more people who are able to instant web celebrities, news reporters or simply sources of funny content. There is plenty of freedom here, which brings us to the main question, should this be controlled?

So far, having the ability to upload content on the internet has not been the cause of trouble, many people are able to report crisis and emergencies as they happen –which speeds up the verification process that some groups need before they can mobilize. Any user with a video capable smart phone and access to the internet can instantly share with others the latest events.

While this freedom cannot be caged up, it should still be self-managed. Several months, back, Google Executives took the fall and blame for an uploaded video to the now defunct Google Video service. While the content was not created by Google, the Italian government still found it proper that the company be held responsible for the content that their site possessed.

In many ways, people should be more conscientious about what they shoot and more importantly, what they upload. Many people now feel anxiety when performing in large crowds or even private locations –not because of performance anxieties, but that worry that someone in the crowd would record the whole thing on a mobile phone, and upload it to Facebook where the whole world can see it.

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