Travel companies are being warned to keep a close eye on the growing popularity of websites promoting user-generated con

Travel companies are being warned to keep a close eye on the growing popularity of websites promoting user-generated content.

Published: 19 Sep 2006

Travel companies are being warned to keep a close eye on the growing popularity of websites promoting user-generated content.

National law firm Betesh Fox’s Mark Higgins says travel companies must keep up to date with Internet trends so they can protect themselves from holidaymakers with a grievance or embarrassing footage that could bring their company into disrepute.

“Peer-to-peer interaction is not governed by revenue, it’s governed by the interests of the people who post on the website and this is where the popularity arises,” says Fox. “Companies have been caught out by people posting negative stories about their business in online diaries or blogs but this new generation of interactive website allows users to post videos taken from camcorders and mobile phones. Holiday companies are particularly vulnerable to this kind of activity. It can only take one upset holidaymaker to upload a video of his so-called `holiday from hell’ to ruin the reputation of a company. Once it’s up there online it’s very difficult to get it removed.”

According to research published by Nielsen/NetRatings, these types of website have become the fastest-growing online brands in the UK this year. But experts say companies should keep a close eye on this trend, in case their customers post items that reflect badly on their business.

“Many have attributed the current online trend to a teenage demographic, but the data show 42 percent of YouTube users are over the age of 35. MySpace is the most popular social networking site for 18-34 year olds, with 32 percent of its users being of this age. Bebo is most popular amongst under 18s, who comprise 45 percent of users. Bebo is the only social network site in the Top 10 with more female than male users, at 52 percent. Of MySpace users, 47 percent are female and for YouTube, 37 percent,” stated a release.

Fastest growing online brands in UK - 2006

1. YouTube

2. Flickr

3. MySpace

4. American Express

5. Photobucket

6. Mozilla

7. Vodafone

8. Bebo

9. Odeon

10. B&Q

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings

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