The new channel, re-christened OMG (or “Oh My God!”) has been built around LYCOS successful online community model. It offers the opportunity for users to upload or post their own content, as well as to rate and comment on other posts.
OMG users have individual profiles through which they can post content – either uploading original work or posting links to content from around the web. They can then earn points based on the volume and quality of their activity – as they post content that is highly rated, and as they rate other people’s posts. There are leader boards for “top-rankers”
Jeffrey Lee, managing director of LYCOS UK said: “LYCOS was the first site to create a viral chart seven years ago. However, the market has moved on since then, which meant that we had to re-invent our channel to keep up.
“We have approached that task by opening up to our users.
“Most viral sites will allow users to submit links, but more in most cases, those are swamped by content that has paid-for placements. OMG is more community based – people post the content they like and it is left to our community to decide whether it is worthy of positioning at the top of the chart, rather than basing that decision on who has the deepest pockets.”
LYCOS organises the content that users post into categories based on content-type (celebrity, sport, humour, sex, etc) with charts for each based on traffic and users’ ratings. There are also sections for new content to be displayed, alongside editor’s picks (chosen by LYCOS channel editors).
The site will accept commercial virals on an editorial basis – leaving the community to rank them based on quality.
Jeffrey Lee, adds: “There is so much great content out there now that tapping into our community of users means that more of it will be found, posted and shared. Putting in community rankings means that we will engage a dedicated band of our users to act as editors of that content so that the cream will rise.
“We think that as a result, OMG will bring together comprehensive coverage of the viral scene and an easy way of navigating through that content to find the best work.”
