User created content as aid in the creative process

Abstract

New technology, especially mobile phones and the Internet, have an increasing influence on society. These new technologies are utensils that are becoming progressively more ubiquitous and accessible for the masses. This gives the opportunity for a growing number of people to produce and publish; the users are also becoming the creators.

The aim of this thesis is to discuss user created content as aid in the creative process. The fundamental focus is on how the creative process unfolds when users are presented with the opportunity to create and share their own content. It also looks at what effects that user created content, generated with mobile phones and shared over the Internet, can have on the creative process and the opportunity it presents for new creative thinking on the subject of cultural heritage.

To order to do this, the technologies along with their history and present day uses are presented in-depth. The phenomenon of user created content is introduced and the process of user created content explored. Existing user created content and its creators, as well as framework for thinking about creativity are presented.

Two case studies were conducted to be able to explore this in real-life, one in a museum setting and the other at a youth club. Both present teenagers with the opportunity to express themselves in regards to their cultural heritage.