As the writers’ strike drags much of television and film to a halt, viewers might begin looking for alternatives in the coming weeks. But they probably won’t look to what was supposed to shake up the media world forever, “user-generated content.” Indeed this once-magical concept has seemingly gone the way of the Tamagotchi and Zoomba Pants.

Of course, a year ago some bloggers were certain of the opposite. With the growth of MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube, users would take control of “old media.” Via new distribution platforms – video-sharing sites and blogs – freelance content producers would address audiences directly, delivering the original, uninhibited content that people really desired. And “old media” would suffer because of it.

But ask your friends what they’ll do when the strike causes new episodes of, say, “Gossip Girl” to run dry. Chances are they won’t turn to “The Halls” – a similarly themed, once-viral soap produced by Columbia students last year. Rather they’ll ride out the storm by downloading those Showtime shows they heard about but never saw – or renewing that Netflix subscription once again.

Indeed, far from presenting any threat to traditional media, user-generated content has only expanded it. After all, if there’s one law in the history of media, it’s a relentless drive toward diversity. Home video didn’t drive out movie theaters – instead the entire industry grew. Cable didn’t drive out network TV. Simply, we’ll take content in whatever manner and setting we can get it, and there’s no end to that tendency in sight.

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