I'm at Esther Dyson's PC forum in Scottsdale. This is my 5th year - and I've watched the role of content move from the outer edge - briefly to the center - and now almost assumed.

Content is simply software. Phrases like user-content are now common, an inevitable driver of software, community, and identity. Jerry Yang just announced that Yahoo has acquired Flicker.

If you don't know Flicker - check it out. I met Caterina and Stewart at last years PC forum. They had an idea that sharing pictures was a cool way to create community. And in just 18 months they've built a vibrant, growing community that is truly unique. In an increasingly visual world - photo sharing plugs into the create/share/engage spirit of a new generation of content maker/consumers.

This is a cool acquisition for Yahoo - and support what Jerry said about Yahoo not going 'Hollywood', a concern that Esther said was being debated 'up north.'

User-content (which is my core interest, passion, and vision) is an evolution that has many significant components. For the content creation community - it's both incredibly empowering and very scary. For people who earn their living as a content manufacturer within the current system, there's lots of sense that young storytellers are willing to 'work cheap' and devalue the core skills of professional storytellers. I think that's a natural - but misguided - understanding of the changes taking place. Content creators are soon to be empowered, paid, and valued up by the long-tail content future.

For distributors - the power of a narrow and controlled pipe is ending. That doesn't mean their role is over - just changing. And for distributors who've built a brand that has meaning to consumers- the future is certainly bright.

Finally - for content consumers (I hate that word, it's so passive) for people seeking knowledge, there will be far more choices and a need to develop critical thinking and dimensional reading of ideas. The idea that consumers have to become active in the way they seek knowledge - is both obvious and hard to imagine. If you eat junk you get fat. If you only read comic books, your world view will be fairly narrow. If you only get information from one source -you'll be unable to critically consider complex issues.

So user-content pushes lots of buttons - and that's only good.