Worldwide user-generated content ad revenues will rise from US$1.6 billion in 2007 to $8.2 billion in 2011, according to eMarketer estimates. The research firm claims UGC has shattered the status quo of content ownership and distribution as well as creating new opportunities for marketers. eMarketer forecasts there will be 238 million UGC creators worldwide in 2011, up from 118 million in 2006. “Gone forever are the days in which giant media conglomerates control the creation, distribution and monetization of content,” said Paul Verna, the eMarketer senior analyst who wrote the report User-Generated Content: Will Web 2.0 Pay Its Way? “The media companies are still around and still wield considerable clout as a result of their content and their distribution networks, but today much of the power is shifting to the consumer.”