By Senior Editor – Kris Smith (@croncast)

Devices enable it and users consume it. Content of all types for screens drives the web and gadget lust.

User generated content hit its stride in 2004 as podcasting kicked off to fill the content vacuum being left by the ubiquity of broadband. There simply wasn’t enough mainstream content to fill the hours that people were now spending online. As well, the delivery mechanisms were in place to help UGC begin to supplant mainstream media as they began to fight fierce battles over copyright, distribution and sorting out revenue models. Podcasters just did it.

At the same time bloggers were kicking into full gear and platforms were opening up to allow anyone to say their piece for free. A price point that no one could argue with, even in middle America. Bloggers began to have an impact on newsprint, mainstream television, politics, brands and culture as their communications spread.

Amazon welcomed bloggers onto the Kindle, iTunes said howdy to all podcasters and open source developers built some of the coolest content aggregating software that has ever existed. It would be inexcusable of me not to bring peer to peer into this as well with the rise of bit torrent. Users crave content and when they can’t find it in iTunes, Amazon, Zune store or on a web site, they will fire up the bit torrent. And not just before a long flight but to fill up terabyte media center drives.

What now?

The consumption of digital media is beginning to explode as the gadget and tech culture is now gaining a foothold with the public at large. Millions of always on, always connected devices are sold every month to happy customers that want sports scores, entertainment, news and to find the Chipotle nearest them. The content vacuum starts here.

The Content Class will fill this void.

Who are they?

They are the information workers that have and had white collar jobs before we entered the global recession. They are you and me. If you’re reading this, it is likely that you have written a blog post, made a podcast or are directly involved in producing content.

The Content Class is composed of a new type of worker that can be efficient from anywhere in the world as long as they have access to the tools to make media. They are hired by companies or enterprising individuals to write copy, record video, get it online and understand how to get eyeballs on it.

This new worker understands the value of being able to produce work that will drive traffic from search, social media and by word of mouth. They are not the traditional employee that waits for directives. Their goals are the loose and similar to a freelance worker of years past. The difference is that most of the Content Class has had their job descriptions removed from the payroll of the companies they previously worked for.

Maybe members of the Content Class were filling unnecessary roles prior to this time with their employers and this is the free market sorting itself out? I would say this is true. The world works in mysterious ways as new options become available.

Options

Craigslist is filled with requests for bloggers, people to prepare content for the coming onslaught of tablets and content strategists. These content production roles will be filled by the usual cast of characters that have been producing content online for years, but it will also include former journalists, middle managers and executives that need to pay bills.

Some will become members of the Content Class to supplement their income as they look for work and interview for full-time jobs. But many of these people will find out like the steel workers of the 80’s, their jobs aren’t coming back. Those that realize this the soonest will be able to gain the most from this opportunity. Because it is an opportunity. How else can one look at this landscape and think that this growing void and all of the attention that users want to pay to their devices isn’t an opportunity?

The rise of the content class from the ashes of what used to be the middle and lower upper class will create a new worker that is versed in transition, has an expertise in trend spotting and will work for many, many companies.

If you would like to meet some members of the content class just walk into any coffee shop with free wifi for a couple of days in a row. Find yourself one of the regulars and ask them their story and what they’re working on now.

Update: I found supporting material for my claims that “the jobs have done away”.

Matthew Yglesias has a great post, “Unemployment Forever” with the following chart.

The second is the source for Yglesias’s post from The Economist, “No quick end to joblessness.”

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Tags: Amazon.com , content class , iTunes Store , mass media , middle class , Peer-to-peer , Podcast , the content class , User-generated content