Updated
January 22, 2019
Written by
Stephanie Walker
Content moderation is a service with a growing demand. In the world of digital marketing, it is a vital part of enhancing brand reputation, customer security, en Content moderation is a service with a steadily growing demand. In the world of digital marketing, it is a vital part of enhancing brand reputation, customer security, engagement and satisfaction. For business owners looking to employ the different types of moderation methods as well as companies planning to include it as part of its array of services, this blog delves into the key components of checking and regulating online content. gagement and satisfaction. For business owners looking to employ content moderation as well as companies planning to include it as part of its array of services, this blog delves into the key components of moderating online content.
At present, brands that have an online presence find it hard to thrive among their competitors with the absence of user-generated content. Thus, regardless of the risk, more and more business owners adapt the practice of publishing content created by their community members.
Business owners who are new to the world of UGC moderation often search for the terms content moderation meaning or content moderator meaning to get a summary of the areas covered by this type of service.
In a nutshell, content moderation exists to monitor and regulate user-generated posts through implementing a set of pre-arranged rules and guidelines.
Keeping tabs with audience activities is relative in all types of social platforms, digital communities when it comes to moderating content meaning that the main objective is the same.
From text-based content, ads, images, profiles and videos to forums, online communities, social media pages and websites, the goal of all types of content moderation is to maintain brand credibility and security for businesses and their followers online.
A scalable process of managing different online communities is highly important for brand and user protection especially for businesses that run a high amount of campaigns and are looking into expanding their online network of supporters. It is easy to take down a company’s reputation with a string of false reviews and claims. Some might even say that bad publicity is still good publicity; but it is still better to prevent any possible damages than containing the scandal and disturbance caused by a single tweet, status update, or Yelp review.
Customers hold more power and influence than they think.
This explains why visual content, social platforms and review websites have made end-user posts among what customers regard as credible and trustworthy sources for when they want to learn more about a particular company or service.
Each content moderation process can be executed either through hiring individuals to manually check user posts or employing the aid of artificial intelligence. It is dependent on the following:
Ideally, there should be a guideline that enumerates the scope and limitation of regulating content submitted by users. For instance, a brand or client specifically prohibits the use of words or terms related to terrorism along with phrases that imply sexual activity. Individuals in-charge of keeping an eye on posts from followers and online community members will use this as a basis to determine which types of moderation methods are applicable to use.
Each post is carefully reviewed so that moderators decide what content to allow from those that should be banned or require further scrutiny. User content that is downright offensive and in violation of the community guidelines are deleted by moderators.
Aside from human-powered moderation, artificial intelligence can also be utilized to improve how online platforms, communities, and business websites are managed and regulated. Since its development, AI has revolutionized content moderation definition for communities receiving massive volumes of user content.
AI-powered moderation uses machine learning to deliver accurate inspection of user-generated content. Machine learning for moderating content refers to the process of assigning and inputting a group of information such as keywords, phrases, words, sample images or videos and posting rules to the AI moderator. The collection of information and references is also referred to as the base model.
AI moderation requires extensive base models because unlike human moderators, it has limited capabilities in terms of judging and determining user intent when sharing content. It will only function based on what it is programmed to monitor and assess.
Different business requirements, industry standards, and client demands entail wider and more particular forms of moderating content. Choosing among these content moderation techniques may also depend on the online community that requires the said service. Careful inspection should be done to ensure that brands select the type of moderation that works well with their demands and the kind of online presence that they want to uphold.
With pre-moderation, you employ moderators to double check content submitted by your audience before it is made viewable to the public. From comments and product or service reviews to multimedia posts—these are all examined to ensure the online community is well-protected from any potential harm or legal threats that may put the customers and the business in jeopardy.
Pre-moderation is ideal for businesses that desire to maintain their online reputation and branding. On the contrary, it has the tendency of delaying ongoing discussions of your online community members since reviewing user-generated posts eliminate the possibility of real-time posting and conversations.
Contrary to pre-moderation, post-moderation makes way for real-time conversations and immediate posting because the content is checked after it is posted. Such variation of moderating content works best for websites that have social media channels, forums, and other forms of active online communities.
Moderators make use of a specific tool enabling them to duplicate each post and have a closer look at the details of each content. From there, moderators can decide quickly whether to retain or delete the post. Business owners should consider the ideal size of dedicated moderators to hire. Otherwise, this will be very crucial should the community rapidly double in size and the bulk of content to be checked overpowers the manpower available to do the job.
A rating system is used in distributed moderation, allowing community members to cast their votes on certain submissions. Based on an average score decided by several members, the voting process will determine whether the contents submitted by their fellow users are in line with the community’s rules or not. Usually, the voting goes hand-in-hand with supervision from the site’s senior moderators.
Rarely do businesses opt to entrust content moderation to their users due to the risks that it imposes on a legal and branding basis. Distributed moderation encourages higher participation and productivity but it does not guarantee full-on security or faster and real-time posting. It is therefore more suited for smaller businesses since employing a member-enforced method of moderation effectively boosts existing resources.
This type of moderation also relies on end-user judgment wherein it functions based on the assumption that the users actively remove and flag all forms of inappropriate content posted on the website. A brand requires a solid and dedicated audience to enable exhausting the cost-effective advantages of reactive moderation. With the help of a loyal and committed audience, the brand is assured with a meticulous eye out on user posts harboring harm against fellow users and to the business.
Automated moderation works by using specific content moderation applications to filter certain offensive words and multimedia content. Detecting inappropriate posts becomes automatic and more seamless. IP addresses of users classified as abusive can also be blocked through the help of automated moderation.
On the downside, the absence of human judgment and expertise may limit the digital tools moderate user content. For example, reasoning and a deeper level of interpretation are eliminated and sneakier online trolls use non-filtered profanities so that their posts are marked as acceptable and non-harmful.
On the downside, the absence of human judgment and expertise may limit the digital tools moderate user content. For example, reasoning and a deeper level of interpretation are eliminated and sneakier online trolls use non-filtered profanities so that their posts are marked as acceptable and non-harmful.
Content moderators are responsible for ensuring businesses and end-users are fully protected from harmful, disturbing posts and deceitful offers made by online trolls and scammers. They uphold the guidelines and objectives specified by a particular brand. In other words, they are the people behind the processes involved in screening user-generated posts, along with giving the green or red light for content uploaded by end-users. Content moderators also have the power to remove or ban members who violate in-house rules or threaten fellow users.
A good and reliable content moderator must be adamant at exercising level-headed analytical skills as well as have commendable exposure and experience in online community involvement. Whether it is through social media pages, Facebook groups, blogs or forums, having sufficient background on the dynamics of how people behave, form connections and exchange information online will bring forth clearer and more realistic decision-making.
Not only that, adequate knowledge in handling multiple platforms used by several of today’s brands, good grammar and a wide vocabulary will surely boost how moderators will screen and manage all content on the business’ website and pages. But more than checking member posts, effective content moderators should be able to promote wholesome and meaningful interaction among the end-users. Moderation is not always about the content—it is also about the individuals that comprise a business’ audience on the internet.
More than checking member posts, effective content moderators should be capable of promoting wholesome and meaningful interactions with the end-users. Moderation is not always about the content—it is also about the individuals that comprise a business’ audience on the internet.
The best answer to the question, what is moderating content, is it is a combination of thorough review processes that check and verify all kinds of user posts and digital platforms and websites for the safety of the entire online community.
It is a complex and highly sensitive task that must be entrusted to experienced and knowledgeable moderators, such as the people who make up New Media Services’ content moderation team. Their lineup of versatile moderation services cover images, videos, texts, websites, social media pages, profile verification, and profanity filters. New Media Services has been in the industry for over 10 years, and has earned the trust of several brands in protecting their online reputation and the trust of their customers
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