Loathe as we are to perpetuate buzzwords like "monetize," (marketing lingo for generating revenue directly from content) there is a growing push to find ways to syndicate content generated by users–either content created within communities or content specifically offered by "regular folks" for syndication on the Web. While many companies have used user content as a way to keep the site dynamic and participatory–a la Amazon’s user reviews or FatBrain’s self-publishing tools–few of them have directly turned user-generated content into revenue dollars.

The harbinger of this development might be the Motley Fool, which has recently launched SoapBox.com; a place where Fool community members can post and sell their own corporate research reports to interested investors. The company gets half the proceeds of sales, working as a content marketplace for user-generated financial reports.

CameraPlanet.com, started by seasoned TV producer Steven Rosenbaum, is a new venture that allows individuals to "tell their own stories" using digital video cameras, and then provides that content to partner sites. Fast Company and Court TV are early partners, offering user-generated content produced by professional video folks at CameraPlanet. Partners can work with CameraPlanet in many different ways, from the sharing of branded content (and ad revenues) to buying their services outright.

Syndication can go both ways. Traditional publishers, Web publishers, retail outlets and even individual cartoonists, can use the other end of a syndicate to help "monetize" that content, says Forrester Research’s Dan O’Brien. "In the early days of the Web, people had the idea that they needed to be a destination to attract visitors to their corporate site," he says. "[For some] it makes more sense to invest in content and then maximize distribution."

iSyndicate, for example, allows individuals to syndicate their own content. If you’re willing to write a regular column, reprint articles to which you have subsidiary rights or even sell your own cartoons, photos or video, iSyndicate will distribute the work for a percentage of the sale.

iSyndicate’s Jeff Thomas points specifically to two cartooning success stories. "WitWomen" is regularly posted on Seagrams Coolers’ Web site, and"BoonDogs" was originally self-syndicated on the Web, but was recently picked up by a traditional newspaper syndicate. While few self-syndicators are using syndication as their sole source of income, some people are making $500 to $1,000 per month, Thomas says.

"The thing that’s really pushed our business ahead," Thomas says, "is the idea that anybody who has content can submit it to iSyndicate.com. Be seen, be heard, be paid."