Is the trend towards user-generated content changing society? "Content Nation: Surviving and Thriving as Social Media Changes Our Work, Our Lives and Our Future" from John Blossom looks at how the explosion in electronic publishing by individuals and enterprises using social media and social networking tools is fundamentally changing the way people relate to each other in their personal, business and community lives.

Blossom defines content as information and experiences that provide value to an audience in specific contexts. Content Nation is a perfect example, beginning as online commentary and evolving into an actual hardcover book.

Blossom predicts that 2009 will see social media and social networking move front and center as a prime concern in business, politics, government, the arts and any number of other arenas.

The book examines social media and where it may be taking us - ultimately deciding that individuals expressing themselves through this medium will determine the course. Citizen publishers will be the driving force behind changes in the media evolution, not the experts, according to Blossom.

"These tools are challenging many of the fundamental assumptions that have held together human societies," says Blossom. "Social media's importance and impact in its current early stages must be measured, not just against the backdrop of traditional electronic media, but also in comparison to how people have communicated throughout human history. Social media and social networking are more than a challenge to today's institutions - they have the potential to change the very DNA of human society."

Sticking to its roots, much of the content in the book is a direct result of input from the online community around Content Nation, the online social media site. There will always be a "living," online version of the book, as readers comment and continue to forge new paths in communication.