The increase in consumer-generated web content is opening up new real estate at photo-sharing and hosting sites, which have proliferated as a result of digital cameras and photo-capable phones, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, writes Adweek. In August, 14.7 million visitors went to the top five photo-hosting sites, up from just 2.9 million in January. Visitors to all photo sites has risen 32 percent from the start of the year, reaching to 45 million. Pageviews on photo sites were up 42 percent during the same period, reaching 2.4 billion.

WebShots has attracted advertisers like New Line Cinema and is running ads for Cingular's "Raising the Bar" campaign, which solicits user submissions of camera-phone shots. But most brand advertisers have shied away from such sites, which tend to be unpredictable.

"We're still sort of in a Wild West motif," said Nielsen analyst Jon Gibs. "You have such an array of good and bad content out there."