Will Ferrell isn’t the only celeb getting in on the user-driven content phenomenon. Kevin Spacey has started up a site called TriggerStreet, a kind of MySpace environment specifically targeted at filmmakers:

“TriggerStreet is a community of filmmakers, screenwriters, and film aficionados gathered together in the virtual space to share and critique scripts and short films. This community provides a platform for undiscovered talent to showcase their work and gain valuable exposure and feedback that it may not normally have access to. It is also a venue to learn about the art of screenwriting and filmmaking by critiquing others’ work.” (from their FAQ)

The site is smooth and very professional, easy to navigate, and loaded with content. Certainly worth considering as a place of virtual residence. Virb also does a decent job, though it’s serious functionality is really only helpful to online musicians. It’s a quiet, classy neighborhood, but lacks just a bit in the “do something” department. TriggerStreet is built around its purpose of serving the needs of filmmakers and screenwriters, and it shows.

Ferrell’s Funny or Die has received viral popularity, mostly due to the hysterical Landlord video he used to launch the site. But dig in and try to participate, and things get decidedly buggy. I’ve not been able to get past the email verification stage due to an error on the site, and an answer from support has been slow in coming. Mind you, FoD was deliberately designed with a guerilla feel in mind versus immaculate professionalism, but some of the bugs are disconcerting. Immediately after registering for the site, I was hit with a wave of spam (above and beyond the norm), and even some messages from some hacker claiming to have a “better video plugin than the rip-off version on Funny or Die,” pretty much ruling out coincidence in tracking the source of the spam influx.

There’s a lesson in FoD for all of us: if you’re going to attract attention to yourself, be prepared for the negative attention and target painting which inevitably accompanies the surge of traffic and hype. Vultures await.

I’m off to Talladega for the weekend, see you when I get back.