How Media Consumption Is Changing

With the introduction of the iPad, Apple is signaling a new phase in how the media world will work. There are certainly things about the new device that lack “wow” power, but there’s something going on here that signals where Apple is going, and why we should pay attention. Consumers, not manufacturing companies, are driving the media revolution, and this is yet another technology that will affect our media buying and consumption habits.

It is obvious that Sony’s eReader, Amazon’s Kindle, and now the B&N Nook all have their merits. They make it easy to carry a lot of books and to read multiple titles any time a person wants. They all have an ability to download various books, at various prices and in various formats.

To date, though, none of them does other media very well. You can’t listen to radio, surf the web or watch video on their E-Ink gray scale screens, nor would you want to. This is where the iPad will instantly make itself more appealing to many people. One device that does…one thing? Not gonna survive. These days, how many people have a cell phone that just makes calls? Or who has an MP3 player that just plays songs? So, by limiting their functionality to books, a dying medium (I hate typing that, but its a fact that fewer people are reading – and buying books, so let’s just live with it, okay?), the current offering of “readers” will find itself looking for an audience while mainstream culture goes with the flashy, color-screened, multi-functional iPad.

Read a book? Sure, anyone can carry around a small tablet-sized screen on which to read – all these devices can do that. That’s easy.

Carry around a business book AND a “guilty pleasure” fiction, too? Yep, the “readers” can do that.

Read the local “newspaper” while I listen to some classical music I downloaded? No, can’t do that on the “readers.” They do text really well, but not much else.

Interrupt my reading so I can check e-Bay for that item I was bidding on? No, sorry, the “readers” can’t do that. You’ll need to have a better tablet for online use – these things are for…reading.

Finish that video I started online last night before I begin studying my textbook for that upcoming quiz? Don’t think Sony can help me do that with their “reader” (despite the fact that Sony makes some gorgeous televisions these days).

Take a break from my book to in order a photo book of pictures from my trip – so it is waiting for me when I return from this trip? Um, I’ll need something more than a “reader.”

I’ll admit that these are all nice, hypothetical examples of how the “reader” will want to be replaced by something more. They don’t necessarily describe your life and how you operate – yet.

By making the iPad a multi-media device, Apple has tapped into where many of us are at – living in a fast-paced, media-saturated world. Apple is correctly seeing that if you  do one thing really well, you’ll likely be obsolete very soon (this is why the iPhone is so popular. It does many things well. Not everything perfectly, but it has enough of the capabilities that I want, and delivers them well, so that I’m finding it hard to imagine life without such a smart “phone.”).

The truth is, we want more more more from our technology, and we want to do do do things anytime, all the time. Apple may have made a big mistake here, that is possible. My guess, though, is that in a few years the iPad, and its various permutations and the inevitable competitors, will change how we do books – and every other media, too.

Radio: A Strong Buy

Radio is strong.

I’m not just saying that because I’m biased.

According to recent research,

• Broadcast radio reaches over 79% of all U.S. adults daily, who listen on average for over two hours daily.

And it isn’t just for an “older generation:”

• Even among younger adults (18-34 years old), radio reached more than 79% of the population –  with an average listening time of more than one and a half hours each day.

When I’ve run advertising campaigns, I’ve always included radio in the mix. There’s no reason to change, either. Smart money goes into smart radio buys. Use radio well, and it delivers exceptional results!

More encouraging data about radio here (see the report titled, “How U.S. Adults Use Radio and Other Forms of Audio from the Council for Research Excellence Video Consumer Mapping Study”).

Can Newspapers Be Saved?

Over at the Tribune, former radio genius Randy Michaels has a new role, taking the helm as CEO from Sam Zell. Michaels has demonstrated he knows how to run a huge radio company, but it remains to be seen just how he can take the Tribune Company, which is trying to come out of bankruptcy – a rather embarrassing decline for the “World’s Greatest Newspaper.” How will the company make enough to fund the staff-intensive and printing/distribution infrastructure that has been newspapers?

And, related, the largest newspaper publisher in Europe suggests that there should be a payment system for news that we find on the Internet – so that link you follow from Google to a news piece could cost you. Monetizing the news departments of major daily newspapers might save them. If – and it is a BIG “IF” – folks like you and me will pay for that which has to this point been free.

And then I think about Chris Anderson, who argues that “Free is better.” In fact, he pushes for a free-for-all web, where free makes sense – even economic sense. I’m not sure that applies to newspapers, though.  Can Michaels turn around the Tribune with a free model? I rather doubt it. Will you pay for news that someone, somewhere, will offer for nothing? I don’t think so.

I’m not sure newspapers are going to make it. That’s a big deal to me. I’ve been reading papers on a daily basis since I was 10. Confession: I started reading…the Tribune. Every day I’d read it, after my Dad finished, of course. Now I get the Wall Street Journal, and consume as much as possible every day. Sometimes my kids read an article or two. But now the Journal is starting to charge for its web content. And I’m not paying for that, not while it is delivered to my door every day.

Can newspapers be saved? I hope so.

Who’s Going Mobile? You May Be Surprised!

The fastest-growing age group of mobile web users? Surprise – it isn’t teens!

According to Media Post, the Nielsen Company has recently released research findings that show an increase in audience of 34% to 56.9 million users in July 2009.

Overall, year-over-year growth among the 13-17 and 65+ age groups outpaced the growth of the total mobile Web audience, with a youth increase of 45% and seniors surging upwards 67% in July.

I wonder what is driving this trend, especially the growth in seniors who access the web though a mobile device. Is it the popularity and low cost “Net Book?” Or easier-to-use smartphones?  Or…what? Regardless, it is clear you cannot ascribe online and mobile use of the web as only “a young person’s game.” The shift to the web is rapid and touches everyone. How are putting YOUR message out there?

Twitter Growth

First came news of an infusion of $100 Million. Then statistics that show Twitter is still growing at a very fast clip.

A recent report by eMarketer.com says at least 18 million adults access Twitter on any given platform monthly. That’s a 200% increase over 2008 estimates! Additionally, eMarketer projects that Twitter users will total 26 million by next year.

Of course, not every user is a frequent user. Previous studies show that many people try Twitter once or twice – and then give up. Still, interest in the service is growing, and a financial model is being refined, so expect Twitter to stick around for some time to come.

Meanwhile, how are YOU using Twitter to promote your brand, spread your message, cultivate your tribe (er, flock?)?

Does Facebook Help Or Hurt?

I’ll admit to being somewhat fascinated by the social media craze. I am not afraid to jump into the water and try new things out, and I’ve become rather conversant about blogging, Facebook, texting and Twitter. I think I’m pretty balanced when it comes to these technological tools, not addicted to them, nor ignorant of their power.

In all things moderation? I try. And yet the line is fine, and at times I wonder if these new ways to communicate are helping – or hurting – relationships. I especially think about this when I see my teens wanting to spend hours online…fortunately, they want to have “face time” with their friends even more.

Here’s one perspective about social media and relationships. It is worth reading, in which the writer suggests that Facebook, among other things, is ruining friendships. And here’s a more positive view, that social media creates community, something for both parents and business people to consider. Finally, a quick read for those who are overwhelmed by all this quick communication.

How Many Channels Do You Need?

In this Wall Street Journal article (subscription required to read full article) it was noted that most households access 16 television channels, despite the cable industry average offering of more than 100 channels.The reporter suggests that the cable companies need to reduce the number of channels offered, something along the lines of “less is more.”

The reader comments were telling (and you can see all of them without subscribing) and humorous. Several suggested that the number of channels offered isn’t the problem, rather, it is the quality of those channels — and the high price to access them.

I’ve never paid for cable, and don’t watch TV. But what about you? Leave a comment and tell me:

• How many channels do YOU need?
• And in these days of economic uncertainty, have you considered eliminating “pay TV?”
• If so, in favor of what — free (broadcast) TV, web TV, no TV?

Twitter Fuels Iran’s Opposition

It seems  Twitter – and other social media – are being used very effectively by those who are opposing the current regime in Iran.  Calls for an election recount, stories of militia brutality, and pleas for help from the West are being disseminated far and wide – despite governmental crackdowns on the flow of information from that beleaguered country.

Here’s a Los Angeles Times piece, and another by new media guru Hugh Hewitt. A story on CNET about the ways Iranians are getting around potential restrictions on their use of Twitter. Read an article about the way Twitter is having to beef up its service to accommodate the flood of information from within Iran. And here’s one of several Iran-related Twitter collections.

And to think that a year ago most people, including myself, were unfamiliar with Twitter. Wonder where it’ll go next?

Maybe We Didn’t Need That DX

Here’s a rather harsh assessment of the new, improved, bigger, more expensive Kindle DX – views expressed in an open letter to Jeff Bezos. I’m ambivalent, but think I’ll pass on this device. How about you?

Gen Y: Can’t Turn It Off?

Writer Liz Funk offers insights about Gen Y and the “always on” aspect to their lives.

When teens and twentysomethings spend their downtime keenly aware that they have tasks pouring into their Blackberries or iPhones it’s hard to ignore the urge to respond — maybe they’ll send a quick email while driving or while a friend has gotten up to use the bathroom at dinner. It makes leisure time a blurry period in between work and school, rather than a peaceful and completely restorative activity.

I’m watching my own kids go that direction – that phone is an extension of his (long) arms! Well, at least one of them. Unless he is in the mountains, with no cell service!