Precious Time

Technology, relative prosperity and human inventiveness have given many people in this world a fast-growing and diverse array of options regarding how and where to interact with media. Choices seem to expand at an accelerated rate, yet the time available to take advantage of this panoply remains constant. We all have 24 x 7 x 365 x whatever. Media options will continue to proliferate; available time will remain fixed. Our time is defined by our biology, and further constrained by the spin and orbit of our planet that defines our clocks and calendars. We all consume, in one fashion or another, every second that is available.

What media choices were available a generation ago? There was a limited selection of TV channels via antenna or cable systems. Satellite TV was barely coming out of the blocks. Radio was received only via antenna. For portable music, you had the “Walkman,” and your musical breadth/depth was limited by the number of cassettes you could tote. There was no World Wide Web. There were no small personal cell phones. They were car phones back then, and if they were portable, they were about the size and weight of a cocker spaniel. You had your local newspaper. Other newspapers were available, but they came via mail and you were left to review news that was less than fresh. You get the picture.

We now have much more media/communication content, of every type, available almost instantly. There’s more TV content, and more ways to get it (DVDs, downloads, DirecTV, etc.). There are more ways to access movies (pay-per-view, DVDs, satellite and Netflix). Radio is no longer defined by radio waves. It has grown to include more stations, Internet radio, satellite radio and, coming soon, HD radio. However, radio must now also compete with the likes of iTunes, iPods and podcasts for ear time. Magazines and newspapers currently struggle to increase readership in the face of Web sites, blogs and other consumer-generated media. The Internet is ubiquitous and permeates almost every facet of our life. Everything that can be digitized is being made available almost immediately…words, music, photos, video.

I am curious how we will reconcile this dilemma between media and the time available to consume it. I’ve got some opinions, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. Please comment or email me and let me know what you think...if you have the time.