The Future of Reading
Apr 13, 2010
As you read this blog entry, you may have killed another traditional print newspaper or magazine, or caused a library to close. That might be a little bit of an overstatement, but not by much. (Just look at the numbers released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations back in October.) Some people are choosing to sit around and ring their hands about the demise of traditional media. I say wake up and move on…it’s actually a GOOD THING!
The release of the iPad earlier this month was one of the most highly anticipated product launches in a long time. However, it didn’t live up to all the hype, especially when you compare it to the launch of the iPhone in 2007. According to Broadpoint Amtech analyst Brian Marshall in a recent MSNBC article:
“The iPad is “off to a fantastic start,” he wrote, but he still expects iPhone sales to top $20 billion this year, eight times his forecast of $2.5 billion for the iPad.”
Why the difference in numbers? Because the iPhone was pretty much the only touch screen phone on the market at the time it was released. The iPad, on the other hand, isn’t the first successful eReader on the market – Amazon has the Kindle, Sony has the eReader, and there are almost two dozen other competitors out there already.
So why all the hype? Because it involves the future of reading and, more importantly, the future of original content. Many pundits believe this is the beginning of the end for original financial content like the Wall Street Journal, or the Financial Times. Even if this is true…who cares?! None of these publications helped save us from ourselves during the recent financial crisis!!
We also need to consider the impact that monetizing content will have on advertising revenue in the digital world. For example, most brands haven’t quite figured out how to successfully monetize Twitter – there’s so much missed opportunity out there right now in this area alone. Brands should be maximizing their communications by leveraging their Twitter followers and using them as their mouthpiece – offer incentives for word-of-mouth spread to Twitter users and influential bloggers. Utilize time-sensitive messaging to add a sense of urgency to a special offer and mobilize people to take advantage of the offer on the spot. Or use local geo-targeting to drive local traffic.
At Zimmerman, we don’t wait for the industry to change – we lead the industry into change. In the last several years, we have implemented new strategies in social media and web-based advertising but have also remained dedicated to traditional advertising vehicles. The only way you can have real success is by creating and executing a fully integrated strategy. That’s why Zimmerman continues to grow our market share and win new business. We’re kicking ass and taking names!!
Future opportunities are limitless for savvy individuals, agencies and brands as content is made more readily available through a growing pool of technologies. The only downside is what will happen to all those libraries. Maybe schools can repurpose them and use them for teaching children to read…
LINKS:
You Sleep When You Die – Wake Up – You’re Already Dead
MSNBC – Apple sells over 300,000 iPads on day of debut
this is, not surprisingly, a hot topic at my monthly FWA [Florida Writers Association] meetings. we’ve split into two camps: the luddites who see the future and are working with it [myself included] going high tech, modifying work to meet the requirements of ebooks and epads [750 word count per article fits on an iPad page, so you break your work into 750 word segments] and the uber-luddites who sit around wailing that twitter is the end of the world.
people are reading more than ever, just utilizing different technology. how is that a bad thing? yes, our habits have changed, but i view it as a reversion to type. until the modern [post 1400 CE] reading was reserved for the upper clases, the clergy and those rare societies where it was required, albeit in limited ways [all adult jewish males could read hebrew prayers and the torah, at least] the general population got their info by verbal dispersion,in short spurts. reminds me of twitter and the captions that preced longer blogposts a la facebook.
as for libraries, their closing will be more greatly impacted by the changing tax base and loss of funds than by the changes in technology. my local libraries are more crowded than ever with persons doing internet research, learning computerese, listening to language CDs, and yes, reading paper books because NOTHING BEATS THE FEEL OF A BOOK IN THE HAND.
adapting and exploiting change does not mean we get rid of the old ways. i work and store info on line all day. i still write longhand.
WOW! I’m glad I took Tyrese advice to follow you, via twitter. Your blogs are well put,meaningful and inspiring. Please continue to shed light to success through your blogs. You are truly helping some of us out here. ~God Bless~
This analogy reminds me of a debate going on for decades about the library vs. the elderly man in the traditional African cultures. There is a common saying that “Every elder who passes away is equivalent to a library that gets burnt down.” A little different context, but a projection of your analogy on it draws the result that there is nothing like a wise man or a good teacher in front of a live audience giving a lecture.
Libraries will certainly survive for a few more generations as the preferred vehicle to pass on knowledge, but the procession of technology carries good news in the long run for green jobs and ecologists.
Another great enlightenment moment reading you and thanks to Tyrese, via Twitter.
Regards,
P.O