Welcome 2008
Friday, January 04, 2008
The New Year is upon us. In the past couple of weeks, we have been bombarded with predictions for what 2008 will bring. The common theme among them, of course, is the notion of change.
Perhaps this feeling is propelled by our political climate. After all, we will be ending the year with a new President. But along with that, we are also seeing that the technologies and industries to which we have become accustomed are morphing instep with the future.
The music industry, for example, is being transformed. In 2007, we saw popular artists such as Radiohead and Madonna reject the old conglomerate music machine by taking more of an active role in how their music is sold. With news yesterday on album sales at record lows - down 15% from 2006 - they are probably doing the right thing.
And just today, Catherine Holahan from BusinessWeek reported that Sony plans to sell its music DRM-free, meaning their songs will be sold without the copyright protection software that makes it impossible for songs to be bought online. Sony is the last of the top 4 big music companies to do so, solidifying what we already knew. Buying and sharing music online is not a fad and if you don’t get on that boat, your ship will sink.
It is thus probably safe to say that we will see more artists taking control in new creative ways in 2008. What’s not certain, though, is if the quality of music will improve. With Britney in the hospital, there is some hope.
Another interesting development to watch this year is the impact the g-phone or Android will have on mobile telecom. The iphone made mobile web browsing truly possible, but the expense and having to be an AT&T subscriber kept many from being able to take advantage of the technology. 2008 might mark the year we all go online on the go.
From these few examples, it is clear (and not surprising) that the Internet is going to play an even bigger role in our lives this year. It’s a good thing we’re in this business!Labels: 2008, Internet, music industry, telecom
Circular Entertainment
Friday, December 07, 2007
Just when we thought we had it all figured out, Nokia released the results of a study it conducted on how we will entertain ourselves in the future. The prediction is grim, folks. Apparently, in the future, being a couch potato is very passé. Instead of basking in the euphoria that is sitting mindlessly in front of the television, just 5 short years from now, we will be engaging and actually creating our entertainment 25% of the time.
This phenomenon is being dubbed “circular entertainment.” Nokia gives the example of someone capturing footage with her cell phone, then sending it to a friend, who would add a soundtrack in the way of an mp3 file. This friend would then pass it to another, who would contribute yet another creative component.
Is this really how we will unwind in the future? Just thinking about it makes me tired, not to mention bored!
Tim Leberecht from CNET also blogged on this subject, cleverly pointing out that we should “take surveys sponsored by big brands with a grain of salt.” After all, it’s no coincidence Nokia uses the example of a mobile phone. Wouldn’t they just love it if we relied on our phones for more than just phone calls!
Well Nokia, I have news for you. Sadly, I rarely find myself wishing I had a video camera handy. My daily trip in and out of New York City is just not that exciting. Not to mention that I, along with about everyone I know, still absolutely prefers passive forms of entertainment to anything that requires more than a mouse click of effort.
But perhaps if we put aside Nokia’s ulterior motives with the cell phone example, we will see some truth in their prediction. As Leberecht pointed out, circular entertainment already exists in the form of social networking and reporters allowing comments to be made to their articles. Just this morning, a good portion of Good Morning America was devoted to reading viewer emails and responding to them. Isn’t this the embodiment of coming full circle?
It’s not much of a leap to “predict” that in 5 years, this phenomenon will only get more sophisticated and ingrained in our culture. Although, I am still a firm believer - or maybe just wishful thinker – that good old fashioned passive entertainment will still dominate our lives in the future.
Then again, if this writers’ strike goes on much longer, we will all have to get a little more creative…Labels: entertainment, media, new media, telecom, Web 2.0
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