The lifecycle of information in the digital age seems like it gets shorter every year. The percentage of information being written versus the amount actually getting read is only going to get worse. But there are good signs on the horizon.
The Portable Internet is Getting Larger
When the world looked like it was going to go entirely mobile, I was very concerned that the size of small screens would cripple the Internet as a medium for serious blogs. But now there’s good news. The Kindle and other portable book technologies are pointing towards a new, larger, more portable Internet that will be more text focused than ever.
While the Kindle is entirely focused on books, it’s inevitable that there will be other content pointing towards the same technology. Just the other day I saw a completely flexible unit debuted at CES that resembles the experience of holding paper. Everything old is new again.
Click here to read more about it
The Continued Rise of Video
Will the popularity of video cut into the reading of quality websites? My bet is that it’s already happening. The slow slide of the newspaper industry may be pointing to either fewer folks reading, or simply fewer minutes in the day to sit and read.
As smart as Google is, I suspect they’re already working on ways to search video content more effectively than just the weak tagging system that YouTube uses. Character recognition and other techniques are surely being explored to make video ‘searchable.’
A More Apparent Scarcity of Talent
When cable TV began to offer hundreds of channels, pundits predicted the death of books and magazines. What they didn’t count on was a scarcity of content, so the channels remained full of mostly junk. If you don’t believe me, turn on your local cable channel. It’s downright scary.
The availability of all these channels, websites, stations, magazines, self-published books and more simply makes it more apparent that there’s ‘nothing on.’ The lack of good content in so many places only serves to make the truly wonderful content stand out all the more.
The Continued Economic Difficulties
Budgets continue to be smaller. The job market is tight. But for companies like Ion Leap, that means we stay lean, fast, and responsible presenting a good way to solve clients’ staffing and budget issues.
Content creation is a super low cost way for companies to build something of lasting value for their prospects. And that won’t change in 2010, or likely for a very long time to come.
