Curious the life of drifting cabbies, all weathers, all places, time or setdown, no will of their own
Anyone pondering the future of television programming and related business models had better talk to my son Carson.
At the ripe old age of 18 months, he’s already a veteran iPhone and, now, iPad user. Having watched Carson control his exploration of media for nearly six months, I’m now convinced that there is no future for passive video consumption on any device — at least not once marketers become interested in him.
This isn’t going to be a gradual shift. This isn’t about migrating video to internet connected TVs or other devices. This definitely isn’t about moving some media dollars to support a schedule of :30s on Hulu or a home page roadblock on YouTube.
This is about how a generation feeding on absolute control and connectivity will have a completely different perception of media overall, and video in particular. The ramifications for programming and advertising are far more significant than anyone inside the current ecosystem is prepared or equipped to address. (…)
Here’s what we’ve found most interesting: While our son still has some tolerance for passive video watching on a television or mobile device, when given the choice, he almost always chooses the interactive experience. (…) I suspect that my son and other children of his generation will demand a seismic shift in programming — from static, passive video to immersive, interactive and intertwined content available on-demand and on any device.
photo { Bill Owens }
