My 2-year old son said to me on Saturday morning, "Daddy, let's watch music." I replied, "No son. We listen to music." And then I turned on the television and turned to VH1 Soul. That's when it hit me: he will never know music without a music video. Music on TV has been around for decades, but things are radically different now: my son doesn't even know what a cassette tape is. Chances are, he won't even really have to deal with such fossils as the "compact disc" (which doesn't seem so compact anymore).
In today's society, we have more communication tools than ever, yet we are often still poor communicators. With .mp3 players, video and camera phones and other devices so prevalent, we are clearly still communicating; we're just not using our mouths. The problem is, sometimes we don't use our brains either. The "Generation M (Media, ages 8-18)" may not be able to tell you the nation's capital, but they can probably download the White House floorplan.
In 1975, the average household had five electronic devices. Today the average is 25! Talk about communication overload.
With the competitive landscape growing everyday, it is difficult to know what's the most effective way to communicate. The challenge is figuring out how best to communicate on the two-way street that defines a growing portion of media. These days, having an effective campaign is as much about sharing your message as it is about listening to what people have to say.
Phillip W.
Technology + Design
