The transformation of media technology

I’m not that old – despite what my young son might say. But remembering a time before broadband internet was commonplace, when records came on vinyl and videotapes were rented from a local corner shop, I’m occasionally amazed.

In the last 24 hours;

• I streamed a movie from the 90’s via Lovefilm on the Xbox 360.
• I listened to songs from the 80’s on Spotify
• I read a classic book from the ’60s on my Kindle which I’d bought on the Amazon site during lunch at a client’s office, and had already been downloaded automatically before I cam home.

And people wonder why media businesses are in confusion? It all seems as natural as breathing now, but,

• Lovefilm – launched in 2003, Xbox streaming 2011.  (VHS lasted from around 1976 to around 2008)
• Spotify – launched in 2006  (Vinyl records became popular in the 1920s)
• Amazon Kindle – launched in 2007. (Paperback books hit around 1935)

All three of the prior technologies are still widely available – paperbacks still sell in large volumes, vinyl is still produced, and although it’s 4 years since the last dedicated video player/recorder was made, the functionality still exists in tandem with DVD combo machines.

Yet for me they’ve been comprehensively replaced by tech released in the last 6 years.

And we’ve still got the internet of things, and 3D printing, about to break with the disruptive level of the launch of the internet.

 

Breathtakingly incredible…