The obvious content sources that consumers want to be digital and will eventually be digital include:
- Music
- Newspapers and Magazines
- Books (including textbooks)
- Photos and other Art
- Video, Movies and Television
- Games
- Digital content is portable.
- Digital content can be searchable. (it can be classified and categorized)
- Digital content is accessible.
- Digital content can be archived.
Some may argue that content in non-digital forms is also portable. The Sony Walkman existed for CDs long before the Apple IPod. Books, newspapers and magazines have been carried around for as long as they have existed. The difference is that digital content removes the size and weight limits that exist with traditional media. An MP3 player can carry 10,000 songs, while it would be physically impossible for someone to carry more than a few dozen CDs. A backpack can carry a dozen textbooks, but the size and weight of the books quickly becomes a limiting factor. An e-book on the other hand, can carry hundreds of books on a device that weighs only a few ounces. (A point that was driven home on a recent two week beach vacation when I no longer needed a separate duffel bag for books. The Kindle had all the reading I'd need for the trip.)
Searchability
It's relatively difficult to search and access content in non-digital form. Newspapers and magazines in non-digital form are almost impossible to "search" for a story of interest. Books in a physical library can at best be searched by category, author, title, etc. Books that have been digitized and stored only can be searched by any word or phrase in the book. Think of the vast wealth of human knowledge that can now be searched instantaneously due to digitization and internet search engines. Now imagine if every book, newspaper, television program or magazine ever created were available for searching and accessing online.
Accessibility
Content is more valuable when it can be accessed whenever and wherever it is needed. Physical encyclopedias were quickly replaced by internet encyclopedias because the information could be accessed and updated more efficiently and effectively in digital form. Sites like Hulu.com have demonstrated the easy with which television content can be accessed and viewed online (including commercials to pay for the content). Devices like the IPhone, Droid, Blackberry and IPad demonstrate how digital content can be accessed, stored and viewed from mobile devices anywhere and at any time. It's now possible to be sitting on a beach on a remote Greek Isle (due to cellular coverage) and search for content, purchase it and download it for instant viewing or reading.
Archiving
Physical content is difficult to archive and retrieve. How many of us have a favorite magazine subscription (e.g. Rolling Stone, Conde Nast Traveler, Cooking Light) that we store in boxes in our basement or attic? The expectation is that at some point in the future, we may want to refer to the content when we have a specific need. I've saved dozens of Conde Nast Traveler magazines with the hope that the next time I visit far away place, I will sort through them to find relevant articles (e.g. the coast of Spain). Of course, what really happens is that when planning the trip to Spain, I'll search a variety of online sites for content before I'd ever flip through years of physical magazines. The content online is searchable, has been categorized, can be printed or copied to my laptop or mobile phone for travel. It's also far easier to make copies of a digital archive for secure storage in multiple locations. A fire would destroy all my physical archives in minutes, while my digital archives would be secure in an offsite safe.
What's next?
It should be obvious that in many forms each of these content types are already digital. CD's have almost completely been replaced by music downloads, and an In-Stat forecast predicts that the e-book market will be more than $9 billion in 2013 (and that was before the 2009 holiday season and the January 2010 Ipad announcement). In addition, video game sales accounted for more than $19 billion in 2009 (source). It should be obvious that the future for content is digital.
If we can make the assumption that digital content delivery will replace physical content in the not too distant future, what should content generating companies and individuals be doing to prepare for it. In addition, what needs to happen to make the digital future a reality for each of these content types. The answers to these questions must include analysis of the hardware and software for displaying/using digital content as well as a look at how digital content will change the business models for publishers. We'll also look at the big question of when digital may replace physical content for each of the media types. These questions and the answers will be the subject of our next article...
