Consumers are increasingly avoiding newspapers — and books, too — because the text mode is now used so infrequently that it can feel like a burden. People are showing a clear preference for a fully formed video experience that comes ready to play on a screen, requiring nothing but our passive attention.
“Why Television Still Shines in a World of Screens”, by Saul Hansell in today’s New York Times

As Hansell’s insightful article points out, we’re witnessing a fundamental shift in how people consume information.  Humans are social creatures who evolved to favor personal interaction with each other.  Text is an adaptation to allow reliable storage of information, but it just can’t trigger the pleasure centers of our brains the way moving pictures and music do.  That’s why most Americans get their offline news from TV rather than newspapers — it’s more entertaining, more engaging, and frankly easier.

Text is not going away, of course.  But as we develop better ways to create and distribute video content, consumers will increasingly choose to watch video in their daily online travels.

Filed under: strategy, video