Don't know if this has occurred to you lately or not, but this digital thing is really making its mark on our lives more and more every day. From websites than can convey just about any information you're looking for (wiki) to fancy phones to new (daily) jaw-dropping technology designed to make our lives easier...we are truly in a new age now.
Along with these advances though comes the public's re-evaluation of older ways...particularly those things in print that have quickly migrated to the digital world.
The first is the telephone book. I don't know about you, but the internet (as well as my GPS system) can not only show me vendors nearby but share with me consumer opinions...plus a LOT more information than can be conveyed in a display ad. The telephone book has been shrinking at our business for years and now I just refuse it to send a message back to the telephone company not to waste the paper.
The second are newspapers. The migration of people to the internet for news has been staggering...so much so that major newspapers across the country are scrambling to go online and keep a percentage of their readership. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently cut their print publication down significantly...it looks like about half the size it used to be.
Next is snail-mail (aka regular mail). The USPS lost $2 billion dollars last year and is being forced to re-tool its operations. There's strong talk of holding delivery on Saturday as well as a weekday. Email can send most messages...and bills are being paid more and more over payment systems such as e-banking. Look for the USPS to shrink pretty significantly in the future.
Finally, the digital revolution is even taking on the oldest most effective communication technology known to man up to this point...the book. Tools like Kindle, which can download and deliver the printed word to a device, may soon replace magazines and books...at least to some degree. (My hunch is that people will still want to hold books for some time...out of habit alone).
Let's be happy for all the nervous trees out there...and instead of being defensive of the Digital Revolution, I encourage you to welcome the new ways that lie ahead. As dark as things seem recently, I see great things in front of us.
