Thought Pieces
Matt Johnson, Chairman of Mando Group writes a weekly column for the Liverpool Daily Post on Small Business and Enterprise.
Adverts
CADBURY’S Smash TV adverts earned their place in history and marketing text books thanks to their clever take on the human audience partial to a spoonful of mash or Smash.
At the time they were created, the Cadbury’s Smash space creatures regularly did a double take on the time, effort and general rigmarole inhabitants of earth were required to go through in order to produce a version of one of their dietary staples.
I was reminded of the adverts, and the pace of technological advance, after a visit to the local tip, sorry Waste Recycling Reception Centre as its now described.
In a corner by a skip stood a sad pile of discarded devices ranging from betamax video recorders; compact audio cassette recorders; a record player and even a reel to reel spool tape recorder.
Anyone from a generation growing up in this digital age could be forgiven for acting like a Cadbury’s Smash spaceman when they see these old devices.
In their day each had been the latest “must have” example of modern technology bursting into the market of consumer electronics and technology. Now, they are discarded and obsolete, victims of the digital revolution which has seen off many such devices.
The pace of this change is phenomenal. It seems barely the click of a very fast shutter speed since the first professional digital cameras were launched on a cynical and demanding audience.
Now, the capacity of those early pro cameras is easily exceeded by the most up to date mobile phones,
In broadcasting the pace of change has been swift too. Choice has never been greater - viewers and listeners can watch and hear what they want when they want to.
And that choice has now extended even further into the market with the launch of the BBC IPlayer.
This device has been described as a free “catch up” service for IK licence fee payers by the BBC’s Director of Future Media and Technology.
Popular BBC programmes from all the BBC’s network TV channels will be available to download over the Internet for up to a week after transmission on the conventional network.
It’s in its infancy too. Talks are advancing with other potential distribution partners including MSN, telegraph.co.uk, Tiscali and MySpace among others.
The BBC, of course is not alone in developing this type of technology which brings greater choice to consumers. Sky TV has invested huge amounts in developing systems allowing subscribers to “watch what they want when they want” and BT has staked its claim with its own broadband TV service.
Digital technology is transforming the way we live, the way we learn, the way we work and the way we rest. It also presents many previously unimaginable challenges.
Not least, is to make sure its potential includes rather than excludes as many people as possible
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