A Renters World

Think about the last time you actually bought a CD. What about a DVD? A book? Computer software? Did you get something physical like a disc or a book or did it have a file extension like .mp3, .mov of .exe? In the digital age, we we actually own is shrinking believe it or not. I know we feel like we buy a lot of "stuff," but how much of it do we really own? I remember when music came on a cassette and you could take that cassette from the house to the car. Movies were on VHS, Nintendo had cartridges and every book I had was colored in courtesy of my sister.

Now I am older, a bit wiser and richer? Do I have anymore? Well lets see. I have a nice tv thats connected to the internet. And look what I have here.

With my TV, I can connect to VuDu, Youtube, Pandora and Netflix. The sounds and images all come steaming into my living room with a slight buffering icon. I enjoy what's on the tube but do I own that movie I am watching? Do I own that song I am listening too? Well..... not really. I pay for a service or its already free but the files are hosted elsewhere. So if I wanted to share a movie with a friend lets say, I'd have to hope they had the Netflix streaming service. Gone are the days where waiting for the latest video release ment going to the store at midnight to by the DVD. Now, we anxiously wait in our cleverly built and expensive "home theaters" for the movie to come through the internet.

Same way with music. Tower Records was once the leader in music stores. Getting a Tower Records in your neck of the woods as akin to finally getting that Olive Garden or Target if you live in Lawton. It was a BIG deal. However, as musical downloads progressing, these stores could not keep up . In 2001, the giant had over 200 stores in 21 states and one billion in annual revenues. three years later, they entered chapter 11 bankruptcy court. The culprit? Discount stores, music piracy and digital downloads. Here's the full story

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/02/09/entertainment/main599008.shtml

Another example? Blockbuster video. Blockbuster was the video leader and now they have filed for bankruptcy and are still trying to figure out how to compete with segment leader Netflix.

As we continue to use our phones and mobile devices, the downward spiral of traditional media

will only accelerate. The cost is less than having to produce real physical items. But what happens if you lose your device? Your computer crashes? You have no record, no trace of all of this media. It can cause quite a frustration and embarrassment

So what are your thoughts? Are we too dependent on this technology or is the money and resources saved worth the risk of losing it all?