The New York Times has an interesting article about how the boundaries between different forms of media have disappeared, and one non-profit that is helping to come up with innovative solutions to the most vexing problems for media companies. To start, a sober look at how media has changed:
“Today, I watch “Lost” on my laptop and “Veronica Mars” on my iPod, not on the TV for which they were first intended. I can browse the Web on TV or on a game console, instead of on my computer. I can Skype my friend in Sweden from my computer, and never touch my phone. Instead, I use it to listen to music, take pictures and read e-mail during meetings. And almost every day, there is new stuff vying for what is left of my attention — new media, new devices, new functions on old devices — that might inspire me to abandon whatever I was watching or using, yesterday.”
The article’s focus is on the American Film Institute’s Digital Content Lab – a nonprofit group that studies and finds technical solutions for problems that are hampering media owners.
The group chooses projects that will benefit more than one company, and the work is done by consultants who donate their time, and funded by corporate donations.