Author: Mike Walsh
Title: Futuretainment: yesterday the world changes, now it’s your turn
Debbie’s pick
I’ve just finished reading “Futuretainment: yesterday the world changes, now it’s your turn” by Mike Walsh. The book was recommended to me by my son’s partner who is in her 3rd year studying a Communications degree and, while the book was one of her texts, she assured me it was easy to read and a great explanation of the trends in technology and entertainment – and she was right!!!
I found Futuretainment not only easy to read, but very engaging, challenging and informative about what is happening to the way people are seeking and engaging with entertainment – especially “the naturals” (Walsh’s term for people who’ve grown up with the Internet).
Walsh says “it was while working in Asia over the last few years that my eyes were finally opened to what was coming. Here, subway commuters were already watching television on tiny handsets, teenagers were becoming addicted to gaming in virtual worlds, bestselling novels were being composed entirely on mobile phones and the success of a new generation of pop stars was fluctuating in step with fickle tastes in ringtones and digital merchandise.”
Walsh goes on to describe media as not really being about the physical or technological, but rather human behaviour. He explains that the technology of television changed greatly over the last 50 years but the behaviour associated with it (“sitting at home, changing channels”) didn’t. “But what happens when the consumers start acting differently? What happens when they stop sitting on a couch with a remote control and begin searching for video clips, building their own playlists of entertainment, pausing live television, forwarding TV shows to other people, discussing what to watch online and viewing content when and where it suits them?”. What happens is the focus of this book – the birth of an “interactive digital world”!
If you have found the world of social networking, video downloads, user-generated content and the way some people are choosing to be connected 24/7confusing – then this is the book for you!
Can’t wait to read this book. ICT changes dramatically which changes ways of doing things and certainly the way we think. We can’t have a fixed mind and confident enough say ‘I know enough about this’ but keep learning and adapt to change.