I thought I'd make a quick blog on the fact that today I cancelled my cable television. That's right - I'm going 100 percent 'all internet'.
I made the decision for a variety of reasons. The first is that I already get 80 percent of my media from the internet in various forms and fashions. And the 20 percent that I get from television, I can get from the internet.
The second is that television is a dirty medium. What I mean by that is that you are forced to absorb all kinds of stimuli that you don't want or need in order to get the content that you do want. Or you absorb lower quality stimuli. The internet almost always has more in-depth content - you'll understand the European crisis a thousand times better by reading the financial times online than you will from watching CNN.
The only real thing you miss going to the internet is the news programs - which has been what's kept me using television. But now most news outlets post a lot of content in video form online.
Online you can pick and choose what you want to view - it's all about you and the content you want to absorb.
I'm making this post because I never thought I'd cut the cable. I grew up with television. And in a way, I'm not actually getting rid of television, I'm just getting my content from the internet (yep, just about anything on tv you can download online).
But it is a major paradigm shift. While I still have a converter (as I'm using a Netgear box that connects my PC to my TV)... the whole behavior of 'scanning' channels to 'see what's on' is gone. I have what I want, when I want it at my fingers (or PC rather). With super fast internet, PC's that don't crash, terabyte hard drives under 200 bucks - the real question is why everyone isn't 100 percent internet-reliant.
The answer is that it's still not easy enough for most folks - as it does require a little know how (ie. knowing what a netgear box is or knowing where to get content such as television shows).
But it is doable and I suspect it will only get easier to do in the years to come.
Which brings up an interesting paradigm. If someone like myself has made the switch...I have to seriously wonder how many others are just waiting to do the same?
And if we do move towards an all-internet world, what does that means for communications professionals and the media. I'll discuss it more in a future post, but I think it's a great thing that will lead to greater access to more quality content. More importantly the content will be dynamic, allowing users to act on it in some way instead of merely passively digesting it as you would through television.
While I still use a landline, if Skype ever gets Canadian area code telephone numbers I could see myself porting my phone services over to the Internet as well (paired with probably a cell phone service for 911 capabilities).
Some folks might think "whoop-tee-do, you gave up television", but they would be missing the point entirely. I haven't given up access to content, in fact, I've increased my access to content.
It's a new paradigm. Cable television to me is like the bank or the gas station... they are these fundemental aspects of society. Sure some people don't have television, just like some people don't have a car. But 95 percent of society views these 'staples' as things that you simply must have, they are part of 'life'.
And yet, the fact that someone like myself has 'cut the cable' and gone all-internet says something. It tells you that the times are truly changing.
It will be interesting to see what develops over the next five years and whether we begin to see a new era of folks who become 100 internet reliant.
I can tell you that I'm so glad to have made the change (finally). It's like driving a solar powered car or something and never having to stop into another gas station again. It's a weird feeling at first, but unbelievably liberating at the same time.
I made the decision for a variety of reasons. The first is that I already get 80 percent of my media from the internet in various forms and fashions. And the 20 percent that I get from television, I can get from the internet.
The second is that television is a dirty medium. What I mean by that is that you are forced to absorb all kinds of stimuli that you don't want or need in order to get the content that you do want. Or you absorb lower quality stimuli. The internet almost always has more in-depth content - you'll understand the European crisis a thousand times better by reading the financial times online than you will from watching CNN.
The only real thing you miss going to the internet is the news programs - which has been what's kept me using television. But now most news outlets post a lot of content in video form online.
Online you can pick and choose what you want to view - it's all about you and the content you want to absorb.
I'm making this post because I never thought I'd cut the cable. I grew up with television. And in a way, I'm not actually getting rid of television, I'm just getting my content from the internet (yep, just about anything on tv you can download online).
But it is a major paradigm shift. While I still have a converter (as I'm using a Netgear box that connects my PC to my TV)... the whole behavior of 'scanning' channels to 'see what's on' is gone. I have what I want, when I want it at my fingers (or PC rather). With super fast internet, PC's that don't crash, terabyte hard drives under 200 bucks - the real question is why everyone isn't 100 percent internet-reliant.
The answer is that it's still not easy enough for most folks - as it does require a little know how (ie. knowing what a netgear box is or knowing where to get content such as television shows).
But it is doable and I suspect it will only get easier to do in the years to come.
Which brings up an interesting paradigm. If someone like myself has made the switch...I have to seriously wonder how many others are just waiting to do the same?
And if we do move towards an all-internet world, what does that means for communications professionals and the media. I'll discuss it more in a future post, but I think it's a great thing that will lead to greater access to more quality content. More importantly the content will be dynamic, allowing users to act on it in some way instead of merely passively digesting it as you would through television.
While I still use a landline, if Skype ever gets Canadian area code telephone numbers I could see myself porting my phone services over to the Internet as well (paired with probably a cell phone service for 911 capabilities).
Some folks might think "whoop-tee-do, you gave up television", but they would be missing the point entirely. I haven't given up access to content, in fact, I've increased my access to content.
It's a new paradigm. Cable television to me is like the bank or the gas station... they are these fundemental aspects of society. Sure some people don't have television, just like some people don't have a car. But 95 percent of society views these 'staples' as things that you simply must have, they are part of 'life'.
And yet, the fact that someone like myself has 'cut the cable' and gone all-internet says something. It tells you that the times are truly changing.
It will be interesting to see what develops over the next five years and whether we begin to see a new era of folks who become 100 internet reliant.
I can tell you that I'm so glad to have made the change (finally). It's like driving a solar powered car or something and never having to stop into another gas station again. It's a weird feeling at first, but unbelievably liberating at the same time.
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