Streaming Media – More than we think!

OK – Last one for today. I am in Phoenix to talk at the CNI, Coalition for Networked Information, Fall Meeting about the Normative Data Project.
Anyway, this article and statistics caught my eye. It’s called Streaming Media Grows Up by Susan Kuchinskas at Internet News in collaboration with the good folks at StreamingMedia.com. Here are some tidbits:
1. “Consumers between the ages of 35 and 54 years old accounted for more than 45 percent of all online video watched in August 2005.”
2. “35 to 54 year-olds are 20 percent more likely to watch online video than the average Internet user, while 25 to 34 year-olds are 12 percent more likely than the average Internet user to watch a stream online.”
3. “The study also found that more than 100 million users access online digital media via streams and downloads in the U.S. in a month.”
4. “Video consumption crosses all times of the day and demographics, with primetime and daytime showing particular strength.”
5. “Nearly two-thirds of all U.S. Internet users in August streamed audio or video through a portal, and almost 50 percent did so from an entertainment site.”
So, with regard to streaming media, it’s clearly not just kids and it’s not just trendies and it’s not just early adopters. It’s not only college kids and it’s not just for nighttime entertainment. It’s not just a minority of Internet users.
Well, I’ll be danged!
Clearly library users are ready for more.
Coincidentally, as I read this I also read the latest issue (Nov. 15, 2005) of Library Journal. They’ve done a great article by Norm Oder based on a survey called “The DVD Predicament”. You can read it here.
Either way, we better put more energy into understanding this streaming thing. I have been in libraries lately that had large collections of vinyl front and center in their media areas! One library director recently suggested selling of their DVD collection due to high theft rates – only to be turned down. I’m certainly not advocating either tactic. I just think we need to experiment with this content container more and find new ways to integrate it into our service portfolios. And for those of you who are going to enter a comment that not everyone can handle this format type, digital divides, technoliteracy stuff, forget it. New formats never arrive fully capable of being used by everyone. When the book was invented most people couldn’t read! That wasn’t a barrier to collecting and cataloguing them and providing access. I once heard a statistic from the head of Rogers Telecommunications that, in the 90’s, almost half the world has never seen a phone, let alone made a call. We don’t stop offering phone services because of that. Libraries level the playing field for those that can’t. Let’s not lag in understanding streaming as a trend and ensurng that we serve everyone.
Stephen