Digital media has already become a niche of publishing and the future too seems buoyant. The reason is simple – too many possibilities.
To imagine a future where digital media is the only publishing channel is very likely a far-fetched fancy. But chances are that digital media will reign over other channels in the future. Once we look at the origin and evolution of digital media, this becomes more apparent.
When it Started
Digital media was met with skepticism by the publishing industry when it first started drawing attention. Professionals and experts felt then that this new communication channel would never be able to become a stable source of revenue. They weren’t being technophobic or pessimistic when they made their predictions. Because internet readers were a minority then and smartphones hadn’t been invented. For instance, internet magazine readers during that time did not cross 10%.
The emergence of smartphones and its exponential sales took digital media to new heights. Digital media offered a user-oriented approach that was best exploited in the years that followed. The statistics pointed out to one thing – internet could offer endless revenue possibilities and it did.
The advent of social media
The advent of social media redefined the media and its power kept soaring. Currently desktop and mobile are the two leading publishing platforms. Add to this the rising demand for personalized content that is available anytime, anywhere. This scenario can be explained by the dominance of first digital native generations – Gen Y and Gen Z. These two generations account for around 45% of the world population. People falling under either of these two generations are all engaged in mobile phones and digital media.
All generations that follow this demographic group will obviously be born into digital media. This means the percentage of digital natives in the world population will only rise. And within a generation or two it will soon hit 100%. Till that happens, the popularity and power of the media will be on the rise and when it happens the digital media will perhaps mark its supremacy over all other channels of publishing.
Conclusion
If you are not a digital native, the chances are that you will get cold feet while venturing out into this new realm of it. There is nothing surprising in that. But remember most of your prospects are digital natives and the number is on the rise so it is high time that you take the leap.
