IN MY WORLD, if it syncs to my phone, it's going to get done. That means music I want to buy (after scraping it via line-out of my laptop), podcasts that educate, and calendar items that point to best use of my time. It's dead easy to download music onto my Nokia E90 over my O2-Ireland 3G connection, across the room with Bluetooth, or through simple drag-and-drop onto the phone or memory card. While I don't think the iPod is going to an early grave, when the recession bites, some people are going to see more value in buying a phone that can double as their entertainment device instead of buying a dedicated music player. I personally like SonyEricsson's music phones because they give me the best control of the bass line along with proper rich media streaming capability and the best Bluetooth earbuds in the business. But I like the podcatcher on my Nokia E90 better than the SonyEricsson one. After more than three years of messing around with RSS feeds, I can control my audio programming better than iTunes can manage it for me. I don't know if I represent any significant factor in the way music will be distributed in the next decade. However, I see creative multimedia college students making some decisions where they are actively tuning out the national broadcaster. Their habits will profoundly affect radio. I wonder if the "New Media New Audience" conference in Dublin has scope to address this issue. I'm carrying a new media distribution device in my coat pocket when attending the talks. I'm keen to chat with anyone who shares my concerns about the way my mobile earbuds may portend a change in how we consume media.
Irish Arts Council Conference on "New Media, New Audience?"
