Tablet’s Killed the Magazine Stand

Who remembers the first music video played on what USED to be Music Television (MTV).  It was Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles.  Perfect song for their launch I believe.  It’s strange how things you knew and grew up with can become obsolete with the introduction of new technology.  When I was younger we used to sit and watch MTV all day (and there were no reality shows on it at the time… just straight up music videos).  When my parents were kids they would sit around and listen to the radio all day.

Movie rental stores are going out of business left and right with the additions of Netflix (my personal favorite), and Redbox’s on every corner.  Tower Records used to be a gigantic store full of CD’s to purchase.  Best Buy also used to have a HUGE selection of CD’s and DVD’s in store.  People just aren’t buying the physical media like they used to, and the stores will conform to the sales that it will make.  CD’s and DVD’s in physical form are dwindling as more and more people consume their media through downloads and streaming.  Excellent sources like Zune Marketplace, Netflix, and iTunes are making it easy and convenient to own or rent media.  Although, speaking for my collection, we still purchase CD’s and DVD’s (in addition to downloads and especially using Netflix streaming).  Who remembers tapes??  A friend of mine recently said that they were watching an old movie and her kid sees a walkman and says “wow that mp3 player is HUGE!”

Fast forward to the launch of E-Reader’s like the Kindle, Nook and the iPad.  In the same way that mp3 players revolutionized the way we consume our music, these devices have revolutionized the way we consume books and other “print”.  You can flip the pages of a magazine on an iPad, and still have the wonderful pictures and layouts (without all the piles of magazines cluttering your house).  You can have instant access to tons of books while you are traveling, without a ton of huge books taking up space in your carry on.

So what is this new medium going to mean for our favorite brick and mortar book stores?  Probably the same thing it meant for Tower Records.  As less and less people need to actually go into a store to get their books, the sales of roing to dwindle, and they may have to close the stores.  I’m sure the online sales will still be steady for a while… and lets face it Amazon sells so much more than books now, that they aren’t going ANYWHERE!  I do recall though when Amazon was mainly for books!  I’m so “internet old”, I have had my hotmail address since 1996!

So not that I’m against this new trend.  I LOVE when I can fit a ton of stuff onto a portable device.  It just makes me think about the consequenses and maybe even what is next to make something ELSE obsolete.

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