Categories: Articles

Where Content Goes To Die

Who amongst us is able to consume all of the content that we save?

Long before RSS feeds, Twitter, Facebook and more, I was a heavy subscriber to email e-newsletters (in fact, I still am). But I no longer have the same habit that I used to have. I used to have a folder in my email called "To Be Read." This way, I could shuttle those many e-newsletter over to that folder and get to them when there was a moment to read. I never went back into that folder. That folder is where e-newsletters went to die. After a few months, I realized how unproductive that system was. Now, I take the time to go through each newsletter – as they come in – and bookmark the key articles. I’m definitely consuming more of the overall content, but many of those bookmarked articles also die an unlooked at death.

One little piece of data.

It’s amazing how one, little piece of data can wake us up to an entirely new reality. Forget the story you just read above and think about your TV experience. What do you think the percentage is of watched shows from people who use their DVR to record programs? The media has been told all kinds of stories: how DVRs are to blame for the challenge of television commercials and their impact. Well, how does this data point sit with you: 41% of recorded TV content is never watched.

Never watched.

Ouch. This was the news from Marketing Charts in today’s news item titled, Americans Don’t Watch 41% of Their Recorded TV Content. From the article: "Motorola Mobility has released its ‘Fourth Annual Media Engagement Barometer,’ containing some interesting statistics on TV and DVR usage. As noted by Nielsen, DVR usage has increased in recent years, leading networks to push for C7 ratings – and the Motorola study indeed finds that more than one-third of weekly TV viewing by Americans is recorded content, 17% higher than the 17-country average (34% vs. 29%). But, interestingly, of that recorded content, 41% is never watched, according to the study. The global average for DVR storage wastage is 36%… Nevertheless, DVR owners report spending more time watching TV than non-DVR owners. On a global basis, for example, they spend 7 hours a week watching films and movies, compared to 5.6 hours for those without a DVR."

Content wasted.

Consumers are inundated with choices. Their choices are highly-controllable (they can record, fast forward, delete, share, etc…). They’re, clearly, not getting to it all (not even close). And, while us Marketers get all excited about new technology, new platforms and new delivery mechanisms for content, we don’t (often enough) take a step back and realize just how overwhelming all of this choice and control can be. Imagine this: 41% of all content that people are actively recording, thinking about and interested in, they’re simply not getting to… and that’s just TV.

Folks, it’s official: we have a content problem. What are we going to do about it?

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.