There are a few interesting things that I have come across that I would like to share with you.  

1. There has been a lot of conversation about the print industry and the death of magazines as we know it.  In actuality there were as many new launches in 2008 as there had been in the previous 5 years and the number of magazines that have folded has also not exceeded the norm but what has happened is that magazines touting the electronic age are seeing their numbers shift…think of it as “The Last Geek Standing”.  Once the darlings of the newsstand, computer magazines are becoming an endangered species.  Since January the two top publications in this genre PC and Computer Shopper have moved entirely online and many of the video game books have disappeared entirely.
2. One of the new innovations on the media landscape is the digital billboard.  We have all seen these electronic wonders where there is motion and new creative.  Each board has 3 different advertisers and changes about every 6-7 seconds….well not everyone thinks this is so great.  California has placed a three year moratorium on the construction of new boards including the conversion of existing boards.  Be honest – when you are on the highway and you see one of these signs don’t you slow down to see what the next message will be?  Municipalities are concerned that this is a traffic hazard and can cause accidents.  In this age when there are already so many distractions for drivers, why add another potential disruption?  Two studies will be done this year to determine the effects digital billboards have.  One will be done by the American Association of State Highway transportation Officials and the other by the Federal Highway Administration.  It will be interesting to see the results.  From an advertiser’s perspective – you now have to share the limited time you have with two other advertisers.