As everything we associate ourselves with moves into the Cloud our physical stockpile of possessions begins to shrink.
The days of people showing off their huge CD collections sitting in their living rooms are coming to an end. Movies once thought to be too large to send over the internet are now being regularly streamed.
We are now reaching a point whereby everything we own falls into a digital abyss meaning we have less and less real possessions.
Storing photographs in shoeboxes, printing pictures and developing rolls of film are all things which most people haven’t done in some time.
The question presents itself as to where ownership actually lies at times. In the traditional sense Apple and Amazon own both the playing devices and media files which they ‘sell,’ because freedoms such as lending them to friends have been revoked.
Magazines are struggling to maintain circulation and many are beginning to die out. In fact magazine circulation is down 10% from last year as these paper devices you flick through begin to become obsolete.
Books are another media which is loosing popularity and many people are now simply downloading eBooks. Once leading book vendors are not what they once were, Borders for example is facing bankruptcy.
Even things such as keys are rapidly becoming digitalised with the majority of smartphones now beginning to utilise ‘Near- field communication.’ Furthermore smartphones are increasingly being used to make monetary transactions.
It seems that industries must adapt to the digital age or face extinction in the face of our never ending quest for convenience.
