I’ve been asking myself this question a lot lately when thinking about digital out-of-home media environments. The question has bubbled up even more over the last week given the flood of news coming out of the Consumer Electronics Show. New portable media devices, e-readers, netbooks, smartphones, etc. are coming down the pipeline at an increasing rate.
With an Internet-ready device in our reach at all times, are we ever really captive? Think about the last time you stood in what seemed to be an endless line (for me it was standing in the line to see Avatar…). How many people around you were using their phones? Were the majority of folks talking on their phones, or were they engaged in any number of non-voice based activities: texting, playing games, surfing the mobile web, writing a business email, etc.? Did you see anyone pull an e-reader from his or her bag?
What were you doing while you were in line? Did you seek sanctuary in technology to stave off the boredom of staring at your watch?
My reason for asking these questions is to get you to think about how common it is for people (of all ages) to pull out a phone, laptop, netbook, e-reader, or iPod when they’re forced to wait for something. Such evidence supports my hypothesis that the truly captive audience is disappearing.
Just because people are in a lobby, elevator, amusement park line, or waiting room for seconds, minutes, or hours, that doesn’t mean that they are captive. Thanks to the evolution of technology, while seemingly “captive,” these individuals could be performing any number of digital tasks that occupy their attention.
So tell me…
How Captive is Your Audience?
Dave Haynes is one of the most experienced people in the still-nascent digital signage industry. He has held senior management and business development positions with some of the biggest names in the industry. He’s also well-known and respected as one of the most widely-read industry authorities through his blogs, Sixteen:Nine and Buzz, Not Buzzwords.This is the second time around for Dave as new media pioneer, having been one of the first large daily newspaper editors in North America to put his paper online. Haynes brings a strong technical and operational perspective on the industry, as well as communications skills developed over 20 years working in print journalism. 
