Since some people are calling for the death of print I felt it was a good time to explain why I disagree... but see their point.

I have enjoyed creating with all media - Print, Online, Events and Radio and TV. To me, print is still the most rewarding, it may not always get the neat little stat report that the boss wants, but it sticks around.

If you have ever sat down and read a hardcover book, you must notice the difference between this experience and reading a webpage or listening to TV. Reading the printed word is rewarding, enriching and, assuming your not just looking at the pictures...it makes you smarter. You even look more intelligent while you read a book!

I love photography online, kodakgallery, Flickr, Smugmug, photobucket, all great stuff. Editing a little video and pushing it out is cool. Producing a website is very satisfying. I Love to tweet.

I do all this because I like to be productive and I like to collaborate with peers and share with friends and family. But to me, print is a bit little more unique...

I trust a message in print.

I can feel a message in print.

I can carry a message in print.

I can get somewhere with a message in print.

I can prove something with print.

I can save a special message in print.

I can auction off a message in print.

I can build relationships with print.

I can collect and trade print.

...I trust print.

I trust that the newspaper I subscribe to employs a fact checker.

I trust that my drivers license is real and so do the police.

I trust that my passport will get me home.

I trust that the letter my friend mails to me will not contain a virus.

I trust the hotel I stay at wont replace the 'book' with a weblink I have to pay 20 bucks a day for.

I trust that the framed photo on my wall will be there, long after the image on the DVD went corrupt and the hard drive crashed.

I trust that the written contract with my employer, my landlord and my lawyer will still be valid.

I trust that people still require fake ID to get into some places.

I trust that reading print will not damage my eyes like the computer did.

I have a long, trusted relationship with print. Why would I want to wrap my dead fish up in it and throw it away?

• The radio still does what it did 40 years ago
• TV does the same thing it did 20 years ago.

It must be that dang Internet!

How can the internet kill print when the radio and tv have done less to evolve? Why isn't the death of radio imminent?

I can think of 3 reasons...

• WE ARE NOW LAZY...print needs to be interactive and more convenient if it wants to continue being a pillar of society.
• WE ARE NOW STUPID...print needs to show us that keeping up to date on MJ's estate or Britney's latest isn't all that important.
• WE DON'T CARE...we are so busy we don't check facts, we don't have time for anything including a 'trusted source'

Kind of harsh, I know.

TV isn't dead because we are lazy and plasma screens are cool.

Radio isn't dead because the music industry is and its cheaper to listen to the radio.

Print is portable, you can take it anywhere...except we are lazy and we don't go anywhere.

We buy magazines at the airport, we look for a paper when we have to sit and wait, but we don't subscribe. We are lazy.

Companies issue statements and bills but cant quite see the benefits of transpromo? Think about it ...we are lazy-and stupid.

How many years has your DVD player been reminding you it was 12 o'clock?

We are getting stupider.

Print has a glorious opportunity to change dramatically, take risks and explore new adventures in the industry. The industry does not need to be organized by annual reports, magazines, newspapers, books and boxes. We don't really need to play chicken and drop 'fried' from our title.

Print needs to 'be with stupid' and needs to be interactive and cool.

Print needs to be aggressive - it needs to be in our face and our hands a lot faster and in more relevant places. Print needs to fall in love with creativity - fast. We print the boxes that people try to think outside of - print something that people need to read!

Some experts predict the internet will replace books, newspapers, advertising, just about everything.
Just like video killed radio...

Why do content providers get paid less and less if the goal is to get 300 million page views?

Print does not make much of an effort in going on the offensive. Newspapers look like newspapers, books look like books. Perhaps trying new things is an opportunity to fail and these days most companies and employees do not want to associate themselves with that risk. So they stick to the usual and attempt to ride out the storm.

But this storm is a little different. When the dust settles the air will be a little cleaner, the trees in the forest will be stronger. The ones that didn't 'adapt or adopt' will not be here.

And because of this, I think print just turned 55.

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