Newspaper 12x5

I recently cancelled my weekend newspaper delivery after 6 years, due to the increasing time constraints caused by the arrival of a young family (my own).  This made rational sense – I was rarely finishing it and could get all the content for free online.  

However once it wasn’t there I realised going digital was no real substitution in ways I had not foreseen. 

It became quickly obvious I was not exploring stories in the same meandering way, instead cherry picking and short cutting to headlines that sounded most interesting rather than being drawn into articles and discovering new things.  But perhaps most critically, reading from a screen felt less pleasurable, less relaxing.. and critically, less of a special weekend treat. 

So big was the experience gap I only lasted a month and now get papers delivered again.

How many other media and retail sectors, in their rush to emphasise the benefits of digital are forgetting to hero the tangible pleasures of the physical world?  Or by creating ever more efficient ‘on the go’ digital experiences are not realising that it can be the ‘inefficiencies’ of the physical world that actually deliver some of the pleasures which make us enjoy them so much?

John Alexander

Want to chat further?  Please drop me a note to john@redblue.co.uk or call 07926 856225.