One of my new favorite blogs is by Netscape Founder Marc Andreessen. As I was reading a few post today I stumbled on his post called “Left unchecked, this could become problematic” in which Marc highlights the decline in revenue for print, online and classified advertising, suggesting this could be a problem in the years to come.

I’m not sure I agree with Marc on this issue. I’m encouraged by the decrease in traditional advertising because it suggests to me a few things:

1. People are tired of the old media advertising ways. We are skipping commercials, blocking ads and using Craigslist for our classifieds.
2. Smart companies are avoiding traditional advertising and looking for creative ways to reach their audience, consumer and markets.

Perhaps rather then worrying about the decline in advertising we should be looking at it as a shift in thinking. Maybe we’ve reached a tipping point and this downturn in the traditional ways is the mark of something new, better and different. I think the book “Punk Marketing” does an excellent job at discussing the future of advertising and Marc’s recent article is just another indicator that the shift is underway.

Over the past few weeks I’ve had a plethora of different reactions regarding Amazon’s new reading device, Kindle. Initially I felt that the Kindle was doomed. I figured there is no way that people would be willing to adhere to the strict DRM policy that’s been set in place by Amazon and the content publishers. However, the more I’ve thought about it, the more I think the Kindle might have a shot at being a great device. No, not because the device itself is a joy to use, but rather because it offers something we have never seen on the tech landscape before. Free high speed web access without a subscription cost.

Here’s the deal. The Kindle is incredibly important to the future of content distribution and discovery because it offers free 3g wireless internet (mobile EVDO) with the device. Free free — as in the online content isn’t restricted to just content from Amazon but rather it’s full fledge internet. Do you see what I’m saying? The Kindle is the first device in the history of tech devices that gives us the ability to browse the web practically anywhere in the country without having to pay.

Now picture this. An iPod Touch with free high speed internet anywhere in the nation. Check your mail, browse your blogs, download photos and music, all without having to pay a monthly cost. This is unthinkable, and something that we never saw coming from the big telco’s, yet all of a sudden the Kindle has broken the mold.

Yes the Kindle’s ugly, yes the user interface looks slow and frustrating, yes the screen is not paper-white, and yes the battery doesn’t last as long with internet on. But what I am saying is not that the Kindle is a great device, but that it is a great gateway device. The type of device that we need to be successful so we can use other better designed devices in the future.

I just finished listening to Tom Kelley’s “The Ten Faces of Innovation.” Kelley is the General Manager of IDEO, one of the World’s foremost innovation and ideation consulting companies. The book discusses IDEO’s 10 faces, or personas which are utilized in their projects to gain a full, insightful and original view of any challenge, situation or problem. (more…)