I had a troubling moment yesterday afternoon, and it had nothing to do with the Eagles debacle in the desert out in Arizona.
At this time of year, I have a tendency to follow the sun during my Sunday reading routine. I try to start on the deck with the morning paper and a steaming mug of coffee. As the sunshifts, I move to the porch on the front of the house. But as the sun keeps moving, so do I. At one point yesterday afternoon, I had propped up a chair at the end of the driveway, soaking up the rays and continuing to devour the Sunday paper.
A Sunday newspaper is one of life’s little luxuries. I have a tendency to inhale it. My wife always asks is she can have the rest of the paper while I am still inspecting the front page. She’s a skimmer. She’s usually done with the paper while I am still on the jumps of the lead story.
So I was happy as a clam at the end of the driveway - right up until the moment that a neighbor approached. He’s a couple years older than me, and he and his wife are empty nesters as well, with their kids long since grown and having flown the coop.
As he approached I wondered what was up?
“Is your laptop broken?” he inquired.
Wow, I responded. You really know how to hurt a guy.
It’s true. The site of a person with a print edition of the newspaper used to be part of society’s routine. Now it’s becoming less so.
Instead people increasingly get their news online. We are on laptops, tablets, even our phones.
I had a great little conversation with my neighbor about the way society has changed. He’s kind of like me, still likes holding a print edition in his hands, but finds himself chained to his laptop all the time as well, so much so that he’s now battling carpal tunnel syndrome.
Ironically, during our morning walk my wife pointed out something that I’d just as soon not think about as well. We were on our normal route when we came across a driveway with a newspaper sitting on it.
“Remember when every driveway used to have a paper?” she asked. Yes, I do.
I also know that those days are gone, and likely not coming back.
I will always be a print guy, but I realize that the industry is changing.
That’s why I am “all-in” when it comes to being digital first.
It doesn’t mean I don’t wonder about the effects of our need to be “plugged-in” 24 hours a day. About an hour later, I was engaging in one of my other great joys, screaming at the TV and Andy Reid during an Eagles game.
Of course, now I have another outlet for those feelings. I log onto Twitter and join the social media community discussing the game. You can catch me at my @philheron handle. Yesterday you could have joined the coversation just by using the #Eagles hashtag. It's fun. It's also exhausting trying to keep up.
It’s a new world.
Old Eagles, but a new world. Especially in my business.
See you on the Internet.
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