Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has made a very bold prediction of the future. He said in a video interview with Washington Post yesterday that he sees the end of print media in 10 years time.
He said that there will be no media consumption left in 10 years that is not delivered over an IP network. He went on to say that there would be no newspapers or magazines in paper form, that they would all be electronic.
He did recognise that his prediction might not be spot on and said “if it’s 14 or if it’s 8, it’s immaterial to my fundamental point.”
Ballmer reckons there will be many more producers of content in ten years than there are today. He thinks that the growth we have seen in publishing on the internet has only just scratched the surface.
He made a good point about the inevitable dominance of IP. Using television as an example, he said, “I always take my favorite case: I grew up in Detroit. I went to a place called Detroit Country Day School. They’ve got a great basketball team. Why can’t I sit in front of my television and watch the Country Day basketball game when I know darn well it’s being video-recorded at all times? It’s there. It’s just not easy to navigate to.”
I certainly agree with Ballmer’s prediction, however, I think 10 years is far too soon for us to see the end of newspapers and trashy gossip magazines. Give it 20.