Both terms refer to the impact new media technologies (broadband internet, games, Apple Inc., Facebook, mobile devices, IPTV etc) have had on the traditional media model of top down, controlled broadcasting.

So are you on the side of Digital Disruption or Digital Revolution?

[note color=”#ffffd6″]Traditional audiences are scattered across many platforms. Social viewing – watch what you want, when you want – puts the power of choice in the hands of the consumer which can only be a good thing. It also undermines the top down TV Commissioner and Controller system and threatens to make redundant many traditional business models.[/note]

Which One Is It?

So is all this upheavel Disruption or Revolution?

The Oxford Dictionary defines Disruption as a disturbance or problem which interrupts an event, activity or process. To me this sounds like a temporary hitch, a negative that can be fixed so that Normal Service Will Be Resumed As Soon As Possible.

The definition of Revolution is a dramatic and wide-reaching change in conditions, attitudes or operation. I think this reflects more accurately the changes that are happening whether we like it or not.

Maybe it is hard to see the revolution because we are still experiencing it – the Industrial Revolution lasted about 100 years (1750-1850) and probably didn’t feel like one at the start. As long as the lights don’t go out, we’ll have decades of challenging digital adventures ahead of us.