Out of the video arcade and into upper-household income

Funny thing about kids--they tend to grow up fast and take their media consumption habits with them. Mediaweek makes an interesting point that back in 1990, the average age of a video game fanatic was 18--and today, the average is now 33. Think about that. In the past 17 years, the typical gamer age has climbed 15 years -- meaning the bell curve of demand is aging almost as fast as real people.

Perhaps one way to predict future demand in any demo is simply to see what the next younger demo is doing, and then roll those habits up the age hill. What can you expect? Less demand for radio (since youngsters now consume their music via MP3). More demand for video games, and the cross-pollination of major motion picture releases with gaming titles. The untethering of the internet from landlines and plastic PCs to glass-and-aluminum portable cell phones. A move beyond media fragmentation to media empowerization, in which every individual with an iMobilekeypadGPStrackingvideocameradevice can create their media bubble--and share it with their circle of friends.

Now that the definition of Web 2.0 has been settled as the confluence of web-based software and social networks, Web 3.0 will be the movement of the web away from computers to the surrounding ambiance of everything connected with a chip in it--your phone, your car, your wallet, your dog, your garage door, and your sneakers. The web won't be a desk-bound browser; it will be more like mobile electricity. The blog underworld is still debating it, but we see this future simply as a new age of media bubbles. I can broadcast to you, within our own little network, attaching private information about any content or device in my life--and good luck to the advertiser or marketer trying to saddle up to that private conversation. Information wants to be free--but now, you and I will control our information.

For proof of the coming change, look to the new demo for the G4 gaming cable TV network. The average viewer is just over 30 with a household income of $60,000. One thing is for certain: your media plan from 2007 is not going to work well in 2017 when these hipsters reach their 40s.