We love screens

I am the father of two screen-agers. I am a screen-ager as well, as are many of us. We crave screens.

Contrary to popular belief, TV is not dead. According to Randall Stross' article in the NY Times, we're spending more and more time in front of the tube. We're spending more time online. We are also spending more time viewing videos on our mobile phones, the so-called "third screen." With sites like Hulu and abc.com, even iPhone videopodcasts, we're increasingly blurring the distinctions between all of these screens.

What we're not doing as much is reading magazines and newspapers. (You would probably not be reading my blog if it weren't on a screen.) Although I am a devoted reader of the New York Times, I must confess I am reading it more often via my iPhone app, relegating the pulp version to airplane reading.

Saatchi CEO Kevin Roberts nailed this idea several years ago in his book, SISOMO, which compelled us to think beyond TV and think screens instead. Screens provide sight, sound and motion. We crave sight, sound and motion.

We need to begin having more conversations about screen strategies, not just media strategies. A screen strategy would force us to think about how to link the three screens (perhaps four when you consider the rise in digital out of home) into a cohesive experience.