Landlines, fax machines, VCRs and VHS tapes, watches and maps are among the items a recent article in The Huffington Post cited as having become obsolete in the decade that has just closed. Change is constant and now occurring at such an amazing rate that it’s becoming near impossible to keep pace with technology. The impact of that technology is evident all around us. Take Ted Williams, the homeless radio announcer whose trajectory from the streets to YouTube sensation and then to media darling and (well) paid announcer occurred in less than a week.

For producers and broadcasters, keeping an eye on this constant push forward and considering the implications for their businesses is critical. Not only do they need to understand and embrace the opportunities associated with social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook (which weren’t around in 2000), but they need to take serious note of the changes that are inevitably coming with GoogleTV, smart TVs that do away with cable boxes and the proliferation of tablet computers. What these innovations mean for content creators and owners remains to be seen, but 10 years from now I’m pretty certain we’ll all be doing business quite differently.

In 2001, 670 delegates turned out for the third annual Realscreen Summit in Tyson’s Corner, McLean, VA. The delegate book was a two-inch binder containing hundreds of photocopied pages, painstakingly hole-punched and collated by realscreen staffers. The agenda was a single track featuring 95 speakers and the delegate list was printed on 8.5 x 11 paper and stapled together.

Ten years on, the Summit will welcome close to 1,500 international delegates featuring nearly 200 speakers and a multi-track program. The delegate list is available through our MyEvent scheduling and messaging platform, and the agenda will be broadcast live and on-site, on a real-time digitized platform via a 50-inch HD screen.

The magazine you are reading now was once published monthly with some of its editorial content repurposed online. The print edition is now published six times a year and content is delivered real-time via our newly relaunched website at www.realscreen.com and our thrice-weekly online newsletter.

Predictions for how you’ll be getting your realscreen in 2021, anyone?

‘Til next time, go well,

Claire Macdonald,

VP & Publisher, realscreen