Lady Geek

This idea has been brewing in my brain for a while. I was doing some Xploring (where we observe the way customers behave to find the truth rather than stick them in a 1950s focus group and bombard them with dull questions) and I noticed something really interesting about the change in role of the main TV room. And how women are the driving force of this new dynamic in the living room. The ownership stats of HD TV is equal for men and women and if you ask most men and women, the women get the final stay of what actually gets bought for the living room.

The main TV room has acquired a shrine like status. It’s become a campfire for the most sacred rituals of togetherness. Most campfires are lit exclusively for recreation which is the main purpose of the TV room. People tend to find something fascinating about flames and glowing coals, so a campfire is usually an agreeable (and warm) way to pass the time from dusk to bedtime as the TV room is. Staring into the flames of a camp fire is both mesmerizing and captivating as is seeing Harry Potter in HD. The TV room is also a good venue for intimate conversation and storytelling. Families connect (and argue) in their TV rooom. Families share confidences, stories, their fears, their desires.

The collective digital fireplace is slick, slim line, blur free, HD TV enabled, digitally tuned with over 100 channels, often partnered with a HD DVD, PVR, DVR and Wii Console (as is the case in my living room). It takes pride of place in the living room and has become the pivotal place in the home.

Most people don’t actually know what it can really do and that you need programmes broadcast in HD and actually most DVD’s are not HD yet but who cares? It looks fabulous and for a change, technology is actually bringing families together. 60% of Amercians say they would like to spend more time with their family. I am sure that this is the same in the Uk. 43% of Americans say they would buy more technology if it helped them do this.

The Digital Campfire is an opiate, as some Marxists would say. If only you could heat marshmallows on it!