Technology Leaves Me in the Dust

Caught a story on the news that the last big box music store, Virgin, will be closing its doors forever. The company president said that the music CD has gone the way of the 8-track tape and business was no longer feasible. Apple iTunes had 20% of the current market, Amazon Music had 8%, and the remainder of the market was illegal downloads.

He gave an example of the state of album sales: In 1992, Backstreet Boys had the #1 album with 2.5 million units sold. In 2008, Green Day had the #1 album with only 500,000 units. He said that kids today didn't even own a device on which to play a music CD; they're all plugged into iPods. Sigh.

Part of the allure of purchasing a music album was to look at the photos, graphics, liner notes and lyrics. Sometimes there was a sleeper hit on the album that I wouldn't have purchased if I were buying the songs individually. I suppose there's no real need for an artist to produce an "album" any more. Sigh.

I actually have an iPod, but I don't want to listen to music in my ears, I want to rattle the windows with some big, honkin' stereo speakers. Does anyone even own a stereo anymore? Sigh.

Next my sister tells me that movie DVDs will soon be obsolete because of Blu-Ray technology. The other sister bought us a DVD player back in 2002 because she thought we were pitiful because we didn't own one. We've watched maybe 20 movies on it in the last seven years. Maybe we are pitiful. I do however, have a VHS player and watch one of my seven or so favorite VHS movies on dull afternoons.

My on-line art group has decided Yahoo! Groups is getting too buggy and has switched to Facebook. I'm not drinking the Kool-Aid and joining Facebook. I'm *very* sure I don't want anybody to find me, being in the Witness Protection program and all.

I suppose I could join under my assumed identity, but that would be one more place I would have to go check every day, and that ain't-a happening any time soon. I can barely (and sometimes don't) keep up with my two little blogs, the art group on Yahoo, their accompanying Flickr pool, and Twitter.

I don't text on my cell phone and I have never, ever done the on-line chat/messenger thing. That's a little too immediate and invasive for me. Either call me on the phone if you need an answer right now, or send me an email and I'll get back to you.

Oh, about the blogs...apparently blogging is so "last year" and all the cool kids don't blog anymore. They Twitter or update their Facebook page. Eeh. The blog for me was never about my day-to-day activities, but more a space to share my timeless, long-winded thoughts about life. I'll stick with blogging until Blogger becomes obsolete too.

Great Big Sigh. I'm feeling a bit obsolete and behind the times, but then I've never been on the cusp of fashion and chic. And I have never, ever been one of the cool kids.