The History of Digital Content

March 5, 2018

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4 min read

Most people know that the volume of digital information in the world is growing exponentially. In fact, 90% of the digital data that exists worldwide today was created within the last two years – and 2.5 quintillion bytes of digital data are created each and every day. This infographic from MerlineOne outlines the history of digital content as well as how all that information may be leveraged in the future to create the next wave of innovation.

Today, we consume vast quantities of digital content by reading website articles, browsing digital magazines, watching videos on YouTube or other platforms, and even engaging with other people on social media. Even many of the advertisements we’re exposed to on a daily basis are digital. But how exactly did digital content become such a prominent fixture of modern life? We did some digging into digital content’s mysterious (or not-so-mysterious) past and put together this infographic to illustrate the history of digital content from its inception to modern times – and even took a glimpse into the future of digital content.

History of Digital Content [INFOGRAPHIC]

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The History of Digital Content

Print magazines and compact discs, in-person surveys and paper ads?all have been pushed aside for a digital reality.

Digital Content Rules

5 quintillion bytes of digital data are created every day
- That’s 2.5 million trillion bytes
- The storage capacity of 36 million ipads
90% of digital data in the world today was created in the last two years alone
Global digital users 2017
- 8 billion internet users
  - 50% of the global population
- 4 billion active mobile internet users
  - 46% of the global population
- 8 billion active social media users
  - 37% of global population
- Newly digital industries
  - Video
    - Time average person spends watching online videos
      - 75 hours/week
    - Most people in the U.S. subscribe to video streaming services
      - How many video streaming services do you use?
        
        None: 21%
        
        One: 28%
        
        Two: 27%
        
        Three: 15%
        
        Four: 4.5%
        
        Five or more: 4.5%
      - Music
        
        In 2016, 50% of the global music industry’s revenue came from digital income
        
        Paid music streaming subscriptions 2016
        
        112 million users
        
        60% revenue growth
        
        News
        
        Print newspaper circulation 2016
        
        Weekday: down 10%
        
        Sunday: down 9%
        
        Digital newspaper subscriptions 2016
        
        New York TImes: up 47%
        
        Wall Street Journal: up 23%
        
        Chicago Tribune: up 76%
        
        Big data
        
        In 2017, 48% of Fortune 1000 companies had measurable benefits from gathering big data
        
        What do businesses do with digital data?
        
        Big data initiatives started by Fortune 1000 companies
        
        Decrease expenses: 72.6%
        
        Find new ways to innovate: 64.5%
        
        Launch new products/services: 62.9%
        
        Add revenue: 54.8%
        
        Speed up current efforts: 64.5%
        
        Transform business for the future: 51.6%
        
        Establish data-driven culture: 69.4%
        
        Marketing
        
        In 2016, 70% of small and medium businesses increased digital marketing budgets
        
        Which areas will drive that growth?
        
        59% marketing on social media
        
        50% mobile marketing
        
        42% email marketing
        
        Money
        
        In 2017, over 3 million people actively used digital currency
        
        Cryptocurrency market has grown by 43X in just one year
        
        January 2017: $18 billion market cap
        
        January 2018: $775 billion market cap

How did everything get so digital?

Milestones in digital content creation

Past
- 1975: First digital camera released by Kodak
- 1995: Amazon founded as one of the first successful online retail companies
- 2007: First iPhone released
- 2008: Netflix launched its digital video streaming service
- 2009: Bitcoin digital currency released
- 2012: Google Drive collaboration software launched
Present
- The cloud has made creating and storing digital content easier
  - 2016: 42% of companies derived 50% or more of their business through cloud-based apps
    - Organizations invested $1.62 million in cloud computing
  - 2017: 93% of organizations use the cloud in some form
- Future
  - The digital universe is growing 40% every year, doubling every two years
    - By 2020, there will be…
      - As many digital bits as there are stars in the universe
      - 44 zettabytes, or 44 trillion gigabytes of digital content

More digital content means more connections to other people and access to information?but it’s not all good news.

Potential challenges to digital content

No physical backups, aka “We don’t own things like we used to”
- The digital content you purchase is not necessarily permanently yours
- If Amazon goes out of business, that digital content vanishes, too
  - Amazon recommends you download each video you stream after purchase so you retain access no matter what
- Environmental impacts
  - Data centers that house digital content consume…
    - 5-2% of global electricity
    - 3% of U.S. electricity
  - Data center electricity use is growing 12% annually
  - IT industry is responsible for 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions
  - Evidence that more efficient data storage and IT standards would…
    - Cut greenhouse gas emissions
    - Cut carbon emissions
  - The digital world could become realer than the physical
    - Universal use of Internet of Things and connected devices makes escaping digital impossible
    - Digital interactions expected to grow 20X over the next 10 years
      - Interactions with digital data per connected person per day
        
        2010: 85
        
        2015: 218
        
        2020: 601
        
        2025: 4,785