OMG! ITS A TXT MSSG

So there I was last night, watching TV (two channels simultaneously), checking e-mails via my WANN connection, calling friends on my PDA, texting and eating too. When did I become my teenage daughter? This got me thinking. We have become so technology saturated that we are literally connected 24/7.

I noticed this phenomenon at KCI (MCI) airport. A row of laptops and PDAs lined up at the bar blinking like R2D2 place mats in “Star Wars.” I joined in (of course) and couldn’t help but notice the twitchiness of my fellow travelers as they constantly perused their array of technological gizmos for signs of life.

They even all appeared to be drinking a glass of merlot and eating a basket of buffalo wings - coincidence? Strangely enough I ordered likewise.

So what does this mean to me the creative? Well, I know I have many more opportunities to talk, but I am concerned that the messages have to be ever quicker and to-the-point in this sound-bite world. And in a business that basically invented the sound bite we are now in the position that our sound bites need to have sound bites.

Don’t even get me started on the brk dwn of the wrttn wrd thru IM/text. All I know is the 10-second flash film is the new 30-second TV commercial and beyond that the marketing world is up for grabs. Joe Public has as good a chance at a Gold Addy as the next guy.

But maybe this is a good thing. Just maybe as an industry we have become too complacent, too self-confident in our creative departments, our trusted media outlets and our cozy culture. Maybe the world is letting us know that it is within everyone to come up with the next big idea, to be the next “American Idol.” Technology has given everyone the power to shoot a commercial in HD for goodness sake.

This is a good thing because there’s one thing that will never ever change in this wonderful world of ours. The simple, relevant, ingenious idea. To quote my agency’s mantra: Relevant Ingenuity.

THIS is what we still own as an industry: the insight to make ideas relevant to a brand and resonate ingeniously and creatively with an audience. Fortunately for us our ever empowered populace isn’t that savvy yet. If you don’t believe me simply visit YouTube.

But be warned. They will get there.. another glass of Merlot please.