The New Prime Time...thank's to A.D.D.

Do you have A.D.D? Chances are you do, and guess what - there is nothing wrong with you either. A.D.D. is part of our evolutionary makeup - not something to be cured. So, accept it. From this day onward, it is normal to be doing 'too many things' at once, to not be able to focus on one task for very long while being distracted by another, only to come back and finish whatever you were working on in the first place.

Our work habits have changed. Multitasking combined with A.D.D. makes us wander, taking a multitude of breaks. This wandering most often sends us straight to the web. Whether it be for personal errands like travel planning, shopping, or just plain browsing, we are all doing it - while at work. These are short breaks. No time to get up and wander around... So how does the content that is available fit into these new patterns of ours. Most of it does not, but soon it will. We are also evolving into a virtual workforce. More and more of us are available 24/7, 365 days a year. It is not as much that we do not have time anymore, it is that our concept and usage of time has changed. Crack-berry jokes 'not' - withstanding, we are free because we are connected. It may not feel that way, but that is what growing pains are all about.

This accepted new state of being is creating 'The New Prime Time'.

Why? Because it will very likely attract more eyeballs than the prime time we know today. In fact it probably already does, but we are not aggregating it in the same way, because we are not spending as much media online as we are offline - yet.

The New Prime Time will most likely be between 11am-2pm. The time most of us are likely to get restless for an early or late lunch depending on our own personal habits. Content will be 2-3 minutes in length. Perfect!

This new time constraint will suit advertisers way better than offline content. For one thing, it is a 'lean in' experience. This means engagement. This means buying. Because of this, The New Prime Time will be much more effective too. I mean, who goes shopping at night anyway? I don't - do you?

As part of our evolution these things evolve slowly - the changes barely recognizable to us. I'll offer that most recently, changes are happening much faster and are more noticeable than in the past. As most things today are bound to technology in some way, perhaps we are evolving more like the computer chip - "doubling every 18 months".

Fox and Toyota announced they will be teaming up to produce a new short online series, perfect for this emerging Prime Time. They will team up to produce Prison Break: Proof of Innocence, seen exclusive on mobile phones. The series is a spinoff Fox's Prison Break.  Each mobisode will be just two minutes long, and each will begin with a 10-second spot from Toyota.  The deal also calls for Toyota ads to appear exclusively in several episodes next month as the show nears its finale on May 15. The mobisodes feature different actors and writers than the TV version and will introduce new characters. It will first be available this week to Sprint customers who have signed up for the Sprint video package.  After two weeks, the mobisodes will also be available at Toyota.com.

YouTube for online short form video, with almost 3x as many pages being viewed than google in the U.S. All in barely over 6 months.
http://www.technologyreview.com/TR/wtr_16686,323,p1.html

The Emmy's also announced a new award for PC and Hand-Held Shows.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/11/business/11emmy.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1144767611-IgF9eH/Hynvrw2agi6VLuA

...and before we all run off to our shrinks, here are two definitions from Webster's to make you feel better.

attention deficit disorder
: a syndrome of disordered learning and disruptive behavior that is not caused by any serious underlying physical or mental disorder and that has several subtypes characterized primarily by inattentiveness or primarily by hyperactivity and impulsive behavior (as speaking out of turn) or by the significant expression of both.
(...sound familiar?)

...but don't worry you're 'normal', according to Webster's...
nor·mal
1 : according with, constituting, or not deviating from a norm, rule, or principle b : conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern, occurring naturally
2 : of, relating to, or characterized by average intelligence or development b : free from mental disorder

So, if we all have it, it makes us all normal. Feel better? So, if you don't have it yet, don't worry - you'll get it soon enough...