Now we’re being blamed for the death of television

See this story from the Times of London. Everyone in LA is in a tizzy because American Idol is in a tailspin and nobody is watching TV anymore and oh my God what on earth could be happening. Guy ends by saying that the iPhone has freed people up from their boob tubes. I think he’s kidding (kind of) but the fact is, he’s right. It’s tail wagging the dog time. Technology driving content. People in the 18- to 25-year-old demographic have opted out of mainstream TV and they’re never coming back. Kids younger than that never even opted in to mainstream TV to begin with. They are growing up with iPhone as their primary content consumption device. You know why this is? Because ten years ago, or actually twenty years ago, I saw all of this coming. I saw the chips, the software, the memory, the network bandwidth — I saw the path these technologies were on. I could see how they were evolving and I could map out exactly when each one would become good enough. All I had to do then was wait. And hire some great designers. And scare the shit out of a bunch of engineers. It all worked. Now I am the king of the world. I am a golden god. Bow down, O world, and worship me.