So said Steve Rubel, senior vice-president, director of insights, Edelman Digital, New York. In an interview with PubZone prior to his speaking at a Montreal conference, Rubel said that attention is not only constantly shrinking, with today's population bombarded with information, but that there is already an attention crash.

"With so many different information inputs, people just don't have the time to read," he said. "That accounts for the popularity of Twitter. You get a headline.
Twitter isn't noted for its depth. If you want to know more, you have to do your own digging.

"People are going to have to use technology to their advantage," Rubel says. "They're going to have to be smarter about getting things done. They're going to have to learn how to manage the information and to read quickly. They'll have to get comfortable with reading on the screen. In the U.S., a large percentage of people are already, and Canadians aren't far behind. Every nation is going to have to adhere.

Noting that young people can already easily cope with screen reading, Rubel said, "If I were an teacher, I'd put down the blackboard chalk and pick up the laser pointer and do power point presentations. Small children already know how to use computers. The educational system is going to have to adapt and find creative ways to teach."

Further, he said, public relations professionals are going to have to adapt to the situation as well. People will learn snippets of information that will affect and shape reputations, drawing, for example, from one person's view through Google SearchWiki or similar searches. PR most learn to cope.

There will always be a place for some traditional media, because they have more reach and the ability and finances to have correspondents covering the news around the world, but, said Rubel, "People will constantly find new tricks to read quickly and just scan more."