Spicy Ideas: A Day in the Life of a Media Junkie

2:31 p.m.—I need a break, so I pull up a Comedy Central stand-up performance by Jim Gaffigan that I purchased through iTunes. I go full screen with the protected MPEG-4, H.264 video on my MacBook and take a few minutes to laugh. I had previously watched part of the video on my iPhone, and my MacBook remembers where I left off and starts at that exact spot. Video tools are apparently smarter than I am now. I never would have remembered where I stopped watching that show.

5:33 p.m.—I come home, and my 4-year-old wants to play the Nintendo Wii. I fire up the machine, and she almost beats me in a game of bowling. We take a break and, using the Opera browser and my Wi-Fi connection, watch a clip from a classic episode of The Muppet Show. Online video through a game console is introducing my daughter to classic television.

9:12 p.m.—The kids are in bed. My wife is a late adopter of the hit show Lost, but thanks to the prodding of some friends, she is now a huge fan and totally addicted. The problem is catching up on the older episodes, but with her laptop, she can watch every single episode from previous seasons in full HD glory. I have invested in a set of headphones for her. While unwinding at home, mainstream media is using online HD video to entertain my wife on her 15" HP laptop.

11:30-ish p.m.—Finally in bed, I slip on my headphones and listen to a new episode of a hilarious new podcast (http://youlooknicetoday.com) on my iPod. After a few minutes I turn everything off and prepare to slip into dreamland. I wonder what I will watch and listen to tomorrow. It has been an interesting day.

Overall, in a day, I viewed five TVs, three computer screens, two mobile devices, two gaming devices, one DVR, 20 to 30 videos in multiple formats across four social video networks, and two social networks. In addition, I listened to three audio systems, two portable media players, 10 podcasts, and three streams of music in multiple formats across three social networks and two blogs and through my laptop speakers.

Here are my big take-aways:

—I have a much shorter attention span than most media requires.
—I like multiple formats for my media.
—Media should be made easy and portable.
—I need to read a book every now and then.

How much media do you consume on a daily basis? Contact me and let me know. Best answer gets a free T-shirt.