The early 21st century witnessed limited availability of display technologies. Thin film transistor (TFT) displays were used for advertisements, displaying information at commercial and public places such as railway stations and airports as well as in households. Established players, such as Philips, Panasonic, Thomson, Samsung, LG, and Sharp, were the only ones recognized by consumers due to their dominance in the market and diverse product portfolio.

Scientific, technical, and medical (STM) publishing exceeds $25 billion annually, and its leading competitors consistently post adjusted profit margins that exceed 30%, according to our research at Simba Information. 

However, these same STM publishers are facing disruption in the face of a movement to create open access to the scholarly research they publish. 

To maintain long-term viability, the personal growth – aka self-improvement – industry’s future generation of gurus, speakers and experts will need to be more accountable to consumers. General motivational programs are less popular today. Many consumers looking for more practical programs and a return on their invested time and money have found that programs and philosophies – such as the “law of attraction” – have overpromised and underdelivered.

American consumers will pay lots of money for self-improvement products and services. This is especially true at this time of the year. Each January, we set resolutions to lose weight, improve our relationships, make more money, mange stress better, become a better salesman, increase productivity, read faster, etc.

You may not realize this, but the newspaper industry has long been in the advertising business, deriving the majority of its revenue from the sale of ad space in print publications. In exchange, businesses purchasing these ads were assured a broad audience of readers. For many years, it was a win-win situation for both sides.

But the digital revolution has changed that. Between 2005 and 2015, newspaper publishing revenues fell at an average annual rate of 7.0%, largely due to advertising losses. In 2015, advertising services accounted for 55% of publishing revenues, down from 71% in 2005.

Long reliant on advertisements as their primary source of revenue, internet publishers, broadcasters, and search engine providers face mounting challenges to their ad-supported business models.

In particular, the rising use of ad blockers – software programs that prevent internet ads from being displayed – by consumers is threatening to undermine the industry’s key source of revenue.

The media has covered voter perceptions of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s presidential acceptance speeches to great length. Some have suggested that voters perceive the overall tone of the RNC, and specifically Trump’s acceptance speech, to be one of doom and gloom, and the tone of the DNC and Clinton’s speech to be one of hope and forward movement.

But is that true? To understand the nomination speeches, Beall Research analyzed them using a proprietary digital listening tool. We typically use this tool to reveal emotions, psychological processes, and cognitive processes for consumer brands, products, and services. We were curious what our tool would reveal about Trump and Clinton’s acceptance speeches.

Despite past failures and false starts, virtual reality is taking off. According to a report by Rider Research, virtual reality has become one of the hottest technology buzzwords for 2016. Consumer demand is rising fast as realistically priced virtual reality and augmented reality products hit the market.

But what exactly are augmented reality and virtual reality products? Who can use them? And which industries are going to most benefit from these new technologies? Read on to find out.

Jack W. Plunkett, CEO of Plunkett Research, Ltd, opens a recent video with the remark, “I can’t imagine any single sector that has been more disrupted or forced into more change than the media and entertainment industry over the past few decades.”

According to Mr. Plunkett, there’s more disruption to come. This vast, global industry will continue to evolve rapidly over the next decade as business models shift. Watch the video below and read this post to get valuable insights into this complex industry.

Social science and humanities (SSH) publishing encompasses a broad range of subject areas, from anthropology and religion to music and philosophy. Types of media include print and electronic books and journals, as well as online services and databases.