Some Things Just Can’t Go Digital

Netflix has been out there on the Web renting movies for a while, in Canada it’s zip.ca and now YouTube is announcing it’s renting films through it’s portal. Hey, I watch a lot of vids on YouTube, DailyMotion and Vimeo I admit.

But I like going to my physical, local video store. I have all these alternate, so-called easier options. I have an Apple TV unit, I can rent from Apple and stream to my HD TV, or watch YouTube videos, use zip.ca, download an illegal Bitorrent (I don’t do that, don’t like that illegal downloading.) I have all these tools, I use them in different ways, I’m not a Luddite (not entirely anyway.)

We’re making more and more activities “digital” but selecting my videos at the video store is something I call an “experience purchase” – where I want the experience behind it. I know the staff at my local video store and they know me. They know my likes and sometimes I don’t think I want to watch something, but I trust their judgement. Over 10 years I’ve seen many of them come and go – but they’re always good to me. Video Difference, makes a difference. No digital interface can make up for that in any way possible. The mediums are too different.

Some things can’t be digitized. What about you? Is there something you wouldn’t digitize that could be, but the experience is too important to you?