Humans consume 100,000 words a day.
If there have ever been any doubts that we live in the information age, the report released by the University of California in mid January proves those wrong. The study, called How Much Information, found American households consume 34 gigabytes, equivalent to 100,000 words, a day. I have a fairly voracious appetite for words, but I would never have put the figure that high.
The words come from a host of sources, which, in order of prominence, are: TV, computer, radio, print media, phone, computer games, recorded music and movies. So our eyes and ears see and hear 100,000 words from these sources in a 24-hour period. The study found this amounted to 11.8 hours of time spent on information consumption a day. Between 1980 and 2008, the number of bytes consumed has increased six per cent each year, adding up to a 350 per cent increase over that time, the researchers said.
If humans have such a healthy appetite for words, it has to be said the words chosen to promote your business and build your brand must be selected carefully. If your newsletter has to stand out amongst many thousands of words, those 500 or so words in your newsletter, for instance, have to be the right words. They must make an impact.
Use carefully-constructed marketing that conveys the same message throughout all forms of communication, from your website and signage, to your brochures and business cards.
For more information about the University of California report visit http://hmi.ucsd.edu/howmuchinfo.php
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