If like me you work in a large city and use the transport system you cannot have missed the proliferation of free newspapers, ranging from daily news, financial news, sports, cars, lifestyle etc.  Even though the advertising model allows for these to be produced free it does make you wonder how many of these papers are actually recycled on a daily basis, especially when upon returning home the streets, stations and trains are littered with hundreds of read free newspapers.

 

Personally, I now have a number of Podcasts which I download during the week which replace the needless use of natural resources and from a personal perspective I at least feel that I am not adding to the problem of deforestation.  In addition to the environmental benefits by listening to Podcasts they also make me more efficient as they ensure that I am only absorbing the news that I require rather than the pages of adverts and gossip which I would usually skip past.     

 

This issue made me question how many other publications do people accept and only give a cursory read to before discarding.  As the world becomes more advanced and the need for knowledge increases it is probably time to stop the traditional methods of communication by producing Brochureware and move to more advanced formats like Podcasts and online help.   

 

Even now most websites still offer to send out Brochureware if the subject is too complicated to post online.  However with the advances in technology and the younger generation requiring more information immediately maybe it is time to move to a more downloadable culture.  This would not only vastly reduce companies printing and postage costs but would also be an easily definable amount of savings which could add to their overall Carbon Reduction programmes.  So shouldn’t we all look to add more Podcasts and downloads to our websites rather than continuing to send our Brochureware?