Why Sound Could Win in the Battle Against Video on the Web

Just like you learned to crawl before you walked, you learned to listen to your mother’s heartbeat from within her womb before you saw anything outside of it.

On stage at Mashable Connect in Orlando, Soundcloud CEO Alexander Ljung described the early developments of our senses, saying we’re born with imperfect eyesight but enter the world with perfect hearing.

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He used the infant example to illustrate how our lives began audibly and then transitioned into a visual ecosystem, particularly now that the Internet hosts countless videos screaming for attention.

Ljung, however, envisions us shifting back to those early experiences — “back to the heartbeat” — when sound first reigned supreme among our senses.

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“We’re getting closer to the point where technology will help us not be deaf online — where we can unmute the web,” he said during his presentation, “Sound Will Be Bigger Than Video,” which included background music.

But exactly why and how will sound be bigger than video? Ljung cites several reasons.

  • Videos demand full attention but … : “Sound is the only thing out there that you can consume in parallel while doing multiple things,” Ljung asserts. He also says there eventually will be more minutes spent listening to sound than minutes spent watching videos.
  • Sound incites emotions: “The fastest way to make you feel is through these,” Ljung says, pointing to his ears. “More sound on the web means people will feel me.”
  • Advancements in technology make it easier to create sound: Content creators and everyday people love simplicity. Ljung, for example, pit a record button versus the QWERTY keyboard layout. “Even with sound you don’t need 140 buttons; you just need a single button,” he says. “We like to think SoundCloud is 140 times simpler than Twitter.”

SEE ALSO: iPhone Case Turns SoundCloud Clips Into 3D Sculpture [VIDEO]

Although videos appear to dominate the web right now, with 60 hours of video uploaded every minute to YouTube, sound creation also is seeing growth. SoundCloud, for one, averages 1 million new users per month, with 10 million registered users in total.

At one point during Ljung’s presentation, he halted the music and stopped talking for several awkward seconds.

“Without any sound, this presentation would be kind of bleak,” he says, adding that sound is key to our lives. “As humans we’re spending more and more of our time online.

“The web is unmuting really fast.”

Do you agree with Ljung’s prediction that video will take a backseat to sound in the battle for web users’ attention? Sound off in the comments, or just take a look at Ljung’s amazing shoes he wore on stage. Now those are loud.

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The contents of each bag given to Mashable Connect attendees.

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This story originally published on Mashable here.

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