*Time starved woman seeks more hours in the day

Sponsored Content WEBINAR: ELECTION 2008: E-mail Tips from a Political Insider   WEBINAR: Becoming the Illusionist: The Magic of Using "Brand" to Drive Response without Results Disappearing in the Process   WEBINAR: Score and Win Through Cooperation   TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Holiday's are prime-time for email marketing - maximize your ROI by getting to the inbox   ON DEMAND WEBINAR--MASTER CLASS: High Performance Online and Off-line Strategies for Large Scale Customer Acquisition   FREE WHITE PAPER - Direct Mail and the Internet Find any supplier you need - agencies, CRM, fulfillment, lists, e-commerce, paper, printers, telemarketing, and more. Featured Categories Lists and Data Telemarketing Database Marketing E-commerce Web Marketing Agency & Creative Services Print, Production & Paper Lists and Data Processing :: view all categories Get free access to more than 50,000 list data cards - one of the most comprehensive databases in the industry. >> Search Now DIRECT Buzz Blog Webinars Buyer's Guide Calculators JobZone ListFinder Promo Calendar Research Store E-Newsletters Print Magazine This Month in Direct Magazine Bare Bones Postal reform works. The rate hike that takes effect May 12 is the lowest in memory: an average of 2.88%. And some mail classes are getting even less than that... See Full April Issue

A few weeks ago, I interviewed podcasting gurus Dave Mansueto and Dave Chekan, co-founders of Liberated Syndication, recently acquired by Wizzard Software.

Toward the end of our chat, I asked the Daves what their personal favorite podcasts were. The duo proceeded to run down dozens of shows, including “Keith and the Girl,” “Fox in the City,” “Naughty Karate,” “Tiki Bar” and “Underbelly NYC,” to name a few.

“Wow,” I said. “When do you find time to actually listen to all of these and run a business?”

It's easy, they replied, rattling off lists of times when one could listen to a pod-cast while doing other things.

I didn't have the heart to tell them that not only don't I have time to do some of those other things (Go to the gym? What's a gym?), I haven't even gotten around to buying an iPod yet.

At that moment I realized I had gone beyond being time starved. I was time anorexic.

Think about it. Do you ever feel like your day is going by so fast that not only are the hours passing, but something is mysteriously purging them away before you can use them? I'll get this project done by 5 so I can go pick up the kids at daycare and go home to cook dinner. What time is it? Oh crap, it's 6:30!

I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, and it's certainly not a phenomenon limited to those of us who have foolishly chosen to breed. It makes me wonder what impact time anorexia will have on all the nifty new marketing media flooding at consumers — and the old standbys as well.

Will we begin tossing direct mail into the recycling bin faster, so we have more time to scan RSS feeds and watch online videos? (Look! A waterskiing squirrel eating Mentos! Brilliant!) Will we have to decide whether we can sit down to read the latest e-mail from Pottery Barn or listen to a telemarketing spiel from our alumni association? (Can my donation directly help kegger-deprived freshmen? Splendid!)

Something has to give. We're in a glorious time of media growth — there are more ways to reach prospects than ever, and consumers are more than welcoming to many of these avenues. But when will they say enough? If consumers — already in control of how marketers speak to them — decide they want to hear from marketers a lot less, and response rates decline, how will marketers react?

Me, I haven't a clue. But I do know that the concept of the majority of marketing becoming background white noise doesn't seem completely off the wall.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go Google this “gym” thing.