I am sitting on the Metro heading into Washington, DC and as I survey the riders, a demographically diverse blend, I am taken by their equally diverse media consumption habits.

There are clearly a lot of electronic devices and many people absorbed in either typing, reading or listening to phones, tablets and computers. But there are newspapers and magazines and blank stares too, and those are surprisingly not confined just to older riders. Yes, I realize that the subway (with periodic loss of signal) is not necessarily the perfect test audience, but apparently, we are not yet all slaves to mobile devices.

That is the current state of affairs for marketers…a heterogeneous amalgamation of media consumers that savvy marketers must reach in the most efficient way possible. Contrary to some headlines, the world has not fully jettisoned “all things NOT D”, and in fact, some younger consumers are even showing some love to tangible creations (think…Postagram).

I  believe that the migration to electronic media consumption will continue unabated, but it is valuable to periodically take the time to look around and see what real people are reading, as opposed to always listening the the echo chamber that is marketing media.