Digital Media: Does traditional media get it, or putting on an Oscar worthy performance?

-SDH Visit the corporate website of any of the big media companies and what you will come across is their none-stop effort in showing that they are digitally literate. Time Warner's 2007 corporate profile has several pages dedicated to explaining how they are taking advantage of the digital movement. But does Time Warner and its competitors like News Corp, Disney, NBC Universal and others really get it? Or are they simply trying to remain relevant by acting like they do? It’s only recently that the digital race among these media companies began. Before that it was all about traditional media, like print, networks, cable etc. During that time, some of the mentioned companies weren't paying attention to this thing called digital media. Now it’s all the craze. Even some clueless shareholders during earnings calls want to know what is being done to monetize traditional content via digital distribution. Yeah! Like they have a clue! In the media business, it takes one or two bold media bigs, like a Rupert Murdoch to make a move and then the rest will follow. He set off a rat race when he shocked the media world and dropped big money on social networking site Myspace, beating out slow movers like at then Viacom CEO Tom Freston. Hell, Murdoch can be credited for sparking the digital race in big media. In the past few years companies like NBC Universal dropped big money to get their feet in the digital pool. CBS' little big man Les Moonves has also been on a digital media shopping spree as well. Snapping up any and everything they can sell ads on. NBC Universal acquired ivillage.com for a reported $600 Mil and so far they have yet to benefit from their big balled acquisition. An attempt to build a television show of the same name fell flat, but is said to be getting a makeover for a second round. There is even word that NBC's digital head that lacks experience in that field, Beth Comstock is on the way out. Big media continues to run through the digital media door with blindfolds on and their fat wallets. But the truth is, it’s like sitting in a room of people where someone just told a joke and the whole room erupts in laughter. You didn't get the joke, but you decide to burst out in laughter anyway because everyone else is holding their stomachs on the floor.