As storytellers, one of our ongoing tasks is to stay aware of what our audiences are up to. Apparently, a lot of us multitask between 2+ screens so it can be tough to keep us interested. Adobe just released a report on the state of content. And the state of content is distracted!

The report makes some interesting (and, frankly, scary) observations about how we parse our attention. Reading it will probably do two totally different things:

1) Make you think about modern life, and how odd it is.
2) Make you think of some great story ideas!

There’s a certain haiku challenge to thinking within the strict boundaries implied by the data. If you only have a blink to keep their eyes focused, then what do you do? And once you have their attention, where do you go from there? How do you make sure you promise the story that you’re able to tell? These aren’t just questions for marketers. They’re questions we should all ponder as we compete for engagement.

ADWEEK’s summary of the report is solid, but you can also read the entire report here. [PDF download]