We are inundated with content and literature like never before in history. There was a time when people took the time to read in between the lines. Today most of us are not even reading the very lines themselves ;-)

I guess words or picture.... its the information within that hold the attention of a good observer. You can read an article of 500 words in less then 5 minutes and yet a picture of just a sunset can hold your attention for longer than that (or not hold it all for that matter).