iPhone Antenna-Gate Fallout

While everyone last week was wondering if Apple was going to give out free bumpers and recall the new iPhone 4, Steve Jobs may have been quietly formulating a strategy to dominate the social media world. This has some logic to it in the sense that social media drives mobile use and mobile use drives social media consumption. With the recent launches of the iPhone 4 and iPad, it made me wonder…Steve Jobs and Apple own the music space and are trying to own the e-book publishing space via iBooks…is the next frontier for them to own the social space?

It could make sense, as there will be billions of dollars at play in terms of social gaming, social search, and social commerce to name a few revenue streams. Google is already trying to get a piece of the social action; it sees the tidal wave of timely social search results on the horizon. Google’s attempt at social media is evidenced by Google Buzz, Sidewiki, Wave, and its presence on Twitter and in search feeds.

As most know, Apple and Google are already going head to head in the mobile category (Android vs. iPhone). Since these tools are major social media consumption devices, is the next logical battlefield the actual social media content itself? Apple is already taking a baby step into this arena with iBooks and applications. Where does it all end? Should Facebook, Twitter, and the other social media darlings be concerned with Apple? As lines blur, what is the true distinction between an iPhone application and a Facebook application two years from now?

While we try to sort this out in the coming months/years, the folks at OnlineSchools.org are at it again with another great infographic. Will social media dominance be added to this infographic in the coming years? What do you think: crazy or true?

Hats off to Ellie Koning for a great infographic design.