A Look At the Future of Social Media and Mobile!

This is the Future!

In addition to speaking at conferences nationwide, I teach social and digital media at several universities, among them, Seattle University.

In late 2012 and now in 2013 I have seen more students, perhaps as many as 30-40% using iPads instead of laptops. Some actually read their class notes they have prepared from their smartphones.

What does this tell us? Higher Education students are more mobile than you might think. The latest mobile research shows that 23 percent of mobile traffic comes from tablets and smartphones.

In higher ed, as in business and anywhere else, lighter is better. In December I visited Disneyland and I was amazed at the number of people carrying iPads. Why? They were using them to shoot pictures and videos. 

Tablets are not only here to stay, they are a mainstay of the future. I have a 7 year old who has been working with his iPad for over two years without a problem. In fact, he can tell adults about settings and so much more. 

Are tablets the future? Yes. Why? Social. We want information, news, two way communications, and video, when we want it, 24/7. Smartphone screens are too small for everything. Tablets are perfect.