The iPhone went on the market today. I will not comment on the iPhone, the price, the usability etc., there are already too many comments and blogs on that subject. What I would like to comment on is how the iPhone will, in my opinion, change our lives.

I don’t think the iPhone deserves the name association to “phone” or even “smart phone”. I think the iPhone is a portable computer with the capability of voice communication. In my opinion, this is a very important statement.

For one, our daily path through life will no longer be guided by java stops for a caffeine fix, but by power stops to recharge our iPhones. Businesses will no longer offer free WiFi to get you into their store, but a free iPhone recharge. According to some of the comments I heard about the iPhone, the battery does not last as long as the original iPhone. Apparently the 3G network zaps the live juice right out of the battery.

But seriously, the iPhone has the potential to change our lives, just because we are no longer tethered to a PC or a bulky laptop. We now have a very versatile and neat mini PC in our pockets (purse, whatever).

The iPhone not only offers the user many new ways to talk, shop, be educated, kept up to date, navigate (internal GPS receiver), listen to internet radio such as Pandora, communicate etc. but also how businesses will advertise, offer their services and in general interact with the owners of iPhones.

I understand that not every consumer owns an iPhone, but based on the successful mass deployment of the first generation of smart phones, the iPhones and similar devices will do just as well or much better; especially now that the price for an iPhone has dropped substantially.

Today is the first day the new iPhone is available. There are all kinds of pros and cons. Short battery life, the 3G network is not available across the US etc. In my opinion, those are minor issues that will get solved as the demand from the consumer for the service grows.

No matter what the challenges are, I feel the iPhone will be a booming success.

What does all that mean for the marketing business?

For marketers who are using Web 2.0 as their marketing strategy it means they have a much better platform to reach their audience. The simple text message has become colorful and animated. The approach is still the same, web-based socializing, word of mouth recommendation, viral marketing, blogging are still our tools. But now we can inbed links to websites, that can truly dazzle and show off the product or service. Most important, it can be done right then and there, without having to wait until one sits in front of a laptop or a PC.

Pillar one, the social phenomena. The use of technology, computing to socialize. The most basic example of this would be text messaging, more sophisticated interaction would be via my space etc.

Jonathan Yarmis claims the second pillar is cloud computing. Essentially moving the software used for running PC’s on to the web. What this means, those resources can now be used where ever and when ever we want to use them. We are no longer teetered to a PC.

Third, mobility. Here Jonathan Yarmis made an interesting point. Last year 1.6 billion mobile devices where shipped, growing at 20%. What is even more remarkable, the average turn over rate for those mobile units is 21 month. Kind of makes you wonder what happens to those 1.6 billion mobile devices that are being thrown out every two years. Assuming each of those devices is 2 inches wide, lined up side by side they would go twice around the world.

The 4^th pillar is funding all those advances. In his opinion the funding will occur with the new form of advertising. Jonathan’s opinion is that pay per click will not work on social web pages. He feels that add spaces on social networking pages are intrusive. What are effective are personal recommendations. In social gatherings, is it on the web or in person, we are more likely to follow a recommendation by a peer or colleague than advertising.

We agree with that statement. Unfortunately the advertiser will loose control over the message. After all, a person may have an unfavorable opinion over a product or service. We all know that an unfavorable opinion spreads faster than a favorable opinion.

It has become essential that companies actively monitor all relevant social web spaces and use ambassadors to correct any misconception about a product or service.