Saturday, June 18, 2011

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

iPhone 5 Social Networking Rumors Indicate Apple Is Accelerating Its Bid To Compete With Twitter, Facebook

Posted: 18 Jun 2011 07:50 AM PDT


Apple is no newcomer to social networking — they have already attempted it with it’s music-based Ping social network. but with fresh rumors that the iPhone 5 could feature an innovative new social networking platform, is Apple looking to cash in on collecting and using personal data alla Facebook, Google & Twitter?

Apple may be at it again with social networking.

After their largely abortive attempt at music-based social networking with Ping, one might assume that they might pass on another attempt at social media. However, new reports today suggest that a new, wide-ranging social networking platforms may in the works at Apple, and that it will be specifically optimized for use with the iPhone 5.

The IBTImes reports that, “Acording to the rumor mill, the iPhone 5 is going to become your portable social network. The phone analyses your habits, tastes, lifestyle, aptitudes, travels and the like and finds people who share the same bandwidth. And then it tells you if a potential friend is in the vicinity. Conversely it allows you to be found and befriended by other iPhone 5 users."

We’ve collected a few more articles related directly to this story on the iPhone 5 News Ticker if you’d like to read more.

What An iPhone 5-based Social Network May Look Like

Based on the information that has been gathered, Apple may be looking to integrate elements of the world’s top social networking sites into one platform. The rumors suggest that the new system would crunch personal data in the way that Facebook does, while perhaps using a similar microblogging approach found on Twitter. However, Facebook and Twitter offer users very different ways of connecting with people: Facebook leverages a person’s already-established network of friends, whereas Twitter encourages more adventrous, on-the-fly friend making.

The new iPhone 5-based social network may offer a third version of social networking.

Perhaps by using analytics similar to that of dating websites like e-Harmony and Match.com, the iPhone 5 social network may seek to crunch personal data as a means of match-making new virtual friendships, with the speed and fluidity of Twitter and the nuance of Facebook combined. In addition, there is also talk that this new social networking concept would tap the use of location tracking, which could allow people to connect by way of their geographical proximity, a feature that has been somewhat experimented with by Twitter and Facebook. This approach could also begin to bridge the gap between traditional and virtual networking, fostering more real-life connections via the new iPhone 5 social network.

Personal Data Is a Big Business, But Is the iPhone 5 Social Networking Concept a Slippery Slope?

In case you didn’t know, social network is a huge money-making opportunity. Actually, “social networking” is just its brand name: what we’re really talking about here is personal data collection and sharing. For companies like Facebook and Google, the plan is simple: collect the data, then leverage it to sell ad placements to other companies. This why people get freaked out when they search Google and the results are all too tailored to their online habits, or how someday folks will log on to Facebook and see that photo of themselves snapped in front of Cinderella’s Castle being used in a Disney World ad.

Collecting (and owning) our personal data is incredibly lucrative.

Facebook and Twitter are well-established, and Google is continuously hacking away at social media attempts, from the purchasing of YouTube to Google Buzz, and now the +1 social bookmarking feature (which this website is an early adopter of).

Given Apple’s propensity for seeking to confront its competitor Google on virtually every front possible, it is not surprising that they would seek to utilize the iPhone 5 as a vechicle for launching a bigger, better, bolder social network.

But will an iPhone 5-mobilized social network become a disconcerting slippery slope for iPhone users?

Apple has already had to deal with issues involving privacy, location tracking, and user data on the iPhone 4. Given the backlash over that incident, how likely is it that mobile users will be comfortable with integrating their location data as a means of connecting them with new contacts on a social network? On the one hand, bringing together online communities with traditional communities sounds like a groundbreaking opportunity in the social networking sphere.

On the other hand, perhaps most users of social media prefer there to be a wall between the people who they interact with online and the people who comprise their traditional friend networks?

If Apple does indeed make a revolutionary social networking platform a major component of the iPhone 5, they will indeed begin to differentiate themselves from the likes of many of the new Android phones hitting the market; instead of concentrating on hardware features, the iPhone 5 instead becomes a proprietary portal into an exciting new social networking realm. Yes, it is a risk. But for Apple, it may be a risk that they have no choice in taking in order to stay competitive in the smartphone market.