iPhone misses the social networking revolution

Steve Jobs doesn't understand how today's end-users communicate.

from the July 11, 2007 edition

Page 3 of 3

Page 1 | Page 2 | 3

What made the iPod a breakthrough product was that Jobs really knows music. He's an artsy guy. He's even known to have a really good musical ear. That's why the iPod was awesome.

Social networking and Web 2.0 are apparently another matter. It's a generational thing, I guess. Jobs is even older than I am, and I'm having a really hard time keeping up with the times. Plus he's busier than I am.

What the iPhone should have done was put the social network front and center. It would happily invite the "play" aspect of modern computing, which is increasingly interacting with "work" – personal blogs morph to full-time jobs; YouTube postings lead to advertising agency job offers; entrepreneurial musings lead to investor contacts; and so forth. Chatting and sharing media should have direct support.

But Apple has a unique asset that may yet save the day: the sheer moral support it can draw from the tech community. This past weekend, for example, an entire impromptu developer conference was assembled with the sole purpose of "making the Web a better place for [the iPhone]." So, ironically, social networking technologists are busy arranging themselves such that Apple will, yes, recognize their significance and treat them as first-class citizens. It's not too late.

I hope Apple listens.

• Peter S Magnusson is an entrepreneur living in Cupertino, Calif. You can read his blog at http://petersmagnusson.com.

1 | 2 | Page 3