Social is the future of the iPad

So . . . I’ve been collecting stats on the iPad as they roll in and I’m now convinced of several things

1. The iPad is device emphasizing engagement: meaning because of it’s intuitive interface and the experience it affords, it’s inherently more compelling, on a biological level. (No joke. The keyboard and the mouse are abstractions that we’re only now shaking off.) It’s computing as entertainment. Listening to music. Watching movies. Listening/watching concerts. Watching sports events. Shopping. Talking/sharing with friends. Talking/sharing with friends WHILE listening to music or watching movies or listening/watching concerts or watching sporting events or shopping.
2. Everyone will have three devices 1) smartphone (Swiss Army Knife) 2) iPad (entertainment tool) and a 3) Laptop for work.
3. Most people will be using the iPad for engaging with their friends while experiencing “events”. (For a list of events, see number 1 above.)

Why am I convinced of these things, knowing full well that numbers DO lie and any good statistician can tweak things to create a favorable graph? Well, because of the following stats of course!

• 1% of all Internet traffic comes from iPads. This number doesn’t include the amount time spent on iPad apps!
• The peak usage for iPads is between 6am – 8am/8pm – 10pm.
• On average, people spend twice as much time on an iPad optimized site than a standard site.
• Wineshopper sells twice as much wine from their iPad site than they do their standard site.
• With 33% of all Internet traffic from the US (10% internationally) on Facebook throughout the day; the default state of the Internet is going to be social (and mobile).

I believe that Facebook understands this and this is why they’ve taken so long to create an iPad app. Imagine how powerful interactions could be with a native (or HTML5) app. (Even though we won’t have to rely on our imagination much longer. I hope they get it right.) LinkedIn will also be able to utilize the iPad heavily for the very same reasons listed in number one. The only difference would be a more business focus and for those of us that have worked in great organizations, we know that we learn many thing from our peers and shared experiences. I’d love to see how this would change Flipboard.

As experiences online become more social in nature, the iPad will rise to the top as the preferred device.