In the history of the world of business, very few industry sectors have enjoyed the stellar growth that we have seen in electronic media and entertainment over the past few decades. There is every reason to think this rapid growth will continue, and in many cases accelerate, due to two basic factors: Booming growth in the number of people around the world who use the Internet on a regular basis, whether by fixed means, wireless devices or both; and the continuing and dramatic evolution of electronic platforms, such as smartphones, tablet computers and game consoles.

Personal electronics have quickly evolved in the following order:

1)      Sometimes on (think dial up and Internet service providers like AOL.com)

2)      Always on, thanks to the rapid adoption of broadband, whether via DSL, cable modem or smartphone, and ever higher Internet access speeds

3)      Always with you, thanks to the proliferation of mobile devices

4)      Always around you, where, in the near future, the advent of pervasive computing devices and remote wireless sensors will connect us to, or collect data from, an astonishing array of objects ranging from appliances and air conditioning systems to monitors that record our individual health statistics.

Globally, by the beginning of 2011, there were already more than 5 billion active cellphone subscriptions in a world of fewer than 7 billion people, and 2 billion people worldwide were Internet users. These numbers will continue to grow. In particular, the number of cellphone subscribers who adopt smartphones and use them to access the Internet, games and apps (unique, downloadable applications that enable users to enjoy instant access to media) will soar, as will the number of people carrying app-laden tablets such as the iPad.

Three extremely important sectors of this evolving personal communications and media world are electronic games, apps and social media (GASM), and the lines between these three sectors frequently blur. For example, multiplayer online games encourage communication between communities of players, while social media like Facebook are often the platforms that support the most popular games, like FarmVille. Meanwhile, apps are rapidly becoming the tool of choice for launching a wide variety of communications and entertainment tools and Internet sites.

The global electronic games industry is so vast that it already rivals the categories of adult and children’s books in terms of total revenues. The advertising industry has jumped into the GASM field in a massive way, as the number of hours spent by consumers accessing GASM daily has become much too large to ignore. Likewise, media, professional sports and entertainment giants have entered the field with great enthusiasm.

The growth in the user base of GASM worldwide has been nothing short of stellar. By mid-2011, Facebook had approximately 700 million users, LinkedIn more than 100 million, Twitter more than 200 million and Microsoft’s Xbox Live more than 30 million paying subscribers. (Note the “paying” subscribers factor in the Xbox online games services—a significant factor compared to the free accounts provided to users of social media services like Twitter.)

Meanwhile, approximately 200 million seventh-generation game consoles (referring to the latest units now on the market like the Sony PlayStation 3) had been sold worldwide by early 2011, along with about 700 million Wii games, 425 million PlayStation 3 games and 500 million Xbox 360 games. In fact, the global games industry, including hardware and software, had reached the $60 billion per year range. While the global recession of 2008-09 was hard on the games industry, new games and enhanced console technology have put life back into the business.

Apps, including those for magazines, information services such as health site WebMD, games, newspapers, catalogs and ebook readers, to name but a few of the tens of thousands of uses, didn’t really exist before the introduction of the iconic iPhone smartphone a few years ago.  For 2010, Gartner estimated global app store revenues at $6.77 billion.  That was only an early stage in this soaring business sector.  For example, the Apple iTunes App Store launched in July 2008 with only about 500 apps available. By June 2011, Apple had approved more than 500,000 apps, and more than 400,000 of them were live in the iTunes App Store. Analysts at Gartner estimated that 4.5 billion apps were downloaded in 2010. Gartner predicted volume to grow to 21.6 billion downloads by 2013 that will produce $29.5 billion in revenue.

By mid 2011, figures for apps for Apple products alone indicated there were at least 85,000 app creators worldwide. By one estimate, 37% of all apps are free downloads, while the average price for paid apps is $3.64.

Meanwhile, more than 200,000 apps were also available for the Android mobile phone operating system (the world’s leading smartphone platform), as well as thousands more for the Blackberry and other devices. Android is the mobile operating system developed by Google.  On all platforms, the most popular apps include games, such as Angry Birds, tools such as Google Maps, the Facebook app and entertainment and media related apps, such as those for Pandora Internet-based radio and for leading newspapers. At the same time, important apps provide tools for business people, travelers, students, hobbyists, wine drinkers, people who like to cook, job seekers, students, children, sports fan, shoppers, car enthusiasts and myriad other special interest niches.
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