Let's All Pitch in to Build a Better Bubble
The economy may wax and wane, but overheated tech rhetoric lives forever. Today's how news: The internet apps for Apple's internet phone will soon be bigger than the internet. What?
An attention seeker at an attention-seeking company said something outrageous about the iPhone, and of course the news is now everywhere. Here is the specific outrageous thing, spoken by the CEO of GetJar (you don't care what that is, trust us) to the BBC:
"Apps will be as big if not bigger than the internet... They will peak at around 100,000 by the end of the year. That will be a tipping point and after that there will be a gradual fall in the rate of development. "
Every bubble needs nonsense on which to feed. Ten years ago, during the dot-com bubble, we learned the following:
- The Dow would hit 50,000 (it's now just below 9,000).
- Amazon stock would hit 400 (it
peaked around 115 andpeaked above 300 but quickly fell back to Earth and now trades for about 80) - The online ad business would be worth $28 billion by 2005 (try less than half that)
Since iPhone apps are internet apps, sold via the internet, for use on the internet, the idea they will be "bigger than the internet" somehow — in related software revenue? lines of code? time spent by users? — is nonsensical. And thus perfect for parting fools with their money! We can't wait for the first iPhone app investment fund. (Oh, nevermind, too late.)
(Pic: Steve Jobs with Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile executives for the unveiling of the iPhone in Germany, September 2007.)
