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Aside from making life easier for us on-the-run, mobile apps are also having the unwitting effect of training us for the eventual demise of the PC – and organizations should get ready for that new world, according to Jay Byrne, CEO of online market research and support agency v-Fluence Interactive. “Point-of-consumption content opportunities and risks are booming, and organizations that are not positioning themselves now for the related shifts will find themselves at significant disadvantages,” Byrne said.

It may be harder for the X and Y generations to envision a completely PC-free world, but they will be leading the way with their rapid adoption of mobile and other point-of-consumption interactive tools that will dominate how we interact every day with computers.

Those seeking consumer- and other key-stakeholder influence should ask themselves some key questions: Where and when are their key points of decision and consumption, and how do they effectively participate at those places and at those times? For many, those transaction points will be via some mobile application interfacing with a smart phone, car GPS system or other Web- enabled appliance or device.

For example, Apple recently announced its billionth app download, and a Pew Internet & American Life report predicts that by 2020, more content will be consumed by mobile devices than all other platforms— PC included. For example, food shoppers in Japan are already using mobile phone cameras enabled with bar code readers to check on the quality of individual cuts of meat and compare products with mobile shopping assistants that draw content from consumer-generated sources.  Also notable, the “home of the future,” as promoted by Microsoft, does not have a single PC or laptop on site but enables us to envision seamless interactions with smart appliances like refrigerators and medicine cabinets, which can (will) track and manage our food and healthcare uses and needs.

v-Fluence Interactive’s research and monitoring has evaluated an array of emerging apps across food, nutrition, health and energy industries that range from mobile “best gas price” finders that draw from consumer-provided price comparisons linked to your location while driving, to pharmaceutical “pill phones” to remind you to take and/or order your prescriptions.

“Those with the most successful profiles integrate social participation by end users over suppliers. It’s not yet time to abandon your social media strategies for an all-mobile focus, but, as with all aspects of the Web from blogs and beyond, the best approach is layered, building on a foundation that includes a strategic, integrated and best practice-based Web 1.0 presence that extends effectively into 2.0 spaces and the mobile arena,” Byrne said.