Mobile 2Drive Semi 4Ever!

In case you didn’t notice, TSMC’s communications revenue jumped 22% last quarter for a total revenue share of 42%, and that is just the tip of the iceberg for mobile internet. According to the global marketing research company Nielsen, double digit mobile internet adoption rates are the new normal and will continue to be so in the years to come. Only one out of six mobile devices in my family are smartphones, that is of course if you consider a four year old Blackberry smart.

I would not consider my family technologically average as I have been a closet computer geek since high school. A Commodore Pet was my first computer and I have had the latest and greatest PC on my desk/lap ever since. In regards to mobile internet however, we have been somewhat behind the curve due to my boycott of Apple products. I’ve stuck with Blackberry even though I dream of iPhones and I will wait for an Android tablet. As I have blogged before, Apple is the Open Standards Antichrist and I will have no part of it!

nar·cis·sism

/ˈnɑrsəˌsɪzɛm/ Show Spelled[nahr-suh-siz-em]
–noun
1.inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity.
2.Psychoanalysis.erotic gratification derived from admiration of one’s own physical or mental attributes, being a normal condition at the infantile level of personality development.
Why will everybody in the entire world have a smartphone and/or tablet PC in the not too distant future? One word, NARCISSISM! What else drives the masses to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, WordPress, FailBlog, Blah, Blah, Blahblahblah……… All key enablers of the mobile internet explosion.

The term Narcissism is a Freudism in regards to the personality traits of egotism, arrogance, vanity, conceit, selfishness, arrogance, elitism, and other flattering terms. A certain level of narcissism is certainly healthy and considered an essential human trait as it provides balance in perception of one’s self to others. That, of course, was before social media and mobile internet where narcissism has literally gone wild!
Unfortunately narcissism can also be a personality disorder whereby a person overestimates abilities and has an excessive need for attention, admiration, and affirmation. Again, Facebooking with hundreds of “friends” that they may or may not really know, personal tweeting to the masses, and of course world wide YouTubing. Reference: “Self-Presentation 2.0: Narcissism and Self-Esteem on Facebook” .

In conclusion, mobile internet and social media hyper feeds basic human psychological needs as well as the needs of modern semiconductor design and manufacture. Lighter, cheaper smartphones with more features, more bandwidth, and more battery life will continue to hyper drive TSMC and the semiconductor industry as a whole. That is, of course, until the next consumer technological revolution hits. My hope is that it will be personal robots who will chaperone me into senility. Imagine the possibilities, a personal robot with 250,000+ down loadable apps!

For my family however, narcissism is in check. Good grades and personal achievements feed the egos around here, that and blog views (thank you for contributing). My wife and I don’t have a Facebook page and my kids are infrequent users. Texting however, runs rampant and Android phones and tablets will arrive at my house at some point in time so this may all change.