Tablet Computing: Definitely Not A Fad

I was in Paris two weeks ago, speaking at Le Web. It was a blast - Paris was gorgeous, I had a great chance to meet some of the most influential folks in the industry. Le Web is actually one of the best opportunities to hang out with the big guys from the Valley. Back in the States, they are all too busy and hard to meet; Meanwhile, Le Web is like the geek's winter break in Europe, and everybody from the Valley kind of hangs out together at night.

More about Le Web later on, but one obvious thing that anyone couldn't miss at Le Web was that this tablet computing thing is definitely not a fad. Trust me - every single person at Le Web was browsing and tapping on an iPad.

This was probably the first business trip where I didn't bring a laptop with me. I just threw my iPad into my carry-on, and that was it. But then, it seemed like everyone else was thinking the same. Sure, Le Web participants may not be the most average bunch, but it's not like the mainstream users are alienated by tablets or think tablets are only a "geek thing." It's projected Apple and other manufacturers will sell some 40+ million tablets in 2011.

Lesson: whatever web service you're doing (Blogger included, I guess), you should not lightly dismiss supporting tablet computer users. The whole tablet computing phenomenon is very much here to stay.