The relationship between humans and computers today seem stronger than the social relationships between humans. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that computers play a critical role in most human relations. The massive impact of computers on humans has been made possible by the concept of mobile computing. Mobile computing is the relationship between computers and humans where the computer is capable of being used while mobile and where the computer enables mobile connectivity. The concept of mobile computing has been in existence for decades (Elgan, 2017) . It started when technological advancement enabled the creation of a computer small enough to be carried around. Connectivity to this devices would be based on telephone connections. The small computers could be used on the go, more so when using motorized transport. By the end of the 1980s came the laptop computer followed by the palm top computers. These relatively miniature computers were specifically designed to be used while on the move (Elgan, 2017) . They were also designed to be able to connect to the internet.
The advent of the smartphone and cloud computing enabled the proliferation of mobile computing while the advent of the internet of things is creating an era where mobile computing shall be the dominant technology in the world. T he smartphone was a mobile phone that could also act as a computer to some extent. The advancements of the smartphone with a software-based operating system such as iOS and Android led to the creation of a smartphone that could undertake almost all the functions of a computer (Elgan, 2017) . This new generation smartphone ushered in the real proliferation of mobile computing (Rahimi et al, 2014) . Finally, the internet of things, based on cloud computing and internet connectivity, has enabled different pieces of technology such as cars, TV sets, and speakers among others to play mobile computing roles (Whitmore, Agarwal & Da, 2015) . Initially, mobile computing played a small role in commerce which then grew into a major role. Today, mobile computing is playing a dominant role in commerce, and it is possible that in future, mobile computing will have overall control of commerce (Wang, Chen & Wang, 2015) . Mobile computing started as an industry in itself, but eventually, all industries might fall under mobile computing.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Mobile computing has brought significant influence on business globally. By 1902, the whole world had been connected by telegraph, meaning that a message from one corner of the globe could reach all six continents on a matter of minutes (Ramos, 2017) . In spite of this advancement, the world remained divided from a commercial perspective with international trade happening in pockets. The proliferation of mobile computing created by the combination of a mobile phone and the internet changed that in a matter of years within the course of the 20 th century. The world has almost been reduced to one large market with multinationals being able to factor in a global market (Liu & Long, 2015) . Today, a person in Australia can directly find out about an American product, get in contact with the manufacturer, purchase the product all through the internet. Amazon, one of the largest retailers in the world specializes in this online sales (Smith, Rupp, & Offodile, 2017) . The outcome of the globalization of commerce has made business so powerful that currently, commercial interests take precedence over political precedents (Rottig, 2016) . This has been made possible by mobile computing.
During the 20 th century, advertising became one of the most powerful marketing tools. However, advertising was also a tool of control due to its high cost, limited only to the most dominant companies. Modern mobile computing created social media which took away the voice from the few and gave it to the many. Today, a creative mind with only an internet-enabled mobile phone can have a greater impact than a TV advert worth millions of dollars (Ashley & Tuten, 2015) . Advertising is still as critical to commercial success as it has always been, but it is no longer limited to the rich.
The concept of information being power is more important in commerce than in any other field. It is possible to sell any simple product for a premium price as long as the customer is not aware of the existence of alternatives. Before the proliferation of mobile computing, information was extremely limited. Indeed, powerful marketers would arm-twist mainstream advertising agents so that information about cheaper alternatives may not be propagated. The consumer would more often than not be at the mercy of these powerful marketers. The modern consumer is now better informed, a fact that is not in the best interest of marketers as they can no longer control the narrative (Köffer, Fielt & Niehaves, 2015; Kim & Johnson, 2016) . The fight over the now more informed and powerful customer has augmented cutthroat competition amongst marketers including price wars that have in extreme cases brought down companies.
Mobile computing has resulted in an information age that has resulted in a mixed-blessing for entrepreneurs. As indicated above ; a global market has been created leading to a business community that is more powerful than the political class. Further, the customer is also extremely informed. Through mobile computing, the powerful customers have come together to form a powerful regulatory movement that is more powerful than formal regulation (Tiago & Veríssimo, 2014) . For example, accusations of running a sweatshop in a third world country can get an American company fined by formal regulators. Many companies pay these fines and move on. A similar accusation through a social media regulators campaign can lead to an exodus of customers and, in extreme cases, the collapse of a company (Paulikaite, 2015) .
References
Ashley, C., & Tuten, T. (2015). Creative strategies in social media marketing: An exploratory study of branded social content and consumer engagement. Psychology & Marketing , 32 (1), 15-27
Elgan, M. (2017, December 09). With smartphones like these, why do we need laptops? Retrieved March 03, 2018, from https://www.computerworld.com/article/3241233/smartphones/with-smartphones-like-these-why-do-we-need-laptops.html
Kim, A. J., & Johnson, K. K. (2016). Power of consumers using social media: Examining the influences of brand-related user-generated content on Facebook. Computers in Human Behavior , 58 , 98-108
Köffer, S., Fielt, E., & Niehaves, B. (2015). IT consumerization and its effects on IT business value, IT capabilities, and the IT function. In PACIS 2015 Proceedings: Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems . The Association for Information Systems (AIS)
Liu, G., & Rong, K. (2015). The nature of the Co-evolutionary process: Complex product development in the mobile computing Industry’s business ecosystem. Group & Organization Management , 40 (6), 809-842
Paulikaite, M. (2015, October 05). Anti-branding: a way to destroy brands? Case of Apple Inc. Retrieved March 03, 2018, from http://www.brandba.se/blog/2015/10/2/anti-branding-a-way-to-destroy-brands-case-of-apple-inc
Rahimi, M. R., Ren, J., Liu, C. H., Vasilakos, A. V., & Venkatasubramanian, N. (2014). Mobile cloud computing: A survey, state of art and future directions. Mobile Networks and Applications , 19 (2), 133-143
Ramos, D. (2017, April 21). How technology created a global village - and put us at each other's throats. Retrieved March 03, 2018, from https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2017/04/21/how-technology-created-global-village-and-put-each-other-throats/pu7MyoAkdyVComb9aKyu6K/story.html
Rottig, D. (2016). Institutions and emerging markets: Effects and implications for multinational corporations. International Journal of Emerging Markets , 11 (1), 2-17
Smith, A. D., Rupp, W. T., & Offodile, O. F. (2017). Amazon. com, Inc.: Retailing giant to high-tech player?(pp. 3-6)
Tiago, M. T. P. M. B., & Veríssimo, J. M. C. (2014). Digital marketing and social media: Why bother?. Business Horizons , 57 (6), 703-708
Wang, Y., Chen, R., & Wang, D. C. (2015). A survey of mobile cloud computing applications: perspectives and challenges. Wireless Personal Communications , 80 (4), 1607-1623
Whitmore, A., Agarwal, A., & Da Xu, L. (2015). The Internet of Things—A survey of topics and trends. Information Systems Frontiers , 17 (2), 261-274
