Yes it’s here: five finger marketing, which is another way of saying that messages are coming to you on your cell phone. If you have a cell phone, you can send or receive text messages, or you may be able to access the Internet – and thus, your Facebook page. And if you have a so-called smartphone – iPhone, Blackberry or Android – you can download “apps” or applications that do everything from help you balance your budget to help you decide where to dine.

Back in the 90s, we were first introduced to websites. “Why would we want one of those?” we asked. Now businesses wouldn’t be caught dead without one. Then cell phones became popular – at first clunky, then sleeker. Now we text and take pictures as if it was second nature. In the last decade, the rise of social networks – MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn – have changed/enhanced the way we communicate with each other. Our lives – both business and personal – are influenced by real time updates, and speed. Speed and information. Information at our fingertips. The next wave is here: mobile technology. A few words about “apps” or applications:

The following bullet points were paraphrased from a recent CNBC special called “Planet of the Apps.”

*The launch of the Apple iPhone in June of 2007 gave birth to a revolution in mobile technology—an apps explosion.

*As the popularity of apps continues to soar, users view them as an essential tool for everyday life. Apple has opened the door for outside developers to create new apps and a new breed of entrepreneurs allowing anyone from an engineer to a Hollywood star to an everyday person to become an app developer.

*There are more than 100,000 apps available today and they do just about everything from helping you catch a cab to balancing your budget.

*Now, with more than 100,000 apps available, developers need to market their apps and companies like The New York Times, Sports Illustrated and even CNBC are looking to apps as a tool to complement their print and broadcast media.

*Apple announced that more than three billion applications—or apps—have been downloaded from its App Store by iPhone and iPod touch users worldwide.

*iPhone and iPod touch customers in 77 countries worldwide can choose from a range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel, Apple said.

*Studies estimate, the Apple iPhone apps store alone generates about $200 million a month in sales.

Although it is too early to tell if any of the competitors can knock Apple off the throne, it has already opened up a whole new marketplace for app developers who want to make a business out of their ideas.

For around $1000, a fully loaded app can be your business’ smartphone hub. (Shameless plug: WordHampton can create one for your business.)

Additionally, you’ll want to make sure your existing website is a mobile website. These websites are formatted to ensure content is readable and attractive. Normal websites appear tiny and are difficult to read when viewed on a mobile phone. Why is this important? According to The Center for Media Research, “By 2013, mobile phones will replace PCs as the most common device for Web access.”

When I drafted this, I was on the Cross Sound Ferry en route to New Hampshire, I wanted to search for a definition of “mobile website.” I went to my iPhone, downloaded the Wikipedia app (free) from the App Store and found this definition:

The Mobile Web refers to web browser-based access to the World Wide Web using a mobile device connected to a wireless network. Traditional web access in comparison is desktop computer-based via a fixed landline connection. The total number of mobile web users grew past the total number of desktop computer-based web users for the first time in 2008 (source: International Telecommunications Union, Oct 2009).

Yeah but, this all sounds futuristic. Well, the future is now. In the Hamptons, Dan’s Papers will be marketing its own mobile app for iPhone, Blackberry and Android in the coming weeks.