The digital residue that now trails behind every human being who engages with the internet and mobile phone technology is emerging in the shape of a mathematical formula for human behaviour.

As Mark Buchanan observed in his recent article in New Scientist, data is like gold dust and for decades the speculative nature of social science has prevented it from being anything more than a poor cousin of the hard sciences.

However the advent of social media and the mobile phone means that social behaviour is now very much quantifiable.

A team at Northeastern University used mobile phone data to analyse human movements and found they could predict where an individual would be within 1km of a mobile phone tower with 90% accuracy. The resulting statistics showed a mathematical pattern strikingly like those of other organisms with even those who step outside the standard home-work-home commute ultimately fitting within a set pattern.

In addition the data now obtainable through group and individual activity on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook means social scientists are now practically drowning in behavioural data.

It seems then that a formula for human interaction may not be far away and despite the advent of technology and its apparent transformation of our lives with social media and our mobile phones, it emulates a social pattern that may not have changed for man or mammal since the dawn of time.

www.newscientist.com

Social media sites are having a powerful effect on our lives. It’s important for marketers to understand how people use social networks, and Ethan Bloch of Flowtown has created a great infographic that shows how women leverage the social Web, which sites they use, and how much/why they participate.

Women are online and interacting on social sites just as much if not, more than their male counterparts. More than half of all American women participate in social media at least once a week, and younger women use it the most.

Summer has arrived! - It took a few years, but it finally has arrived. So there is a lot more time spent out and about, and yet I still need my fix of information. Here are a few current iPhone Apps I have been using to control my addiction:

Wimbledon App

This is a brilliant little App to keep up-to-date with all things Wimbledon. It has the latest scoreboards, which when you tilt the iPhone displays them per court that you can easily scroll though. It also has 3 wimbledon radio stations, so u can listen to the action as well as having the scoreboard visible, and easily flip between different matches.

Other useful features are the schedule of play, video clips of the daily news, information on players, tweets, photos, and Spectator information if you happen to actually be at Wimbledon. A great little App, and free!

iBooks

With the launch of the new iPhone OS4 update that is free to download, you can now enjoy some new features. However the new iBooks App doesn't just appear, you will have to download it form the iTunes store. Worth downloading, there are lots of free books to try.

Absolute Radio

If you are out on your own and bored of the music selection on your iPhone, you could download a Radio App to listen to some radio stations. I've currently tried the Absolute Radio App. Pretty simple, but has the choice of the normal Absolute Radio, a rock channel and more importantly a cheesy 80s station - ideal for the summer.

Found some interesting Apps for the iPhone or even for another phone? - leave a comment and share the love.

If you are interested you can also check out the best out and about and game apps too.

I've had my iPhone for a little while now, and can't believe how I lived without it before.

There are an amazing amount of applications out for the iPhone now, some essential, some fun, and some just plain rubbish. Some of them you pay for and others are free, but it can be a bit of minefield trying to find the ones that are worth keeping.

Here are 4 social applications that I couldn't live without when I'm on the move and need to pass some time...

Twitteriffic

There are many Twitter based Apps out there, but after trying a few, I've settled on Twitteriffic. It's ideal for seeing what your friends and colleagues are up to, and for grabbing bits of information, like when tour dates are being released for comedy events etc.

eBuddy

I use eBuddy to log into my MSN Messenger account. It's a useful way of keeping in quick contact with colleagues if I am out of the office. eBuddy let's you log into MSN or other messenger applications all at once. It's similar to the actual MSN App itself, but much more user friendly.

Facebook

This one is pretty obvious. A quick way to check what people are up to, see who has posted photos of me up from a night out, and to chat to some of my friends abroad. Basically it lets me be nosey.

WhatsApp

If I had to pick my favourite App so far, it would definitely be WhatsApp. WhatsApp is basically like text messaging on the iPhone. Though you can only message other friends who have this application. The App costs a one off payment of 59p, after that you can text any of your friends for free. The added features that make it so good is you can attach photos and video messages to the conversation and send them for free too. So for instance, a friend on holiday in New Zealand can send me a video clip pretty much instantly of him enjoying a beer on the beach, and I can send him a picture of my alarm clock in return, for waking me up at a stupid hour.

There are so many Apps out there, but the best ones are usually found through word of mouth.

So what are your favourite iPhone Apps? - Comment below to recommend any other essential iPhone Apps you can't live without, or just random ones that have no real meaning but are worth looking at...