A new infographic from digital company 34SP has revealed some interesting statistics about the state of desktop computing in light of the mobile revolution – and makes some striking predictions for the future of mobile and desktop search.

In the past two years, the infographic tells us, mobile search has grown by an incredible 500%. Global mobile data traffic in 2011 was 8 times greater than in 2010, and average smartphone use almost tripled in 2011 alone. Ultimately, 34SP predicts that mobile internet usage will overtake desktop internet usage as soon as 2015, with overall mobile data traffic expected to grow to 10.8 exabytes per month by 2016.

The infographic also indicates that social media has played a significant role in the expansion of mobile internet – 48% of people use their mobile device for social networking, and in 2011 Twitter CEO Dick Costolo revealed that approximately 40% of all tweets were sent out from mobile devices. M-commerce is also booming, with 29% of consumers using their smartphones for shopping, and 12% of tablet owners using their devices to shop every single day.

In light of these statistics, it seems essential for businesses to begin (or maintain) an emphasis on mobile and social based offerings for their consumers. Will you be updating your mobile web strategy after reading 34SP’s report?

Twitter’s founder and CEO, Dick Costolo, made a recent appearance at The Economist Group Conference in San Francisco, and revealed that Twitter generated more advertising revenue from its mobile platform than its desktop version in the last quarter. The news comes following Twitter’s choice to implement ads into smartphone users’ timelines as of February of this year.

The success of the campaign not only highlights Twitter’s increasing mobile marketing success, but also reinforces the growing trend amongst users for accessing social media platforms through remote devices, such as smartphones and tablets.

Ironically, declaration of Twitter’s progress has come at a time when its main competitor, Facebook, has been facing criticism for its mobile marketing approach and increasing pressure to improve its offering.

Commenting on Twitter’s mobile advertising strategies, Costolo said: “We’re borne of mobile. We have an ad platform that already is inherently suited to mobile, even though we launched our platform on the Web and only started running ads on mobile recently.”

The successes and difficulties of the respective platforms demonstrate the benefits and the pitfalls of digital marketing through social media. Done well, mobile marketing can be a hugely beneficial tool in any digital marketer’s arsenal, but Facebook’s current plight serves as a warning that even the biggest companies can have difficulty getting it right.