A few years ago, Simon Gladwell penned “The Tipping Point,” which, as a concept, became a Tipping Point. Mobile video has reached powerhouse status. Smartphone users have the ability to shoot and upload on the fly. And then came the Flip series of camcorders. HD for $200 and a no-hassle uplink to YouTube. Brilliant. Purists finally had an outlet for their creative whims.

And now, with the iPhone 3GS, the rest of us have an excuse to create beautiful content. Typically, mobile video has been thought of as a 15-fps, grainy exercise in frustration. Apple, in typical brilliant fashion, upped the ante, giving their newest incarnation of the annual iPhone hardware the ability to shoot and edit glorious 30-fps video on the fly.

There’s a number of apps that have already hit the market to capitalize on the video features, like Kyte, and uploading services like Posterous. These apps/sites instantly distribute content across multiple social media channels. Twitter and Facebook, being the front-runners in social media, can instantly let followers/friends know that the user is broadcasting new content.

Thanks to these new apps, plus iPhone’s built-in integration with MobileMe and YouTube, online video distribution has skyrocketed over the past few weeks. YouTube is reporting a 400% increase in mobile uploads since the day the iPhone released.

Keep in mind that more than 500,000 iPhone 3GS’ have been sold to date. 28% of the new buyers were leaving their old carrier. 12% were ditching a Blackberry device.

To the non-iPhone user, it might seem silly that the market is pandering to iPhone users! But, to marketers, it makes plenty of sense: iPhone users are evangelists just waiting for an opportunity to share their love for their favorite brands. And now, that opportunity is merely a few taps away.

The smart brand will allow consumers to broadcast. The brilliant brand will enable and empower the consumer to broadcast. Brands need to give their Buying Society the opportunities to get out their phones and begin creating content.

Want to engage with your customers? There’s an app for that!