iPhone App Social Object Design Pattern

Update: Alexa, cofounder of Foodspotting calls it the "middle tab pattern." I like the ring of it.

Four popular social-object focused iPhone apps are sharing a similar design pattern. Path, Foodspotting, Instagram, and Gowalla all have adopted action focused tab bars with 5 items. The center tab represents the core social action of the app and is raised or given emphasis visually. The left most tab is an activity feed and the right most tab is a profile. The pattern seems to be focused on making the core social action persistant and front and center. Highly interactive, and low hierarchy activity feeds (in the case of path and instagram) reinforce how the core action creates a social space (monkey see monkey do). Fueled by a hassle free find-my-friends feature this design pattern makes wrapping your head around a social app a snap.