Sunday, December 09, 2012

High Indonesian Internet Growth Rate

Mary Meeker's presentation 2012 Internet Trends Year-End Update shows China with the largest increase in  Internet users, followed by India (first table), neither of which is surprising. But third is Indonesia, with a 58% growth rate. The penetration rate is only 23%, so there is considerable room for growth.

But one point I suggest should not be overlooked is that while smart phones and tablets use similar technology, they provide very different user experiences.

One obvious use for mobile Internet access is education. But I suggest it is a mistake to build "mobile" applications, without taking into account the difference between a smart phone experience and tablet. There will be different uses for each.

One aspect of Meeker's presentation which was curious is that while the statistics show Asia overtaking the USA for Internet/mobile use, most of the remaining slides in the presentation concentrated on USA's use of the Internet. If corporations (and universities) wish to have an impact in Internet products and services, then they need to direct their attention to where the growing market is, not the USA.

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