Official Google Australia Blog: The next billion Internet users

Australia Blog

News and notes from Google Down Under

The next billion Internet users

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

From 2010 to 2015, we estimate that one billion people from emerging markets will get online for the first time. While these new web users will be unlike those from developed countries in many ways, including the fact that they’ll probably access the web for the first time from a mobile device, they’ll share with the first two billion Internet users the desire to preserve and promote their culture and grow their businesses online. On Monday we held a press event in Singapore to discuss this shifting Internet landscape and what Google is doing to support these new citizens of the web.

Nelson Mattos, Vice President of Product & Engineering for Europe and Emerging Markets, talked about efforts to make the Internet faster and cheaper to drive adoption. This includes Free Zone powered by Google, in places such as the Philippines, which provides free access to Google Search, Gmail, and Google+ on feature phones. Nelson also talked about new tools to make it easier to get more local information onto the web, including Google+ pages for businesses, and Trader, which lets SMBs post goods for sale without needing a separate website.

Lalit Katragadda, Country Head, India Product, later spoke of the need for a more visual Internet experience, like that offered by YouTube and Google+ Hangouts, and how these services will make the Internet more engaging across language and cultural barriers. He also talked about how crowdsourcing will be critical to building a web that will be relevant and useful for these new emerging market users. Google Map Maker, for example, relies on citizen cartographers to map their world, and since starting in India as a way to make better maps of the subcontinent, it has become an important part of crisis response including efforts from the United Nations.

Finally Adam Smith, Head of YouTube in Asia Pacific, discussed how online video gives emerging market users a voice and helps spread and preserve culture. Telugu content lovers no longer have to be in India to watch their favorite Tollywood films or vegetarian cooking videos. And PSY — from Korean local star to the most-watched YouTube video of all time in just six months — shows how global culture now better reflects the true diversity of the globe.

With a billion more Internet users coming online, the global marketplace for ideas will grow from two to three billion people — that means a billion more people contributing and benefiting from the world’s best ideas, talents and more. “Gangnam Style” proves that the next big global entertainment phenomenon can come from anywhere. Next time, it might be from India’s Bollywood or Tollywood film industries. And what about the next Khan Academy? With many of the world’s best education systems located in Asia, it is a safe bet there is plenty to learn from the next billion people coming online.

Or, it may not be entertainment or education at all — it may be a world-changing business insight or a better way to prevent the spread of disease. The Internet's about to get a lot larger, while at the same time bringing us all closer together.
Posted by Julian Persaud, Managing Director, Google Southeast Asia

Google

Labels

20%
3D
AdSense
AdWords
AdWords Express
Agencies
agencies adwords TV
AI
Analytics
android
announcements
antarctica
App Marketplace
apps
ARIA
art
Australia
Australian IT
big data
Big Query
blogging
blogs
books
broadband
business
calendar
campaign management
careers
CeBIT
chrome
Chromebox
Chromecast
climate
cloud computing
competition
computer science
conversion tracking
cooking
creativity
culture
currents
cyber safety
cycling
dashboard
Developer Day
developers
devices
digital advertising
digital economy
Display
display ads
Doodles
drive
earphones
ebooks
education
Election
energy
enhanced campaigns
Enterprise
entertainment
entrepreneurship
environment
environmental insights explorer
Equatorgate
Fairfax
film
filtering
G'day Google
gardening
Getting Aussie Business Online
Gmail
gone google
gonegoogle
google
Google App Engine
Google Apps
Google Apps for Business
Google Apps for Education
Google Art Project
Google Arts & Culture
Google Assistant
Google Australia
Google Chrome
Google Code
Google docs
Google Drive
Google Earth
Google in Australia
google maps
Google Places
google play
Google Search
Google Serve
Google Sites
Google Talk
Google Trends
Google+
Googlers and culture
government
green
Guest blogger
guest speakers
Hangouts
hardware
HR
iGoogle
information
innovation
insights
internet
internet industry
IT
Julia Gillard
language
learning
life
local
Made By Google
maps
measurement
media industry
mobile
Moderator
movies
music
navigation
NBN
Nest
netball
new features
news
NGEN
non-profit
online advertising
online safety
open government
open source
Partnerships
phone
picasa
Pixel
Pixel Buds
play
Policy
politics
prime minister
privacy
prizes
Product
PSI
publishers
puppies
real estate
Reception
recruitment
removals
rentals
reporting
research
Running
Safety
scholarships
schools
science
search
search ads
Security
shopping
sitelinks
sketchup
small business
smartphones
SMB
software
street view
student programs
students
Stupid Google employee tricks
Summer of Code
Support
Support Act
survey
sustainability
sydney
symphony
tablet
technology
Themes
tips
training
transit
translate
transparency
transport
Universities
vault
videos
voicesearch
Wave
wellbeing
women
workplace culture
YouTube
YouTube Kids
YouTube Live
YouTube Music
YouTube Originals
zeitgeiest

Feed

Media contacts

If you are a member of the press, please email our communications team at:
press-australia-nz@google.com

For all other enquiries, please visit our Help Centre.

Google
Privacy
Terms

Australia Blog

The next billion Internet users

Labels

Archive

Feed

Media contacts