6 surprising facts about the future of the internet
Google is dominating the internet, Business Insider Intelligence
reveals in a new presentation on 'The
Future of Digital.' While the search giant's hegemony
in ad spend, mobile OS, and search traffic won't surprise
anyone, the presentation reveals a few trends in the future of
online media that are particularly relevant to developers and
entrepreneurs in emerging markets. Here are 6 major trends that
stand out:
1. New media is killing old media.
Although the report counts the entirety of Apple’s revenue as
counting for “new media”- a questionable premise- it makes a point.
In video especially, most of the ad spend is still in television-
something that's also true in the Middle East, but ad spend online
in the U.S. is
catching up.
2. Smartphone users are spending more of their time texting
and social networking (combined) than talking or browsing the
web.
Those looking to build another smartphone app might want to
consider these facts and the the massive growth of Whatsapp (which
recently went down around the
globe), LINE (which is next in LINE for
an IPO), and Snapchat. Could the experience of sharing
information over chat be improved?
3. iOS is driving the overwhelming majority of
e-commerce website traffic. Despite the fact that
Android wins at nearly everything else, including in market share
for smartphones, tablets, and generally as a computing platform,
globally and
in the Middle East, those building e-commerce sites might still
want to consider iOS. It's also driving the majority of
global ad revenue, according to BI.
4. Digital video revenue is dominated by on-demand
services. Although the vast majority of global ad spend is
still in TV, digital revenue is growing. In the U.S., Netflix
brings in far more than YouTube, while Hulu's revenue is shrinking.
As YouTube turns on ad
services in emerging markets, its revenue will continue to
accelerate. Will a platform like icflix or a VOD service like
Istikana be able to create a draw in the Arab world?
5. The wearables market is set to skyrocket,
growing from around $2 billion this year to around $12 billion
in 2018. According to Business Insider’s data, 22% of those polled
think wearables are the next big thing in mobile (more than any
other category), and yet 87% of respondents have never purchased or
received one. What do people want most, according to BI?
Medical devices that transmit data (like Instabeat,
the heartrate tracker for swimmers).
6. Finally, the most disturbing graph in the presentation is below.
With around 34% of the world's population online, and 83% of global
wealth in the hands of 20% of the human population, the
majority of wealth is likely already online. Many
e-commerce startups in this region point to growth in internet
penetration as a factor that will boost online sales, yet,
according to BI's logic, trustworthy online payment
gateways and logistics might be more important factors for
motivating the wealth that's already connected to the web.