|
Almost a quarter of the world's population -- roughly 1.4 billion people will use the Internet regularly in 2008.
This number is expected to surpass 1.9 billion unique users, or 30
percent of the world's population, in 2012, according to IDC's Digital
Marketplace Model and Forecast.
"The Internet will have added its second billion users over a span of
about eight years, a testament to both its universal appeal and its
availability", said John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC. "In this
time, the Internet has also become more deeply integrated into the
fabric of many users' personal and professional lives, enabling them to
work, play, and socialize anytime from anywhere. These trends will
accelerate as the number of mobile users continues to soar and the
Internet becomes truly ubiquitous."
While the PC is currently the dominant means of gaining access to the
Internet, IDC expects the number of mobile devices accessing the
Internet will surpass the number of online PCs by 2012. Once on the
Internet, users will continue to spend time on Web 1.0 activities like
searching, shopping, and sending e mail. But Web 2.0 activities, such
as watching user-generated videos, posting blogs, and participating in
social networks, are quickly capturing the attention and time online of
more and more Internet users. The latter will create new opportunities
and challenges for online advertisers seeking to monetize the Internet
experience.
Other findings from IDC's Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast were:
Users will access the Internet through more than 1.5 billion devices
worldwide in 2008, including PCs, mobile phones, and online video game
consoles. By 2012, the number of devices accessing the Internet will
double to more than three billion, half of which will be mobile devices.
China passed the US in 2007 to become the country with the largest
number of Internet users. China's online population is forecast to grow
from 275 million users in 2008 to 375 million users in 2012.
Nearly half of all Internet users will make online purchases in 2008.
By 2012, there will be more than one billion online buyers worldwide
making business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions worth $US1.2 trillion.
B2B e-commerce will be 10 times larger, totalling $US12.4 trillion
worldwide in 2012.
Roughly 40 per cent of all Internet users worldwide currently have
mobile Internet access. The number of mobile Internet users will reach
546 million in 2008, almost twice as many as in 2006, and is forecast
to surpass 1.5 billion worldwide in 2012.
Source: PC World "One third of the world will be online soon" 20 July, 2008
(2393 hits/посети) |
