2016 State of the Internet Trends Report

From Mary Meeker

[engine]

The annual State of the Internet Trends report published by Mary Meeker shows some interesting patterns and trends in audience, growth, advertising, messaging, video and audio communications.

Some of the key points:-
[*]Global Internet users have surpassed 3Billion
[*]Internet advertising (particularly via mobile) continues to grow, but so does ad-blocking.
[*]Voice-based interfaces are ramping quickly.
[*]Data has become a treasure trove for marketers, but privacy remains a concern.

Here's a video to help make consumption of the data easier.



Here's the report (PDF)
http://dq756f9pzlyr3.cloudfront.net/file/2016_internet_trends_report_final.pdf

[blend27]

at 6:18

428 million mobile users(China, India and Indonesia) use AdBlocking software on mobile devices - Data from PageFare.

WOW

[engine]

I'm also sitting up and taking notice that ten blue links should be much less of importance in a future strategy.

[JS_Harris]

I'm also sitting up and taking notice that ten blue links should be much less of importance in a future strategy.

I've been saying that for a long while now. If you look ahead to where Google is heading, and what's going on in general, your business model can't rely on Google alone for traffic. Even Google is attacking the value of rankings and voice+AI may eventually make them as useful online as a librarian.

You have some time, however, because Google hasn't figured out how to get the advertiser between the user and the data with voice just yet. Without that Google simply won't move forward. It is all about the money in the end so as long as you have a viable method of placing yourself downwind from ad dollars you'll be fine. It's not until a bot is the only thing downwind that Google becomes truly worthless to a webmaster.

[RedBar]

An interesting presentation. I'm in the UK and had to keep stopping it to find out who some of these companies were she was referring to, supposedly global companies I have never heard of before!

[keyplyr]

aside: Mary Meeker is a partner at the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. In 2014, she was listed as the 77th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes. She has predicted Apple is the past, Amazon is the future.

[engine]

I've been saying that for a long while now. If you look ahead to where Google is heading, and what's going on in general, your business model can't rely on Google alone for traffic.

Singing from the same hymn sheet.
I think the trends shown on this indicate it'll have even less true value.

The real question is, how the vast majority of business is going to change. Clearly, big business can cope because, well, it's got the budgets, the resources, and the brand.

[EditorialGuy]

I've been saying that for a long while now. If you look ahead to where Google is heading, and what's going on in general, your business model can't rely on Google alone for traffic.

The report isn't about Google. Or about traffic, for that matter.

It also raises as many questions as it answers. Smartphones are on the increase, for example (although the growth rate is slowing, and most growth is coming from developing countries). But, ad blocking for mobile is a much bigger problem than it is for desktop, so--if you have a site that depends on advertising, or if you're relying on advertising to reach prospects--how much of the farm should you bet on mobile?

Some of the PDF report's slides have factoids that raise even more questions. For example, the report says that Millennials are attuned to using two screens at once, but "Generation Z" users are comfortable using five screens simultaneously. If you're hoping to reach GenZ readers or viewers with ads, or to earn revenue from ads that target GenZ users, that "five-screen" figure may be disquieting, because it suggests that ad blindness (or ad invisibility) will be an even bigger problem with GenZ users than with Web users overall.

[jmccormac]

Let's party like it's 1999 Forgive me for being cynical but is there a bubble about to burst?

Regards...jmcc

[engine]

Ad blindness is a problem, no matter how many screens you use, imho.

As far as mobile is concerned, it's more than just delivering five blue links on smarphones. It's about a complete change in the way of data consumption. Video is easy to consume, whatever platform is used. It's only limitation is bandwidth, especially in remote areas, and the problems associated with net neutrality.

Delivering data is more than just a website with text and images; it's apps, video, chat, etc. Earning money from those might be different in that subscriptions, or app sales might make up for the ad-supported publishers.

This report certainly prompts more questions.

[EditorialGuy]

Ad blindness is a problem, no matter how many screens you use, imho.

But it becomes more of a problem if you aren't paying full attention (or any attention) to some of those five screens. At some point, a percentage of those screens are like radios that are left on and play to an empty room.

[akmac]

Wow, that was like drinking from a fire hydrant.

[RedBar]

but "Generation Z" users are comfortable using five screens simultaneously

Hmmm, what do they mean by five screens? A couple of desktop monitors, a tablet and a couple of smartphones? If so then I'm way ahead of Generation Z and have been for several years already and I'm a baby boomer.

I don't think I have ever seen anyone using five smartphones all at the same time, or are we referring to gaming machines and TVs as well sitting at home with their phones and tablets?

[keyplyr]

If that's the 5 screens (desktop, notebook, tablet, phone & smart TV) then I qualify. What do I win?

[danielro]

What the key points really mean for me:

Global Internet users have surpassed 3Billion
---- More poor people got smartphones

Internet advertising (particularly via mobile) continues to grow, but so does ad-blocking.
---- We/companies are in a spending boom

Voice-based interfaces are ramping quickly.
---- The best spy tools eva

Data has become a treasure trove for marketers, but privacy remains a concern.
---- Marketing is the same, privacy was never a concern

[toidi]

I watch my 15 yr old grandson use instasnapvine on his phone. He is in and out of 3 different apps faster than i imagined fingers could move. He is socializing with friends on 3 different apps at the same time. He knows that an ad is going to take him somewhere else that is out of his control. They see the internet differently than we do.

[RedBar]

Slightly off-topic, my 7 year old grand-daughter far prefers using a mouse with its built-in gestures rather than touch screens even though she's used such screens for more than 4 years ... horses for courses I guess?