Internet trends

Gerard Vanderleun brings us a summary of Mary Meeker's annual Internet Trends report, which goes in-depth on these issues:

• Global Internet users have surpassed 3B; India has supplanted the US as the world’s second-largest Internet market.

• Internet user growth remains consistent (led by acceleration in India), while smartphone user and shipment growth have slowed.

• In the face of a slowing global economy, key macro growth drivers from the past 2 decades are less certain.

• Internet advertising (particularly via mobile) continues to grow, but so does ad-blocking, pushing the envelope on development of more innovative ad formats.

• New online-first brands have rapidly grown in popularity for the millennial generation with their focus on omni-channel and personalized distribution strategies.

• In communication, video and images shared are growing as a means of storytelling; creators, consumers, and advertisers are taking part.

• Messaging has evolved from simple, expressive conversation to business-focused use cases, with Asian platforms often leading the way.

• More efficient and often more convenient than typing, voice-based interfaces are ramping quickly and creating a new paradigm for human-computer interaction.

• Transportation is being re-imagined, as the rise of car computerization, autonomous driving, and sharing transform our understanding of mobility.

• Looking to China, Internet leadership continues, as the country boasts global innovation powerhouses in e-commerce, messaging, travel, financial services, and on-demand transportation.

• The proliferation of data generated by a multitude of devices has fostered tremendous business opportunity, but privacy concerns abound.