Some Internet Stats

Thursday, 24 March 2011 06:53

Written by Resti Reyes. Jr.

Let’s talk some more about this new medium called the internet. Just how extensive is its influence over the general population? Do we have statistics to show that indeed, it has achieved critical mass and that it is now a major media channel affecting the way we think? Has it attained that level of penetration that traditional media has long established, making them de facto shapers of public opinion? By the way, the new buzz word for this concept is “thought leaders”.

So, let the numbers speak…

Global data

1. There are now approximately 2 billion people connected to the internet worldwide

2. 70% of them use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter

3. 25% per year – growth rate of memberships in social networking sites

This makes social networks the single biggest media distribution channel in the world, far surpassing the audience size of any traditional media network

Philippine Stats

1. Out of an estimated 95 million population, 32% are on the internet, or more than 30 million people. This is a market size that is 5 times bigger than the whole of Singapore

2. Among the different socio-eco classes, the SEC class ABC1 has 82% internet access. Class C2 has 53%; and even class DE has 15%. As you might have guessed, most of the lower classes access the internet through internet cafes.

3. More than 82% are on social networks. Facebook has more than 15 million users, making the Philippines their 8^th biggest market; Friendster has more than 26 million members, and the Philippines is their biggest market; 3.4 million are on Twitter, making us the 4^th biggest Twitter market in Asia

4. YouTube – the Philippines is a global leader in online video consumption. We cannot get enough of Charice and Maria Aragon. And almost every week there is a new YouTube sensation. After Justin Bieber, there was Rebecca Black. Now it’s Alexandra Wallace.

5. 11 million are online gamers. Online games – it’s one of the most overlooked audience sectors on the internet. That’s surprising because everyone knows it is a huge market. Just ask your office staff how many of them played Mafia Wars and Farmville.

6. 81% are below 30 years old. This is not a surprise. What is a surprise is that there are pockets of older people who are very active on the net – those who are in their 50’s, for example. These are the guys (and gals) who are rediscovering and reconnecting with all their long lost high school buddies from 30-40 years ago.

7. Blogs. 90% have read blogs; 42% are regular blog readers; and 66% have written or created blogs. Bloggers are the new columnists. They are thought leaders, not just opinion leaders.

8. These are the top 10 websites frequented by Filipinos:

a. Facebook

b. Yahoo

c. Google.com

d. Google.com.ph

e. YouTube

f. Blogger

g. Wikipedia

h. Twitter

i. Friendster

j. Multiply

Key observations:

The internet is now a bigger medium than print
Some internet channels have bigger audiences than their local traditional media channel counterparts – cf. YouTube or Facebook and Friendster versus ABS-CBN or GMA7
People’s habits and media consumption patterns are evolving. As more and more people get connected, they tend to spend more time on the internet than on any traditional media. If this is not happening to you personally, then you are getting left behind.
Mobile internet is still at a very low 5% penetration, but it is the sector that is growing the most rapidly. All you have to do is observe the latest round of television commercials coming from the major telcos. They don’t push their calls and texting services anymore. Facebook and Twitter – these are the new darlings (read: killer apps) of the telcos.

We’ve said this before, and we’ll say it again because it deserves repeating… the growth in internet connectivity will be coming more from mobile devices than from the old fashioned desktop computers of the previous generation. Yes, we are already in the next generation of computational evolution. Social networking is a web 2.0 application – a radically different program from the previously more popular web 1.0 apps, best exemplified by the e-group.

Factors that are fueling the accelerating trend towards digitalization of media consumption:
- Falling prices of hardware. You can now buy laptops for under P10,000.
- More and more hardware options. More than desktops and laptops, smart phones are the popular choices, and they are now being quickly overtaken by the tablet, the newest hardware format
- Affordable broadband. All the major telcos are moving as swiftly as possible to bring ever faster speeds and higher bandwidths to consumers, at continuously eroding prices.

There are other factors, but these would be the most significant. The other factors would include such things as the contribution of OFW dollars sent to spoiled lower middle class teenagers who can’t wait to buy iPads.

The digital divide. This will be the next hot issue among sociologists and economists – as the more affluent become more and more wired, they leave behind those who are unable to keep pace, and as these guys get left behind technology-wise, this fact will then be the bigger factor that will stunt their economic growth. Not being connected will deny them access to new ideas, new information, new ways of doing things, new ways of thinking. A new vicious cycle is born.
A new Pareto model will emerge: the top 20% of the most wired segment of the population will account for 80% of all internet traffic. But this will not be parallel to the socio-eco class pyramid. The emerging digital class pyramid will favor the upper middle class over the top 1% of the population, wealth-wise. Wealthy old foggies will be unable to cope with the rapidly changing digital media landscape.

They can barely understand Twitter, let alone Tumblr, Groupon or Foursquare.