Vast Opportunities on the Internet
Everyone who is looking to break out of their 9 to 5 routine is
seriously looking at the opportunities opening up on the
internet. It is true that ever since money making opportunities
started appearing on the internet the businesses have been more
or less centred on the USA and to a lesser extent on Europe and
Australia. The rest of the world has more or less been out of
this loop. However, statistics coming out recently make it
evident that the vastly exploding internet user community in the
rest of the world is fast outpacing the possible opportunities
in the traditional world of internet marketing.
For instance, as of end 2005 it is estimated that the total
world population that has access to the internet has crossed one
billion; one billion mind you, as compared to the total US
population of around 250 million. This will only increase and
provide huge opportunities for anyone who can identify the needs
and opportunities that become available elsewhere. Obviously,
there will be specific issues relative to different markets that
need to be addressed. Language and differing cultures play a
significant part in this exercise. For example, China today has
taken over number one position in terms of the number of people
who log onto the internet as unique users. China's Internet
population surpassed Japan by the end of 2002, jumping to the
second place in the world following the United States and today
it is estimated to have already reached the number one position,
ahead of the United States. Although the total penetration of
PCs accessible to the population, as a percentage, is much less
than in the USA it has crossed 100 million. Although young
people still account for the majority of Internet users, the
makeup of the age groups has been changing. In 1998, 91 per cent
of all netizens were between the ages of 18 and 30. By the end
of last year, that number had dropped to 51.3. At the same time,
the percentage of netizens younger than 18 has grown to 18.8.
Some 14.2 million adults aged older than 35 have joined the
ranks of Internet surfers in the past six months, expanding the
group's share to 17.8 per cent. This group includes some 3
million senior citizens aged 50 and above. It is interesting
that using the Internet for leisure ranks second among users,
more than study, getting to know friends, research or sending or
receiving e-mails. Shopping online or doing other e-businesses
accounted for only 0.4 per cent of Internet usage. This will
surely increase in days to come and provides a ground floor
opportunity for anyone looking for new markets. Joint Ventures
with Chinese internet entrepreneurs seems to be the way to go
given the lack of a broad based English knowledge among the
population of the world's fastest growing economy.
**All data taken from The China Internet Network Information
Centre's (CNNIC) report