I used to do a Trends list every year until a few years ago. Then, inexplicably, I stopped. Perhaps, it was more out of disappointment at the slow pace of change in the Indian Internet and Mobile Data space. Things are finally changing, as users, money and tech are helping bring about an acceleration in the use of the Internet in India.
The last few years have seen an acceleration in the use of the Internet in India. Starting with the convenience of ticketing (train, air, movies, bus) to the use of social networking and video, the Internet is becoming part of our daily lives – but with services that didn’t exist a decade ago. So, the Internet in India is following a different trajectory from what happened in the US, where it was the content sites that first rose to prominence.
In the next couple years, the Internet in India will reach over 200 million users with the majority of them accessing it via their smartphones and tablets on 3G and 4G networks. Social networks will current more than 100 million of us together. Video use on the Internet will rival the reach of TV’s most popular channels.
In this changing world, let us take a look at key trends for 2012.
Continued tomorrow.
