One Billionth Internet User

Jakob NielsonI’ve been working on a reflective article for a number of days now, in amongst the holiday activities, but ran across this from Web Usability Guru Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox blog, and just had to pass it on.

Some time in 2005, we quietly passed a dramatic milestone in Internet history: the one-billionth user went online. Because we have no central register of Internet users, we don’t know who that user was, or when he or she first logged on. Statistically, we’re likely talking about a 24-year-old woman in Shanghai.1

According to Morgan Stanley, 36% of the current billion users are in Asia. 24% are in Europe, and 23% live in North America. The first Internet communication happened in North America in 1969. It has taken 36 year for the Internet to reach its first billion users. It is projected that the two-billionth user will come online in the next ten years.

It’s a very interesting article with lots of ideas to reflect on as we enter the next year of the 21st century.

Nielsen, Jakob. “One Billion Internet Users.” Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox. 19 Dec. 2005. 24 Dec. 2005 <http://www.useit.com/alertbox/internet_growth.html>.

3 thoughts on “One Billionth Internet User”

  1. The current, and the projected billion internet users – interesting to imagine this.

    I liked the line “People all over the world are experiencing unprecedented levels of empowerment”
    It reminded me of all those other catalysts for empowerment cited in the past – information, knowledge, education,…It is intersting to realise that as we grow seemingly more connected/ more able to do things online – we grow even more disconnected, fearful and powerless in our lives offline.

  2. I am not a certified philosopher and it’s been twenty years since I was a practicing history teacher, but it seems to me that much of the turmoil, anxiety, and powerlessness, comes from an intense fear that the status quo that we depend so much on, is being threatened by change.

    Most of us, in our education, were prepared for a future of security. Today, we must not prepare for a future of security, but instead, for a future of opportunity. We need to teach children how to leverage change, not fear it. It’s a hard thing to do. It may be impossible. I’m not sure.

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