Globalisation now comprehends the movement not just of physical goods,
but also services, finance, people, information and ideas. As a result the
world is becoming ever more interlinked putting pressure on global, national
and local governance systems designed in a previous era by those with power and
influence at the time and, as trade agreements are negotiated, even now.
Technology continues to play an important role in communication, entertainment
and improving productivity. Convergence is leading to the merging of computers,
cell-phones, hi-fi, TV and other electronic devices, as well as the blending of
cable, wireless and satellite communication. The rise of outsourcing services
in countries such as India and the Philippines is underpinned by improvements
in the global telecommunications infrastructure.
The Internet plays a key role in all of this. Industry players are extremely active in producing new products and services, forming joint ventures or acquiring companies. Competition is fierce, particularly to gain access to the huge advertising revenues forecast. Litigation, protection of intellectual property and crime are all major challenges.
In the sections below, we list some of the key statistics and
developments for the two years prior to December 2007. To see how this fits
into our global outlook, we refer you to our
World overview. For more
recent information, we suggest you refer to the
MBendi Blog: Signposts to 2020 and the
twice monthly
MBendi
Newsletters.
The new products and services mentioned here provide an indication of
where Internet offerings are headed.
Competition in the area of delivering music and film was intense. In
August 2006, Universal music launched SpiralFrog, allowing free music
downloads, paid for by advertising. In September 2006, eMusic, which has 11% of
the US music download market, launched a pan-European music service offering
1.7 million tracks. Apple iTunes held a 60% market share at the time. In
September 2006, Warner Music announced it would make its library of music
videos available to YouTube. In December 2006, CNBC launched a video-led
website. In January 2007, YouTube announced plans to share Google revenues with
content uploaders. In February 2007, Walmart introduced an iTunes competitor.
In June 2007, Warner Music put its archive of music videos online for free
viewing, funded by advertising and paid downloads. In June 2007, Apple
announced plans for an iPod film rental service. In December 2007, Paramount
released new film Jackass 2.5 free via the Internet, supported by advertising,
before releasing on DVD.
In 2007 Nokia announced plans to launch a website for the download of
music to cell-phones in direct competition with Apple's iTunes. In February
2007, Vodafone announced plans to make MySpace mobile. In March 2007, the
Twitter mini-blogging service for cell-phones was launched. In June 2007, the
mobile phone industry launched MusicStation as a cell-phone competitor to the
Apple iPhone. In August 2007, Rhapsody, the MTV, RealNetworks and Verizon joint
venture and Walmart both introduced services to compete with iTunes. In
November 2007, Verizon Wireless promised to open its mobile network to all
devices and mobile Internet and backed the Long Term Evolution (LTE) for its
fourth generation network standard. In November 2007, Apple plans to announce a
new iPhone handset with faster download speeds. In December 2007, Google
announced plans to compete in the US wireless spectrum auction.
A number of services were expanded into Asia. In September 2006, News
Corporation announced plans for a Chinese version of MySpace. In October 2006,
Yahoo launched an Indian chat service for non-English speakers. In December
2006, Baidu announced plans to enter Japanese markets. In December 2006,
leading South Korean search engine NHN announced plans to enter Japanese search
market in 2007. In September 2007, Japan launched a project to counter
dominance of Google and other US companies of the Internet. In October 2007,
the .asia domain was launched. In October 2007, MySpace announced it is to
launch more sites in local languages. In November 2007, Google announced plans
for OpenSocial social networking website to compete with Facebook. In November
2007, MySpace implemented an ad system using personal information to target
adverts.
New services also emerged in Europe. In October 2006, France's leading
blogging service Skyblog announced plans to develop English, Spanish and German
versions. In October 2006, Bertelsman launched a social networking website.
The social networking segment was very active. In January 2007, MySpace
announced plans to launch websites in Canada and Mexico. In June 2007, YouTube
launched foreign language and foreign websites. In August 2007, Google
introduced a new advertising model for YouTube using semi-transparent animated
overlays. In September 2007, Yahoo started testing a social networking website.
In October 2007, Facebook announced it is translating its website into other
languages. In December 2007, Facebook changed its Beacon advertising system to
an Opt-in after protests from users.
Business applications were not ignored in the rush to provide services
to consumers, particularly of the younger generation. In September 2006, a
group of hedge funds announced plans to use a high-tech filter, dubbed
Monitor110, to trawl 40 million Internet sources for leads. In October 2006,
Cisco launched a new videoconferencing product. In October 2006, Microsoft and
Mozilla launched new versions of their browsers.In December 2006, Expedia
founder Richard Barton started the Zillow.com property website. In February
2007, Google began selling its online office software suite. In September 2007,
AOL launched a global advertising network. In October 2007, Microsoft started
testing an online version of Office. In October 2007, News Corp launched Fox
Business Network, a cable business channel competing with CNBC's highly
profitable service. In October 2007, Microsoft launched a unified
communications product, Office Communications Server.
Several other services were launched to assist both business and
consumers. In October 2006, AT&T announced a high definition television
over the Internet service to compete with cable TV. In August 2007, Google
introduced Google Sky. In November 2007, Amazon launches US$ 400 e-book
reader.
