The Internet Is Celebrating Its 40th Birthday – Are You On Board?

Happy 40th Birthday InternetOn November 9, 2009 the Internet will celebrate its 40th anniversary. For this great occasion Internetworldstats.com is publishing statistics about world Internet users never seen before. There is some dispute over the actual date of the birthday. Whether it is September 2nd, sometime in October or November 9th… Happy Birthday.

Who would have thought 40 years ago… when the inventors of the Internet connected scientists around the world to share information that in 2009, 25% of the population of the world have the ability to communicate instantly 24/7 from work, home, or driving in their car by computer or iphone.

North America is the most digitally advanced continent in the world.  If you are not on board with an engaging and search engine optimized Internet marketing program, you are missing out on a wealth of opportunity to target prequalified visitors looking for your treatment services.

This is a world changing and living at warp speed…  It is the norm in civilized areas of the 21st Century.   Are you and your business keeping up?

 Below is a table of the just released 2009Q3 Internet Statistics

The following table lists the estimated population for each geographic region, the number of Internet users, and the penetration rate  in each region. The expression “penetration rate” (P.R.) refers to the percentage of the population that uses the Internet.

The total number of Internet users for September 30, 2009 is estimated at 1,724,793,741. This represents a 25.5% penetration rate.

Sept 09 Worldwide Internet Stats

Information Gathering and Social Networking Changed the Way the World Used the Internet

Up until 1994, the Web had been viewed as a mainly technical and academic area, but public interest began to grow, and the term “the Internet” was finally coined in 1996. Over the course of the decade, the Internet integrated many of the previously existing public networks, and it was estimated that it was growing by 100% every year in size. Supposedly, the growth has been attributed to the fact that there has been no central administration on the Internet and that protocols are non-proprietary in nature.

Internet Users per 100 inhabitants 1997-2007

It will interesting to see how the Internet impacts our lives in another 40 years. Regulation on blogging has started and who knows what regulations will be in place down the road. All I know is I won’t be here to see it… but I am sure it will be mind boggling and an integrated way of life for for most people on the planet at that point in time.

Leave a comment below to share with me and others what you think about the Internet now as a marketing tool and where we will be in the future.