As change accelerates and the internet brings people together, the scale at which we communicate and innovate has become much larger and faster, leaving behind a trail of information that is very valuable to many companies.
- More than half of the world, or over 4 billion people, are now online. U.S. adults spend an average of six hours per day on digital media; over half of that time entails mobile devices. Internet usage continues to grow rapidly, with many digital services still growing at or near 50% versus last year.
- To put this in perspective, the number of users of some of the largest digital networks surpasses the populations of massive countries such as China and India, as well as the smaller United States (see Alger On the Money “Digital Empires Thrive on Users”).
- The high volume of internet interactions each minute is creating massive volumes of data. Internet traffic is anticipated to grow 24% annually from 2016 through 2021, creating gigantic amounts of accompanying data.
- As we navigate the internet, we leave behind “digital breadcrumbs” that provide information on our preferences to businesses. The companies included in the chart above are benefitting from high volume internet usage, and they are also using the resulting data to increase efficiency and productivity (see Alger On the Money “When Data Runs the Show”). Applying a comprehensive framework to internet companies can help investors understand the growth opportunity they represent.
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