Seizing the Internet Opportunity

Overview

What are you doing online right now? If you say you’re working, that may - or may not - be true. Indeed, there is a fine line at present between what is time wasting and money making activities online. And that shows the power - and opportunity - that the Web presents to all of us today.

In Just a Minute on the Web...

Recently, the data analytics firm Statista published a fascinating piece on just what is being done online every minute of every day today. The article,“A Minute on the Internet in 2021,” was prepared by Claire Jenik, a data journalist with the company. Statista’s infographic (shown in Figure 1 below) is based on research as to what everyone globally is doing collectively on the Internet today as compiled by Lori Lewis of AllAccess.com. You can view the more in-depth version of their analysis here.

Figure 1: A Minute on the Internet in 2021

Consider that in 2021, activity metrics show that every 60 seconds, people from all over the globe:

• Download well over 400,000 apps from the Apple App Store or Google Play;
• Send almost 200 million emails;
• Exchange 70 million messages via Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp;
• Send over 21 million text messages;
• Tweet 200,000 times on Twitter;
• Scroll Facebook 1.4 million times;
• Make over 9,000 connections on LinkedIn;
• Swipe over 2 million times on Tinder;
• Create over 3 million Snaps on SnapChat;
• See 2 million viewers on Twitch;
• Upload 500 hours of content to YouTube;
• Create almost 700,000 stories on Instagram;
• Download 5,000 TikToks; and
• Spent $1.6 million U.S. dollars online.

Analysis

What do these activity metrics tell us about what we are doing online today? As a management professor and consultant, I view them with encouragement. These are signs that the “creative economy” is indeed working, even as our definition of “working” changes markedly. While some still view the Internet more as a wasteland where our time and energy goes to die, I look upon all of this activity with optimism. The freedom to explore, to create, and to express has never been greater than it is today. And people not just here in the United States, but indeed all around the world, are taking advantage of this unprecedented opportunity to make their mark on the Web. And what is taking shape is indeed a different business model, where everyone - no matter how young or how old, how rich or how poor, or where one might be located - so long as you have an Internet connection - can participate in what is today a truly global online economy.

We are truly at an inflection point, where anyone and everyone can not just join in an online conversation, but use the Internet as a platform to create not just an online identity for themselves - and derive income - and in many cases significant income - in the process. It is indeed a new world, and it is exciting to think of how all of this will develop even more and enable individuals all around the globe to make their mark - and in many cases make a living - online. And so we are seeing and experiencing - in real time - the birth of an Age of Entrepreneurship that likely the world has never seen before. What the results, the consequences of all of this will be - both for good and for bad - will be fascinating to see develop as the Internet truly changes the game every minute of every day.

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About David Wyld

David Wyld is a Professor of Strategic Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, publisher, executive educator, and experienced expert witness. You can view all of his work at https://authory.com/DavidWyld.

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