In Europe and North America we’ve become very comfortable with the PC desktop model of internet connectivity. We have a PC or laptop at home and/or office and may see the smartphone as more phone than portable computer.
However, that isn’t necessarily the norm in the rest of the world. For example, you may be surprised to learn that of the top ten countries ranked by number of Facebook users, Indonesia is second behind the United States (152.2 million) with 35.2 million users (according to checkfacebook.com). As with other countries where PCs never really established themselves as the standard personal interface platform, smartphones have filled the void as the primary connection device in Indonesia.
And let’s not be smug here either and assume that these emerging markets are actually behind us and catching up. In fact, they are ahead of us when it comes to mobile connectivity. People in such markets aren’t chained to the notion that one has to have a big clunky box on their desk and a 20 inch screen to enjoy what the web has to offer. They expect technology and brands to travel with them.