WildBlueSkies – Trends and strategies in Digital Media

I-Cube which traditionally mapped internet users in urban India has for the first time covered rural India in a survey jointly undertaken by IMRB International and IAMAI. The results – 15.1 million claimed to be computer literate, while 5.5 million people claimed that they used internet at some point in time, with active users numbering about 3.3 million.
Clearly, with rural India comprising almost more than 50% of the population, there is where the volumes lie. However, of the estimated 568 million rural population, 368 million are literate and just about 63 million of these are english speaking. Compare this with China, where, “users in the countryside surged by 60.8% year-on-year to 84.6 million, compared with much more modest growth of 35.6% in the urban areas.”
Does this make a good enough case for vernacular content?
Perhaps, and perhaps vernacular content may not be enough. Access and applications would be key to drive growth in the rural areas, and perhaps a shift in the Internet as we know it – expect voice based applications to gain in prominence. I remember hearing about a voice based interface being designed at one point in time – not sure how far that went.

Related posts:

1. Of 45.3 Mln Active Indian Internet Users, 47% Don’t See Use
2. Internet In The Great Indian Story
3. Nokia Gears Up For The Indian Rural Markets
4. Job Search Second Most Popular Online Activity for Indians
5. China’s Online Population Crosses 298 Million

Filed under: India, Statistics