When the history of the Internet is written, 2000 will be noted as the year when this exciting new medium engulfed Asia. The market is booming. The number of online users is expected to more than triple in the next three years, from about 20 million today to 64 million in 2003. As home to half the world's population and 40% of global GDP, Asia's Internet business potential is staggering.
The timing of this boom could not be better. Over the past two years, the financial crisis in Asia caused many executives to take their eyes off the Internet ball so they could concentrate on more pressing concerns--such as survival. But it is now abundantly clear that Asia is turning to the Net with a vengeance. The pace of Internet deals, partnerships, infrastructure building and consumer acceptance has picked up dramatically in the past six months alone.
The Internet will play a major role in how Asian economies rebuild themselves as they come out of the crisis. Burgeoning e-commerce businesses will revive trade growth; shipments of personal computers and networking equipment will dramatically increase to fill demand caused by the Internet's popularity; financial markets in the region will continue to adjust to the new realities of the electronic marketplace.
These developments will allow for a more powerful connection in Asia between capital and technology. Over the next few years Asian entrepreneurs will not need to go to Silicon Valley or NASDAQ to feed their development or capital-raising needs. Already we see a range of initiatives in Malaysia, Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong to create new financial markets and technology incubators that will smooth this path.
Critical to the success of the Internet in Asia is localization. Asia's cultural diversity needs to be reflected. Too much of the Internet is in English, and too much of that is American in flavor and outlook. I hope that the Internet will act as a catalyst for cultural and economic expression for Asians, rather than a medium that flattens out uniqueness. It is paramount that the Internet adapt itself to local values and languages, so that it will be seen as a tool for development and progress, and not as a threat.
The interactive nature of the Web makes it a good vehicle for encouraging cultural expression, both within Asia and from Asia to the rest of the world. Unlike TV, which is a one-way medium that leads to one-way cultural dialogue, the Web encourages self-expression and interactivity, which should in turn serve to strengthen local values. The Web should also serve as a bulwark for some of Asia's smaller cultures that have in the past 25 years suffered under a global media onslaught. The Web provides a way to push back.
Interactivity is central to the idea of community, which I believe is the heart of the Internet. The Web's power comes from an unprecedented ability to bring ideas, people and commerce together into communities of interest. As an example, this summer in South Korea my company, Lycos, launched a personal homepage-builder community service called Tripod. In only 10 days more than 80,000 Koreans created homepages. Successful entrepreneurs in Asia over the next few years will be those who grasp the Web's power to create communities and learn how to weave local values and interests into them.
There are potential problems: payment systems are still underdeveloped; over-zealous taxation could strangle e-commerce; the gap between information haves and have-nots will increase. But there is no turning back. A major change in thinking is taking place in this region. Just a year ago, predictions of the Web's influence over all aspects of commercial life in Asia were often met with skepticism, or worse. Now, any negative sentiment is gone, and Asian executives are ready to play on Internet time.