The view from the future

On one of my first international trips since joining Google, it was great to come to Singapore to spend time with colleagues from across the region. It is clear that one of our big possibilities as a company is to help bring the next billion users online. Already, this region has half of the world’s mobile Internet users, and it is estimated that the majority of people who will come online in the next two years will come from Asia.

In many ways, millions of people in Asia live in the future. They are mobile first, and generally mobile-only, with a completely different way of using the Internet and technology than we're used to in the West. Being here and seeing how people and businesses use mobile and the ways they are innovating is inspiring. There is so much the West can learn — from rapid mobile adoption, to the extraordinary app development, and the proliferation of messaging apps across Asia-Pacific.

While we have plenty more to do, I am impressed by the progress we have already made. In just the last few weeks, the local teams began collaborating to bring the full Internet to many more people in India and in Indonesia. And everyday, they’re helping small businesses reach customers outside their villages, or encouraging app developers can to find new global audiences. 

With all that we are doing across Google, we have the potential to improve the lives of billions, bringing connectivity, communication, and improved content to people who have never — and may never — have a traditional computer.