Peak Web

Have we reached the peak of internet usage? Knee jerk reaction would say "no way!"

After all, there are apparently 729 million people online (with 70% of american having broadband) and thousands coming online daily.

Still, what do you make of this graph?



This is a graph of Google, MySpace & YouTube's pageviews over the last 5 years.

Clearly, something rather dramatic happened in January's as Google's meteoric rise to search dominance seemed to peak out and actually decline for the first time, ever?

Why do you think this is? Are they getting smarter, and getting people to their destination faster? Do you ever go beyond the first page of Google to find search results? Maybe that's it.

Of course, that's just Pageviews. But a look at the Reach, or % of total users, you get this:



I think we're seeing a natural selection / survival of the fittest type things and potentially reaching internet carrying capacity.

With only so many hours in the day, and only so many things to do online, at some point you're going to have to stop and go outside.

Good advice, for me...