The 2015 Internet Trends Report — An Urbantech Perspective

Mary Meeker’s 2015 Internet Trends Report did not disappoint. As I reviewed the deck, I found a few points that really resonated as we try to understand opportunities to use technology to make cities better.

Internet impact has mostly been felt by consumers and then business, but less in areas like security/safety and healthcare and least in government and regulation. This was one of Mary Meeker’s first observations in her annual Internet Trends Report. It reflects our excitement about what is still possible as entrepreneurs work to use technology to make cities better. We certainly expect continued impact on consumers and businesses, but we’re looking forward to even more positive impact in areas like local government.

There is also some blurring of “consumer” and “business” and other impact areas. For example Rachio is a consumer device that ultimately also benefits municipal water systems and HandUp makes a new layer of social services possible with direct support from consumers and businesses.

While consumer internet entrepreneurs pursue personal passion, enterprise entrepreneurs often pursue prior company pain points. Over the last 18 months, we’re been meeting entrepreneurs who are transforming concerns related to climate, society and government as they work to transform cities. It’s no accident — organizations like Code for America, NYC Acre, NYC EDC, 1776, Berlin Partner, Civic Hall, Tumml and Citymart are providing opportunities to identify issues, test ideas and connect with like-minded entrepreneurs, governments, customers and investors. As we see more success stories, we expect more investors and entrepreneurs to turn climate, social and government challenges into new businesses.

Mobile enabled urban Millennials believe they should get what they want (work, product, service) when they want it. We expect the shift from purchase to access to continue. As the sharing economy scales, it tends to become the rental economy. With the rental economy comes a new class of “asset operators”, as has long been the case in housing. With new assets, operating costs and risks, come new needs in areas ranging from from building efficiency and security to insurance, regulatory and compliance.

34% of workers in America are freelancers. What happens when more people have multiple clients, in different geographies and need not own very much? We think they will choose to move around more, creating a new category between city residents and tourists — “residists”? They could become an important part of how cities think about economic development to help with everything from training to building regional, national or even global ties.

Don’t forget design. Hidden away at the end of the presentation are some comments from John Maeda that highlight the impact of design from swiping to vote up or down, defaulting to “camera on” state in Snapchat, to automating payment for each Uber trip. They are easy to overlook, but time and again the ability to remove friction has helped drive massive adoption. We expect seemly small design details to have even more impact going forward.