| |
| |
|
Politics Information |
|
|
|
Internet in Russia and Ukraine - Part 1. General Information and Statistics
User Base The non-US and non-English Web segments have been boosted by a growing trend towards PC penetration and cheaper Internet access in the last couple of years. The US share of the global population online, once above ninety percent, is now under a quarter, while the number of Internet users who do not speak English at all continues to grow. The Asia-Pacific region remains a key contributor to the increase in the number of non-English speakers on the Web, but the Russian Internet, aka Runet, demonstrates the accelerated pace of development as well. The Russian language on the Web was represented by 2.7 percent in March 2003, said Global Reach (http://www.global-reach.biz/globstats/index.php3), a consultancy that tracks non-English online populations. The share is quite minor, compared to English with its 35.2 percent. However, the growth rate of Runet is far more exciting; the Russian Internet audience has tripled over the last two years, registering a 40 percent increase annually. The February 2003 Report by SpyLOG (http://gs.spylog.ru/interesting.phtml?id=51%20) indicates that the total users who surf the Russian portion of the Internet have reached about 15 million, 60 percent of whom live in Russia and seven percent in Ukraine. Moscow and St.-Petersburg account for 53 percent of the total Internet users in Russia. Similarly, the Ukrainian Internet surveys reveal that the vast majority (70 percent) of Ukrainian users live in Kiev, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov and Donetsk, according to freenet.kiev.ua and mct.kiev.ua as quoted in Kyiv Post Business March 20, 2003. The Ukrainian user base grows as fast as its Russian counterpart. The total Internet users in Ukraine reached 2.5 million by year-end 2002, a 150 percent increase in a year, said the head of the Ukrainian State Committee for Communications and Information Technologies (http://mignews.com.ua/events/ukraine/73927.html). Independent marketers confirm the recent trends on the Ukrainian Internet, or Uanet for short. For example, eRus.ru (http://www.e-rus.ru/news/2003/03/251511_3939.shtml) quoted GfK-USM, a marketing company, as stating that the regular Internet users in Ukraine accounted for 6.4 percent of the total population (3.1 million of 48.4 million) in February 2003, and the number of the users who purchased products or services through the Internet was doubled when compared to February 2002. Internet Access and Prices Dial-up connection is the most common way of accessing the Internet in both Russia and Ukraine. The Ukrainian dial-up users, for example, pay $0.1 to $2.0 an hour for Internet access, depending on an ISP, time of day and availability of callback services. The monthly charge for unmetered access in Kiev currently ranges from about $4 (midnight to 9.00 a.m. with no callback support) to about $40 (24-hour access via callback service). The callback service in Kiev will save you about $0.4/hour, an additional fee charged by Ukrtelecom for connection to the local telephone line. The broadband access is rather expensive, ranging from $40/month (IDSN, 64 K/s, 1 GB monthly data transfer) to $300/month (dedicated line, 64-128 K/s, unlimited transfer) with a set-up fee of $200 to 300, plus some hidden charges that are quite common for the local providers. Thus, only corporate clients can enjoy the privilege of broadband subscription. What Users are Searching for? Like Internet users worldwide, the majority of Russian and Ukrainian surfers search the Web for information. A Yandex poll (http://www.yandex.ru/polling/9.html) shows that about 24 percent searchers use the Web for easy reference and over 15 percent use it as a research tool. A further 12 percent of those polled said the Internet was a news source for them while only 14 percent preferred online entertainment services. An increase in personal consumption in Russia and Ukraine has made a positive impact on the regional Internet. Russians and Ukrainian are increasingly relying on the Internet in order to evaluate products or services before they make their final decision to buy, whether online or offline. Currently, about 1200 online shops are listed in Magazin.ru, the largest Russian e-commerce catalogue, while CNews.ru (http://www.cnews.ru/reviews/online/) reported last year that the total number of operational online shops in Runet was 500 at the beginning of 2002. The most e-shops are online outlets of bricks-and-mortar businesses, but some "pure" online stores have opened their virtual doors as well. Most notable are bookstores such as Ozon, Biblio Globus and Books in Russia, and Bookshop, AzBooKa and Bambook in Ukraine. Despite a certain lack of high-quality online offerings in Runet and Uanet, surprisingly few Western sites offer the products and services that need no customs clearance. For example, web hosting fees in Ukraine are about two to eight times higher than those somewhere in the United States, but the service providers abroad seem to be in no hurry to enter the local market. This is also true for e-books, especially on programming and computing. Spam and Spamdexing Despite spam is still flourishing on the Russian Web, unsolicited email messages in Runet are far less aggressive than the email marketing campaigns in the US, when a news subscriber may receive bundles of advert mailings that are vaguely associated with his/her initial subscription. The more pressing issue for both users and search engines is spamdexing, i.e. unfair tricks aimed at attaining high rankings in search engines. Searching Runet for a particular key phrase can give you dozens of mirrors and doorways. Some successful SE optimizers in Russia and Ukraine openly advertise that their promotion techniques are solely based on building doorways or cloaking, which currently seems unwise on the global Internet. The top Russian search engines fight against spam in much as the most popular search engines do worldwide. For example, Yandex and Rambler penalize websites for using unfair tricks and encourage Runet users to report search engine spam. Many professional programmers and webmasters also voice their concerns about spamdexing. Articles by A. Shkondin at ClubPro.spb.ru (http://clubpro.spb.ru/) provide some classic examples of how spammers play games with the Russian search engines and Internet surfers. About The Author Vyacheslav Melnik is the founder and owner of AzureL10n (http://azurel10n.com/), a website specializing in web localization, copywriting and search engine optimization for Runet and Uanet, the Russian and Ukrainian portions of the Internet.
MORE RESOURCES:
Politics - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Another Round of EU-Iran Talks Starts April 10 - Will Iran Be Referred To The UN Security Council? Iran's objection to ratifying the International Atomic Energy Agency's Additional Protocol of the IAEA is said to be the main obstacle to dispelling fears that it is not building a nuclear weapon. Iranian and EU officials meet April 10 to try to resolve a stalemate in their negotiations over this issue. Dealing with Massive Prisoners of War In the last Gulf War we saw thousands of enemy soldiers giving up. Killing them is against Geneva Convention and they know it. Governments Worst Agency Everyone knows the United States Government often falls down in their duties. Although over all the country is great and for the most part seems to work, there are several agencies that get an "F" on their report cards from some who act as government watchdogs. Fury and Sound as GM Seeds Abound We have all heard of the huge debates surrounding genetically modified crops. Yet we also have all seen the advertising to sponsor a child in the third world. Birth of a Nation When you see hooded Klansmen walking up Pennsylvania Avenue to meet their Grand Wizard Woodrow Wilson you are witnessing the true nature of the American people's participation in a ghastly power play against people even in their own country. How could any woman trust a man who would be so callous towards blacks? The Klansmen were also freely using black women for their pleasure and taking any number of laws into their own hands. Advances in Nuclear Energy; Safe, Clean and Reliable The newest pebble reactors are easy to build and manage and have extremely high out put considering their small size, perfect for islands set down wind from populations. Unfortunately the Three-mile Island and Chernople incident make populations feel uncomfortable with Nuclear. Time for a New Canadian Party It is time for a change. A change in philosophy, a change in the 3 party system. What Did You Do In The War Daddy? This is the first of a series of four articles where my uncle, the late Mr Gordon Bessant is talking to Mr Joe Hieatt-Smith about life during the war years. They taped these recollections in 1996. Should the Government Compensate the Clients of TAT? This, of course, is a political decision. There is no "right" thing to do. The Economics of Cloning Armies or Super Families Let's put the religious part of the debate for a moment, there will be time for that later. Currently there is much ethics debate from many different religious beliefs about cloning in both the scientific communities and the church. Look! America Take a Look! I heard on the news this week how America continues to battle to bring democracy in Iraq. The people of Iraq really don't seem to want a free country governed by their own people. Why Do US Media Ignore Secret UK Government Memo On A Mega Iraq War Conspiracy? The blogosphere has been jumping around the story like crazy but it seems the mainstream media are doing their best to ignore it. Yet it's been branded the most extensive case of governing-level conspiracy plotting in ages. We Must Register AIDS Carriers and Homosexual Men It is a law that we register deadly weapons with the authorities. It is a law that if you are a black belt in a Martial Art, that you must register your hands as a deadly weapon in many states. Operation Iraqi Freedom, Soldiers and Their Psyche Have you noticed that the when the service men who have been killed in action in this war, that the journalists go harass the families and girlfriends or wives of the fallen soldiers? During these interviews I could not help but notice that the infantry warriors killed had girlfriends or wives who were full figured ethnic woman or young ladies. The inner city kind with the tough attitude; Why is this? I have several ideas why. The Senate Filibuster: The Hulk Plan and the Nuclear Option The partisan feuding in the U.S. Poverty in America: Over 35 Million Living Below the Poverty Line The problem of poverty in America comes as a surprise. How can a wealthy nation experience poverty? Though the rate of poverty is lower in a developed nation like America than in Africa, the problem of poverty is real. Fact to Fiction: The Brutal Truth about the Practice of Stoning "Like humans void of soul or mind, they jeered and yelled as they went about selecting their most jagged stones." - David Hearne, excerpt from Hulagu's Web. The Rosicrucian Council of Three THE ROSICRUCIAN COUNCIL OF THREE:A Thelema/OTO leader who became a Mason in 2003 told me that I am silly to talk about the Rosicrucian Council of Three because it is no longer in existence. Yes Clymer, Paine and Franklin are all dead physically despite the machinations and rituals to prolong life that these people often do use. Union Members Don t Be Fooled, Conservative Talkers Have it in for You Ever wonder why labor unions consistently endorse democrats over republicans in nearly every election? The answer is simple. Democratic officials support the right of workers to unionize and collectively bargain. For they know not what they do; Federal Regulators destroying business Federal Regulations on Business Destroy America, these regulations are a tax passed onto the every American. How much does Federal Regulations Cost each year to our society.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
