Internet.org - The Moon Shot for Millennials

***Updated: The other title for this post was "The Internet Dream - Manifest Destiny", i changed it to the above title.

Let me tell you why I think the new internet.org non profit initiative matters , let me tell you why I think the web and app ecosystems are only half way there in terms of their impact on humanity. Let me tell you about my experience with the internet dream , and why I think it's about to spread to everyone on the planet:

Also if you havent seen it yet, watch this internet.org marketing video for context. It is a great video with a John F. Kennedy speech providing the narrative:

I am a 90s kid . Born in Soviet Russia in the 80s, I grew up in Silicon Valley in the 90s. I currently work for a Norwegian Internet pioneer, Opera.com , that has been leading the internet revolution since the 90s , and is continuing to bring hundreds of millions of people online for the first time or in some of the furthest reaches of the world. As such I have been at the forefront of the internet dream my entire life .

From Moscow , to the EU, to sunny California a major focus of my life , or the life of my entire generation it seems,  has been the internet. How we live life , work , socialize , dream , and learn has been changed by the web and continues to change with apps in our pocket. 

As someone who has been dreaming the internet dream all my life , I believe that the  internet dream has a manifest destiny. The Web needs to go global, it needs to reach the furthest corners and pockets of humanity . 

To me and my fellow web generation , it is clear that the mobile web needs to reach the next 5 billion . We are ready to share the dream of the internet beyond the 2.7 billion people who dream it today . It is exciting to see the idea catching on over the past 6 months.

The tech community has had the following 3 key realizations that make me believe that the timing is ripe for fueling massive growth in the amount of people who will be connected to the web in some fashion.

The 3 key realizations are:

1. We can help the planet by bringing more people online , because getting people online : 

       - create new knowledge economies 

       - creates efficiencies in commerce and medicine

       - bridges humanity to be more harmonious

2. The best way to bring people online for the first time is mobile data . Q2 2013 was the first quarter where we saw global sales of smartphones overtake global sales of feature phones . This is a game changer for bringing the web and app ecosystems to new villages , cities , and geographies around the planet . The devices that create magical experiences are in the hands of hundreds of millions . 

3. The biggest hurdle to immediate growth is the PRICE of data . This is no small issue. Simply put the demand for data is growing so fast , it's outpacing global wireless network capacity. This type of supply and demand scenario leads to high prices . Check out this post for a sweet infographic on the mobile data tsunami.

The corollary realization is that we already have millions and millions of people within reach of wireless service , thus the lowest hanging fruit is to make data access cheaper !!!

With initiatives like Internet.org and everyoneon.org , and tech titans getting all onboard i see the web doubling and tripling in size over the next 5 years. It seems like economics and tech adoption /awareness are in a perfect place to fuel explosive growth. 

A strong example of this is that Facebook is making it's core mission to bring the next billion if not the next 5 billion people online (and into the fold of Facebook of course ;) ) . it seems now is the time for internet Manifest destiny I get a new surge of growth . 

Players like Opera , Samsung , Nokia , mediatek ,Qualcomm, Ericsson,  Google , and Apple are all jumping into the fray . 

What do you guys think ? Will we have 2x more people online in the next 5 years ? What will that do to the web ? 

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.