Colombia 10 years behind the US, on the web

In terms of internet use, Colombia is where the U.S. was 10 years ago, said a Google representative.

Daniel Gerstacov, the Latin American director at the Google Press Summit, said “Colombia has the potential to be the next Argentina, which is the most advanced in the region for its sophistication in the internet.

Colombia is going to be at that level very soon.”

Gerstacov also said Colombia, Peru and Chile outshone other Latin American nations in regards to the growth of the internet as a business opportunity.

“Colombia, Peru and Chile will soon be strong leaders in the region.”

The two day summit, Google Press 4.0, began Thursday in Bogota.

Over 30 journalists from various Latin American countries gathered to hear speakers discussing topics such as searching, information management and publicity.

A issue which many speakers agreed on was that that companies need to do more to connect to and interact with users.

Gerstacov said companies should change their form of marketing, by displaying their products interactively, doing web based raffles and allowing users to purchase through the web.

This will help any company, from a small restaurant in Cartagena, to a big nationwide business.