[jarek]

Total number of people using the internet seems like a questionable metric for valuating U.S.-based internet startups, most of which (understandably given their business stage) focus primarily on the U.S. and maybe OECD for feature development, user base growth, and monetization. It's currently a bit laughable to imagine Pinterest monetizing their Nigerian and Indonesian user bases. Is there any particular datapoint that would lead us to believe their userbase significantly extends or will extend beyond the OECD?

It's like valuating a paper products company by the total number of people in the world. Sure, they all might be able to or even want to use a paper product, but what's important when making the call is the company's ability to sell to them while still making money.

[robryan]

People are also far more comfortable spending online now, this helps both in directly monetizing users an the amount people will pay for ads.