Ecology combines with technology?

A cycle came to an end on Thursday afternoon, when the doors of the establishment located at 1217 Alameda Santos, Sao Paulo, closed the last time. That address worked the ultimate unity of Monkey, a network that grew to 63 stores throughout Brazil. The end of the Monkey is the best example of the changes that are happening in the Brazilian Internet user's point of view and mark a new phase for an institution that has been synonymous with digital inclusion: a lan house.

According to Nielsen / NetRatings, there was a decrease in access to the internet through internet cafes while the number of Brazilian band C and D who can buy computers and access the Internet from their homes increases every month.

Moreover, some 33 million Brazilians still rely on them to connect - 49% of internet accesses in Brazil occur through Internet cafes.
The decline of the traditional model of Internet cafes is a reflection of economic change in the country plus a cheaper and easier to buy computers - factors which together are profoundly changing the way the Brazilians behave online.

Tingling. Two factors were instrumental in closing the last Monkey - one that plagues all internet cafes and other premises of a peculiarity of Alameda Santos. The first is the change in user profile: boys playing Counter Strike for people wanting to use Messenger and Orkut. "This seemed like an anthill before, we passed by password. But now the kids play at home, just go to the store in championships, "said Leandro Montoya, who was manager of the Monkey, 2008 until closing last week.

Except that even with this loss of users who come to play in their own homes, followed Monkey lucrative guarantees Montoya. But not as in times past. "As she lies in a prime area, highly valued, compensated longer sell or lease the building," he explains.

Thiago Silva, owner of GigaByte, Vila Borges, west of Sao Paulo also feels the change in the skin through which runs the business. With the difference that your shop is in a poor neighborhood of Sao Paulo, which prevents the use of real estate transactions. The solution was to create a new source of income: "Living alone lan house no longer. Here, I fix computers, install programs. Have to have something more, "says Silva.

Exception to the scenario that has been presented is the GamenetX, in Moema district, south of the city. The store still stands as the beginning: it offers fast connection and powerful computers, focusing on game users. The store owner says that Alexander Gasparini faces the same problems as other home, but found a niche. "The professional tournaments in Counter Strike have sustained. A company can rent our space and get organized. They pay three to four times more than we are billed on a typical day. "

The end of an era. The traditional business model of Internet cafes over. Who is sentencia Mario Brandao, president of the Brazilian Digital Inclusion Centers, citing as the reason for declining the extreme similarity of all Internet cafes: "It's like a food court that all restaurants serve the same dish."

But he believes that the Internet cafes will remain very significant in Brazilian digital life. To demonstrate how they can coexist, offering an attractive, he invites us to make a trip: "In my lan house (in the neighborhood of Abolition in Rio de Janeiro), have according to the distance education institutions, and I'm going partnership with schools. At 100 meters, has a lan house all dark, a full immersion environment, which is for staff to play. More than 50 meters, you find only a xerox, cartridge change, printing. Walk a mile for the other hand, has another that specializes in VoIP Four, one near the other, not compete with each other and offer something more. "


With internet access in Brazil getting more homemade, Messenger, Orkut, Facebook and Twitter - beyond games - become fully integrated services to the daily lives of people, such as cell phones. It remains to convince the public internet cafes which can offer something that people do not find the connection in the comfort of their homes. Welcome to phase two - is it the last?