My published works and thoughts of the day
A select group of eight aspiring Indonesian fashion designers made their international debut last week at the Blueprint expo, held at the exclusive Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore. The designers were flown to Singapore by the Asia-based fashion agency and marketing consultant A Good Life, to give the young entrepreneurs a taste of the international market. Designers Adrianus Rama Dauhan, Dana Maulana and Syarifah Liza Mashita, from the youth label Danjyo Hiyoji, along with Kleting Titis Wigati with her label...
With Indonesia now the third-largest market for Twitter, it’s hard to believe that just two years ago, the social network was just beginning to gain popularity. US location-based service Foursquare was virtually unheard of. So when Koprol, Indonesia’s first location-based social network, was launched in June 2009, you would not have been alone in thinking it was looking a little too far ahead. Instead, Koprol became one of Indonesia’s first big start-up success stories, acquired by Yahoo Indonesia in May 2010 and...
While Indonesians have quickly embraced several key elements of the information age, smartphones and social media among them, one area in which they noticeably lag behind is online shopping. According to Ivan Wibowo, head of marketing for Blibli, a new shopping Web site, the e-commerce sector in Indonesia is growing slowly, at a rate of about 4 percent in the past year, compared to 9 percent in the United States, 17 percent in Japan and 63 percent in China. There are numerous reasons why online shopping has not taken...
Indonesia’s rapid adoption of the Internet and social media, as well as its massive population and burgeoning middle class, has earned the country’s tech industry a lot of attention recently. With an average of five to 10 new start-ups popping up every month, local and international investors are intently eyeing the country’s growth potential. That’s why the Founder Institute, a training network for tech entrepreneurs that started out in Northern California’s Silicon Valley, is to open its newest branch right here...
Eli Pariser of the progressive organization MoveOn says the Internet is hiding things from us, and we don’t even know it. A very interesting TED Talk: "What Facebook and Google Are Hiding" -- please watch before you proceed. Pariser talks about how major search engines and Websites are using personalized filters to show us what we want to see, but not necessarily what we need to see. The algorithm of the Internet is a threat to democracy because it is messing up with the flow of information. He also mentioned...
Indonesia has been turning many heads as it has instinctively latched on to web-based technology and has a large population of tech-savvy Internet users, with plans to make some money with their strength in numbers. (JG Photo) New Kids On Global Tech Block What the Hell is Going on in Indonesia?” This was the title of an article by Sarah Lacy on the popular US-based tech Web site TechCrunch.com on May 27. Lacy tried to break down the burgeoning Indonesian tech industry for outsiders, writing: “It seems Indonesia...
Indonesian Fans Go Crazy for Newest Flick in Vampire Saga At the Plaza Indonesia mall cinema, a line was forming. As soon as the doors opened, there was a mad rush among the mostly teenagers and 20-somethings to get in. They were in line for the newest installment of the “Twilight Saga,” “Eclipse,” which opened in Jakarta on Wednesday. Earlier that day, Indonesian fan club Twilight Nusantara hosted an event where its members watched “Eclipse” at 9:30 a.m. One member, Iing, 24, along with her friends, wore...
A view of the Marina Bay Sands complex across Marina Bay in downtown Singapore on 23 June 2010. The USD5.6 Billion Marina Bay Sands integrated resort includes three hotel towers, a 'Skypark', shopping and convention centres. (EPA Photo/Stephen Morrison) Singapore Tries the Sky Life Move over, Merlion. The newly opened Sands SkyPark, located along the Marina Bay waterfront in Singapore, may easily give the long-running iconic landmark a run for its tourists. The SkyPark has been touted as a wondrous feat of...
The Raffles Hotel’s pool, lobby, furnishings and in-room services all speak of its commitment to luxury. (Photos courtesy of Raffles, EPA) History Meets Luxury in Old Singapore Singapore’s Raffles Hotel has a rich history dating back to 1887, making it one of the country’s oldest landmarks, one that has borne witness to the island’s changing political and social fortunes for more than a century. Named after city founder Sir Stamford Raffles, the luxurious hotel still retains the original colonial style of the...
I'm a reporter. I work at Indonesia's daily, Jakarta Globe.
Theme created for Posterous by Obox
