Monday, March 26, 2012

[Music Monday] Actually, Music Startups In Indonesia Have Been Around For A While (Part 1)

What is a startup, actually? And in the context of DailySocial, what is a tech startup, anyway? According to Wikipedia, a startup is a “company or temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model”. The article goes on to describe that “Startup companies can come in all forms, but the phrase “startup company” is often associated with high growth, technology oriented companies. Investors are generally most attracted to those new companies distinguished by their risk/reward profile and scalability”. You can read the whole thing on the link provided, but I think I’ve put the key definitions here. And I think most people would add “under 3 years old” to that criteria.

Now, with all the attention that tech startups have been receiving the past year, a quick look at the theStartuplokal.org Showcase shows a small smattering of music startups, some defunct, some only having a beta signup page, and some not live at all. Although I agree that it the list is less than comprehensive, it shows that at least music startups have largely gone unnoticed by the recent wave of media attention towards startups in general. If you don’t believe me, try an internet search for music startups in Indonesia, and see where that gets you.

Read the rest of the article at Dailysocial.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Kabaret Oriental: Anak Emas Juragan Batik


Eki Dance Company dari tanggal 20-24 Maret, 2012 menggelarkan acara Kabaret Oriental: Anak Emas Juragan Batik di Gedung Kesenian Jakarta. Mengutip dari website Indonesia Kaya,  mengangkat cerita soal perebutan cinta, harta dan tahta dalam sebuah keluarga pengusaha bisnis batik. Kabaret Oriental ini menggabungkan unsur-unsur drama, tari, musik, lagu dan multimedia kaya dengan unsur budaya oriental,  dan khusus untuk pertunjukan ini, para pemain menggunakan Batik Kudus dalam kostum-kostumnya.







Baca selanjutnya di blog Wooz.in.

Monday, March 19, 2012

[Music Monday] What An Exciting Week For Digital Music!

Who says the music industry is dead? While Napster might of spelled doom at one point in history, the past 10 years has seen an ever-accelerating comeback in the digital music space. While iTunes might still hold a dominant spot over digital music sales, more innovations and startups are breaking into the scene and making their own noise (nudge at Spotify).  I literally couldn't decide what to write about for this week's column, so I've decided to do a short summary of all the interesting news around digital music.

read the rest of the post on Dailysocial.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Oreo Fun Carnival, Jakarta



Hari ini, Wooz.in hadir di Oreo Fun Carnival, di Parkir Timur Senayan, Jakarta! Acara ini berlangsung dari hari ini, tanggal 17 Maret 2012 sampai Minggu, 18 Maret 2012, dan menyediakan berbagai permainan menarik untuk anak-anak, sekaligus mengajak anak-anak melihat proses bagaimana biskuit Oreo dibuat, lewat permainan-permainan yang seru. Acara ini merupakan bagian dari perayaan 100 tahun Oreo, dan selain sudah diselenggarakan di Bandung seminggu sebelumnya, juga dilakukan serentak di 24 negara lain.

Baca selanjutnya di blog Wooz.in.

Friday, March 16, 2012

I've Joined Wooz.in

I've been back in Jakarta, Indonesia for about 2 weeks now, and have started working for the past week; so I think it's a good time to officially share here what I'm working on. As my work has a lot to do with social media, I might as well announce it on my personal blog as well.

I have joined Wooz.in, a company founded by my university friend Ramya, which is basically a technology services company that uses RFID tag technology for social media amplification. Simply put, once you register and connect your Facebook, Twitter or any other social network account to a Wooz.in-powered RFID tag, you can tap that card to an RFID reader to 'like' things, check-in to places, and take a picture at a Wooz.in photo booth to upload to Facebook and other social networks. This creates a wonderfully engaging experience - I'm not exaggerating, I've seen it in action myself - and the possibility to connect social media with the 'real' world. Here's a video of it in action:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_Fk3LgMwzs]

We currently power various events, and we're hoping to expand our activities into other areas as a technology solution. I'll also be writing on the Wooz.in blog to talk about, well, work! But I promise, it won't be just the usual string of 'my company is currently doing this and that at where' and I'll write about the industry in general as well. If you have any questions or inquiries, suggestions, or anything at all, you can contact me directly at ario.tamat[at]wooz.in.

So, wish us luck!

Monday, March 12, 2012

[Music Monday] How Going Digital Can Help Music Licensing

Recently, many people have been talking about the so-called "future of music', on how the music industry and/or the musicians can make money from music. A lot of focus has gone into mobile music offerings, music download services, and the music streaming services much heralded to be the "next big thing". They're all basically consumer-facing businesses, where the services - and the music companies partnered with them - attempt to monetize their music library direct to the music-loving consumer.

The music licensing aspect, however, is not talked about much, and even less understood.

Read the rest of the post on DailySocial.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

The 'Long Holiday' Has Ended - Time To Go Home

[caption id="attachment_1094" align="aligncenter" width="519" caption="People's Assembly Building, with Uncle Ho's statue in front"][/caption]

Well, it was never meant to last. We even tried to hold back - unsuccessfully - from buying anything of significant size or weight, because we knew, some day, we will go home. Well, now that time has come.

[caption id="attachment_1096" align="aligncenter" width="519" caption="Bitexco Financial Tower, with Duxton Hotel in the foreground"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1101" align="aligncenter" width="519" caption="Sky Garden, Phu My Hung"][/caption]

After 17 months in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, we have decided to go back home to Jakarta, Indonesia.

[caption id="attachment_1097" align="aligncenter" width="519" caption="at a HCMC traffic light"][/caption]

I'm still at a loss to describe the multitude of roller coaster experiences that we have experienced here, but I dare say it's an experience that I will never get anywhere else. We lived in a city where the only direction that traffic won't come at you is from the sky, and where the food is absolutely fabulous. We got to experience being an expat in an exotic city, and enjoyed the virtues of a city not as crowded as Jakarta. On the work side, it was a constant plunge into the movie and TV industries - industries I may have not been able to learn if I were in Indonesia - and then some. Obviously, I learnt a lot. The good and bad of my experience in Vietnam has helped me obtain new possible perspectives to looking at problems, and at life itself. That, by itself, is already a blessing.

[caption id="attachment_1098" align="aligncenter" width="519" caption="Grilled Catfish, specialty of Cha Ca La Vong restaurant"][/caption]

I must admit, one of the main reasons we came, was that we had to get away. Clear our heads, and get a completely new life experience. But now, as fate would have it, it's time to return home. And I'm coming home, with a fresh head, to tackle fresh challenges. But let's talk about that later...

[caption id="attachment_1099" align="aligncenter" width="519" caption="Sunset at Mui Ne Red Dunes"][/caption]

Ho Chi Minh City, as a reflection of modern Vietnam, has its quirks - there's never a day that goes by without seeing or experiencing something absurd - but you can feel the energy to the city. The city's energy is definitely positive, optimistic and carefree [to a fault], compared to Jakarta's negative, survival-of-the-fittest energy.

[caption id="attachment_1100" align="aligncenter" width="519" caption="Floating Market at Can Tho"][/caption]

So. Vietnam. I've found a second home there. I'll see you again soon :)

Using BlackBerry Service In Vietnam

As an Indonesian in Vietnam, I often meet fellow Indonesians on holiday here, and one of the most frequent questions they have is: how do I use my Blackberry in Vietnam?

Well, there are basically 3 options, that would apply to most BlackBerry users:

  • International Roaming


Provided you have international roaming activated on your number, as far as I know the BlackBerry service will work. But be prepared for an enormous bill.


  • Use the service over WiFi


Free WiFi is pretty much available anywhere around HCMC (and I hear, in many other cities) - cafes, restaurants and hotels usually provide it free and most of the time, all you just need to ask for a password. The video below will show you how (video by Crackberry).

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihHkM-GVgIU]

  • Use a local operator


There are now officially two local operators in Vietnam that run the BlackBerry service. Viettel has actually had the service for a few years, but only for BlackBerry Enterprise Server users, and they only launched Blackberry Internet Server available for prepaid cards in August 2011. Mobifone just launched their Blackberry services in December 2011. Now for most users, the BIS plan for prepaid cards would be the most reasonable choice.

How to activate BlackBerry Internet Service on Viettel

For full BIS service, just send BB MAIL TUAN (weekly charging, 30,000 VND/week) or BB MAIL THANG (monthly charging, 100,000 VND/month) to 1602. If you want to see what other service options they have, you can look at Viettel's Blackberry page here, and going to the "Dich Vu" section. Unfortunately the site doesn't have an English service, but you should be able to figure it out.

How to activate BlackBerry Internet Service on Mobifone

For full BIS service, send DK BAS (monthly charging, 99,000 VND/month) or DK BASP (monthly charging, 130,000 VND, comes with 300 MB bonus data) to 999. If you want to see what other service options they have, you can look here. Luckily they have an English section.

Personally I've only been using the Viettel service, and it should be cheaper as they have a weekly charging option, ideal for those who only stay for a few days but simply can't resist getting their Crackberry fix. As a comparison, standard mobile internet packages are much cheaper compared to their BlackBerry counterparts - I used to use a standard phone with a mobile internet package that gave me 350 MB/month bonus for 50,000 VND; and if you can resist the urge to immediately share pictures to Twitter or Facebook, using the WiFi option is usually adequate.