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!

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 :)

Pilih Sendiri Petualangan [Musik]mu

[ini adalah guest post di aldosianturi.com.]

Saya (ceritanya) anggota band. Sebuah band yang berkat bantuan si Aldo ini, sempet manggung di sebuah acara musik rock internasional yang berlangsung di Jakarta. Band ini juga yang cuma punya sederet kecil prestasi, yang tidak termasuk pernah rilis album. Kenapa? File-file masternya hilang. Klasiklah, masalah-masalahnya.

Konon sih band ini udah malang melintang dari jaman Poster Cafe, ikut festival dan pensi sana-sini, dan seperti banyak band lainnya sempat vakum, gonta-ganti personil. Pernah juga lagunya tembus ke no.1 chart indie sebuah radio Jakarta, dan lagu lain malah nyaris masuk ke kompilasi dari radio tersebut. Yah, banyak nyaris-nyarisnya lah.

Kalau melihat dari sisi profesional gue, yang pernah jadi anak major label, materinya bagus kok. Gak boong. Cuma gak mainstream aja. Dan menurut gue, kalau diaransir sedikit lain dan dinyanyikan orang lain, mungkin bisa jadi lagu pop yang bagus. Nggak akan pernah tau, karena nggak pernah dikerjain.

Baca selanjutnya di aldosianturi.com.

[REFLECTION] Our Secret Expectations

The cruelty that is Jakarta, is that it never lets us think, reflect, or contemplate. From the moment we wake up early in the morning, usually a good time for reflection and prayer, we're forced to plunge ourselves into our routines of preparation for work or school or whatever; we have not yet made peace with the new day and given it purpose, so we rush into it - because there's no other way, like trying to stuff in a huge hamburger in 2 minutes. We probably haven't made peace with yesterday, either.

In Vietnam, 1 Year Later

Exactly 1 year ago, Saskia and I packed our bags - 2 large suitcases, 32 kg each; 1 small suitcase, 10 kg, a large backpack and tote bag - and went to Soekarno-Hatta International airport. Our parents were there, and a few of our friends were kind enough to see us off, to an adventure of a lifetime. We were moving to Vietnam.

After 2 apartments (we moved to an apartment complex in a nicer area in April) and right now in the middle of a move to a new office building, we've had the opportunity to take trips to Phan Thiet and the Mekong Delta, and I've had the opportunity to visit Hanoi.

[GEEK POST] 5 Reasons Why I'm Still Using A BlackBerry

RIM has certainly lost a lot of steam these days. With sales dropping like flies across the globe, the future looks uncertain because no one in the world will know exactly how successful - or not - the upcoming QNX-based phones will fare. It certainly didn't do well for the Playbook, which in all accounts is actually a solid hardware product with a mediocre software product. With the trend in computing - mobile or otherwise - is obviously moving towards a focus on software (the OS and apps), we have yet to see how RIM will ride tomorrow's waves behind the giant ships of iOS and Android.

Of course, all this doesn't matter for the average consumer, and I consider myself one. I do keep tabs on tech news and the latest trends in computing, but at the end of the day, I choose what works for me as a consumer. And for me, the BlackBerry works.

Bus Schedule for Phu My Hung - Dong Khoi Shuttle Bus, Ho Chi Minh City

So, there's a shuttle bus that goes around Phu My Hung, District 7, HCMC and drops everyone at Dong Khoi in District 1, HCMC (and vice versa). Currently the ticket price is 15,000 VND, making it a better option than a taxi (which might cost around 120,000 VND one way). I have adapted the map found on the Phu My Hung website so it is slightly more readable. (Click the image for a larger version)



Here's a handy timetable also, if the picture confuses you. The times below are the departure times from each stop.

Route 1 (Area H)			Route 2 (Area H)
Phu My Hung (Sky Garden Cafe)	Dong Khoi		Phu My Hung (My Khanh)	Dong Khoi
07:00	07:30		07:00	07:45
08:00	08:30		08:15	09:00
09:00	09:30		09:30	10:15
10:00	10:30		11:30	12:15
11:00	11:30		14:15	15:00
12:00	12:30		15:30	16:15
13:00	13:30		17:00	17:40
14:00	14:30		18:30	19:15
15:00	15:30		20:30	21:30
16:00	16:30
17:00	17:30
17:30	18:00	(only on weekdays)
18:00	18:30
19:00	19:30
20:00	20:30
21:00	21:30

Indonesians Working Abroad - Why or Why Not?

Well, here's another theory why "not many" Indonesians work and stay abroad:

The fact is, there are a lot of Indonesians abroad. A LOT. Working and living abroad. They're just not that visible, because:

1. Indonesians tend to adapt themselves to the local traditions of wherever they work and live, at least in public.


2. Indonesians do bring their culture abroad, but usually for their own consumption; i.e. food. Even in Singapore, which arguably has a lot of Indonesians living and visiting, there is only a handful of authentic Indonesian restaurants.


3. By the numbers, there are not many Indonesians abroad compared to people from other countries, i.e. India, China, and Vietnam.

There's also the real issue of job competition. In a world economy teetering on recession, not many jobs are available - for anyone - in Europe or North America, the usual "dream location" for overseas work. A language barrier stands between many and a job in other Asian countries, because many otherwise qualified people may not have the necessary English-speaking or local-language skills to work effectively. Also, for many, the simple fact that the local culture is totally different from what they are used to, living is often impractical or uncomfortable.

These many factors, compounded by the fact that most Indonesians would be reluctant to leave their extended families behind, has probably prevented many people from trying their luck abroad.

Let me share my experience on living abroad, if I may:

The Lighter Side Of Nguyễn Tấn Dũng

So it started a few days ago. I was browsing for Vietnamese Twitter users (which was relatively easy as there not so many yet) and I found the Twitter account of the Prime Minister himself, Nguyễn Tấn Dũng. So I followed him. And here's what happened next:



I'll never be sure if it is really him tweeting (so far I think it really is him) but among his tweets, there are rare comedic gems that would be unexpected from a head of state.

Here's a compilation of "greatest hits":

[gallery]