[Manic Monday] Microsponsorship

Indonesia is one of those countries whose economy is very much supported by small to medium businesses. Imagine, thousands of businesses with relatively small revenue turnover, pushing the wheels of consumption and production. All fried foods vendors need cooking oil, LPG, food material and so on, to make their snacks feeding office and factory workers. These office and factory workers in turn work to produce something from their company, which is then offered to their customers, and so on. The sheer magnitude of this consumption and production cycle has made Indonesia an importer of foodstuffs.

Continue reading [Manic Monday] Microsponsorship

[Manic Monday] The Digital Divide’s Effect On Planning Digital Services

The digital divide is a situation where access to the internet and services provided through it are not spread equally. Centres for government and trade, and the big cities all over the world probably all have internet access, yet many areas in the world have not received it, especially in rural areas. This condition is a chicken and egg predicament – the investment to build out a network to rural areas is very costly, but the potential of internet usage in those areas is relatively small. This is why most rural connectivity projects are government supported, or through independent projects like what Google is doing.
Continue reading [Manic Monday] The Digital Divide’s Effect On Planning Digital Services

[Manic Monday] The Importance of Symbiosis Between Content And Technology

The [recorded] music industry and other content industries are not industries with a definite science; especially when compared to other consumption-based industries, like fuel, FMCG and tobacco, which have more measurable sales potential based on consumer surveys, FGDs and trade offerings. Almost all the steps of consumer product development has shaped into a process and science, from research, product development, market testing to retail offering. Since the content industry that depends on a subjective purchase decision, something that has previously been accepted by the market may not always have the same reception in the future.

Continue reading [Manic Monday] The Importance of Symbiosis Between Content And Technology

[Manic Monday] IVR May Still Be Relevant For Digital Entertainment

IVR, short for Interactive Voice Response, is actually a quite old technology, which you may have already used without you knowing. The IVR system is usually used by automated customer services by phone, which consist of voice recordings following a certain menu, accessible by pressing the numbers on your phone. The system will record the DTMF tone of each number (each number has its own DTMF tone, for numbers 0-9 and the symbols * and #), and will call up the menu according to the caller’s choice. For instance: press 1 for product info, press 2 for ordering, and so on. Ring a bell?

Continue reading [Manic Monday] IVR May Still Be Relevant For Digital Entertainment

[Manic Monday] Selling Intellectual Property Products Bundled With Other Products

The relevance of business models dependent on profit from duplication has eroded, due to the ease that digital mediums provide for duplication, at almost no extra cost, by anyone. It does not mean that this business model will disappear, but it will mean that anyone doing this type of business model must be smarter in creating the product and planning the distribution.

Continue reading [Manic Monday] Selling Intellectual Property Products Bundled With Other Products

[Manic Monday] The Essence Of Modern Indonesian Culture In Digital Products

The majority of Indonesians grew up with education in elementary school, which among other things taught about the variety of culture in Indonesia. Each province owns a large variety of cultural heritage, because of the various tribes that live in that area will always have their own language, food, clothing and dance. This cultural variety is taught to be one of Indonesia’s most precious resources that must be conserved, although practically, at least for elementary school kids, it is mostly memorising dances and wearing traditional clothing at the Independence Day parade.
Continue reading [Manic Monday] The Essence Of Modern Indonesian Culture In Digital Products

[Manic Monday] Licensing Music For Digital Services

Running a business that licenses something for digital services is not easy. First of all, the legal basis of a licensing business depends on the protection of intellectual property rights, which in reality depends on how serious the local government enforces it, especially due to the differences in regulations between countries, despite efforts of bodies like WIPO. Licensing is essentially a permissions-based business, which depends on control and trust, two things that are seemingly difficult on the internet.
Continue reading [Manic Monday] Licensing Music For Digital Services

[Manic Monday] The Digital World Has Its Roots In The Physical World

In our increasingly digital world, we still cannot separate ourselves from physical objects. We [still] have physical bodies, not in energy or electronic form, and still interact with physical things. The computer/tablet/handphone that you’re holding? That’s your window into the digital world, although this ‘window’ still differs from person to person, and that’s if they have access. Perhaps you haven’t bought a CD for years and choose to look for songs on the Internet (regardless of legality)? You’d still need a set of speakers or headphones to listen to them.

Continue reading [Manic Monday] The Digital World Has Its Roots In The Physical World

[Manic Monday] Chat Apps As Entertainment Platforms

Lately, chat services like KakaoTalk, LINE, WeChat and others are in a battle for attention from customers, with the hopes that they will download and use their apps. Some companies have spent quite a bit of money to appoint celebrities as brand ambassadors and place TV ads during prime time. Various features have been developed and promotions executed – even features like stickers have been imitated by apps that formerly did not even have chat, like Path.
Continue reading [Manic Monday] Chat Apps As Entertainment Platforms

[Manic Monday] Avoiding Digital For The Sake Of Digital

The second Music, Entrepreneurship, And Technology discussion gathering last Saturday featured a few interesting discussions, led by experts in their respective fields. Oon Arifiandi from 7Langit elaborated on developing mobile apps for music, and musician Arian Arifin explained the business potential of music merchandising. Abang Edwin SA, with his years of experience in digital communities, covered the do’s and dont’s of managing a community of fans, and Ricky Andrey shared something interesting: looking at bands as startups from a legal perspective.

Continue reading [Manic Monday] Avoiding Digital For The Sake Of Digital