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Jakarta Post

Henky Prihatna: Googly over technology

JP/Mariel GrazellaGoogle Inc

Mariel Grazella (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, October 27, 2011

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Henky Prihatna: Googly over technology

J

span class="inline inline-left">JP/Mariel GrazellaGoogle Inc. took its baby steps into the Indonesian market by launching a series of television campaigns last month. “The Web is What You Make It” campaign tagline lauded three so-called “web-heroes”.

The first campaign, “My Beloved Lia” or “Lia Tersayang”, featured a father who wrote emails for his young daughter while the other two showed movements organized online – the “Blood For Life” drive by Vanessa Randa and the “Indonesia Goes Gardening”, or “Indonesia Berkebun”, by Ridwan Kamil.

“We want to invite people to use the Internet not only for viewing but also for doing,” Google Inc. Indonesia Country Consultant Henky Prihatna told The Jakarta Post.

He added that Google hoped to create awareness of their browser, Google Chrome, during this initial campaign.

As the only Google representative in Indonesia, these campaigns and many more lie in his hands.

“My role for Google is very interesting. I do many things from establishing government relationships to developing business through marketing and sales,” said the man who is still in his early 30s.

A noted social media evangelist, Henky’s role in Google aptly began with his LinkedIn profile.

LinkedIn is a website in which people could post their professional resume to network with others in various industries.

Google saw his profile, contacted him and eventually hired him as the Regional Community Manager for the Japan and Asia-Pacific Region before appointing him as country consultant in 2010.

“I was working from the headquarters [in the US] and at the end of the year, the president asked me about the possibility of expanding to Indonesia and my return to Indonesia because I understood the market.”

Much of his understanding of the Indonesian market was accumulated through the projects he launched during his days as a tech entrepreneur.

“I have always liked to tinker with electronics, ever since I was a child,” he said. “I fell in love with the Internet because you could create endlessly through it.”

He added that the Internet enabled him gain recognition for his creativity and learn more from the various people that made up the online communities.

One of his earliest creations was a website he designed during his college years in Jakarta in 1998. The website became a medium for people from Jambi, his native hometown, to commune online.

This venture led to many other freelance projects, including the award-winning Babaflash website, which mediated a community of freelance web developers, designers, animators and illustrators.

He then established the brick-and-mortar spin-off of the website, the Babastudio, which became a training center for web makers.

“At that time, I saw that information technology was not only a hobby, but also a business and a means of helping other people,” he said regarding his entrepreneurial quest.

He added that his entrepreneurial spirit was encouraged by his father, a palm oil and swallow’s nest businessman whom Henky considers his foremost role model, friend and consultant.

“The advice which I remembered most from him is that entrepreneurs must be capable of making bold decisions. Second, an entrepreneur must be disciplined and smart in managing schedules and priorities,” he said.

Henky said that his parents did not always grasp what he was doing in the tech field.

“They asked me if Google was some sort of animal,” he said with a chuckle.

However, Henky set aside his business in 2006 to take up higher education in Singapore, where he ended up working for OgilvyAction and Eyeka Asia Pacific, forming valuable networks with major brands.

He added that tech entrepreneurs of today must possess networking prowess to achieve success. The first key to networking, according to Henky, was “just be yourself”.

“The second is to expand your mind and then learn to believe,” he said, adding that tech entrepreneurs should buck the “geeks or nerds can’t socialize” stereotype.

“Information technology has touched the lives of everyone, including the media and not just programmers,” said the man who has authored books on technology and became a finalist for MTV Beda – a show featuring inspirational youth.

He added that Indonesian tech entrepreneurs wishing to make it to Silicon Valley must shed their fear of competition and speaking out and trying new ideas.

“Indonesians are smart but what is most critical is the person themselves,” he said, pointing out that many tech entrepreneurs lacked “eagerness” and were quick to rest on their laurels.

“The challenge is also that they do not have any long-term planning and form start-ups just because it is easy to get money from investors,” he said.

In the end, these companies fail to make something of value, let alone keep the business sustainable and scalable.

“Google itself focuses on what the users need,” he said.

However, when asked about future Google projects tailored to Indonesian users, as well as when Google would officially establish an office here, Henky chose not to elaborate.

“I can’t share on that, but it’s already in our calendar and [projects] will focus more on the user.”

It was previously reported that Google had met the Ministry of Information and Technology on the possibility of establishing an office in Indonesia. The plan has yet to materialize, despite news that Google had invested at least US$100 million in Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Besides users, Google has also paid attention to those who make up the corporation. Henky characterized the work environment in the company as distinctly “googly”.

“The people there are nice and always encouraging. I am not afraid to share,” he said.

When he is not involved in Google affairs, the new father of one said he spends his downtime playing table tennis or indulging in karaoke.

“You should hear me sing,” he said with a laugh.

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