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Digital democracy, entrepreneurship, and broadband rule RI Internet in 2014
Connected: People enjoy social networking by using their mobile devices in Jakarta
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Connected:: People enjoy social networking by using their mobile devices in Jakarta. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo) (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
Connected: People enjoy social networking by using their mobile devices in Jakarta. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
The past year has been one with new highs for the Internet in Indonesia. Albeit remaining issues in access, 2014 witnessed the nation and its citizens drive democracy and entrepreneurship ' two dominant themes of yester year ' through the online world.
Dickson Seow, Twitter's head of communications for Asia Pacific, noted that Indonesia's presidential election this year bore testament to digital democracy.
'Digital democracy is the ability for political parties, candidates, and voters to be able to talk with each other in real-time through social media,' he said from Twitter's office in Singapore.
A top five market for Twitter, Indonesia unleashed 95 million tweets related to the elections as compared to India's 60 million election-related tweets, he added. India falls in the top 10 main markets for the micro-blogging platform.
Shinto Nugroho, Google Indonesia head of public policy and government relations, added that crowdsourcing information online was a highlight of the year, as demonstrated through the elections as well.
'Communities and volunteers gathered online, followed up by physical meet-ups. The Internet has truly helped democracy to materialize,' she said.
Google Indonesia data shows that in comparison with the 2009 elections, the amount of election-relates searches went up by approximately 47 percent.
She added that through the use of memes and other creative content, Indonesian proved that they were 'content creators with awesome potential'.
Rishi Jaitly, Twitter Media Partnership Head for India and Indonesia, pointed out that the government could continue harnessing the power of social media as a 'place to drive efficiencies within the government'.
Besides live updates and public discussions, the government could use the platform to spread important information, such as emergency alerts such as earthquakes.
'through our experience in many countries, we do know that Twitter data can also be used to paint a picture of the wisdom of the crowd,' he said.
Shinto said the government could utilize online tools, from video calls to chatrooms, to establish two-way communication with citizens. 'They can use this to get input from people,' she said, adding that 'politicians should engage with people like you and I to generate ideas'.
Social media campaigns reflected the importance of first-time voters, which would remain as a powerhouse in the next elections given Indonesia's youthful demographics.
Anand Tilak, Facebook Indonesia country manager, added that social media campaigns to court younger voters was a grand strategy shared by all those campaigning.
Mentions and other related content on the Indonesian elections reached 200 million, outnumbering the 77 million generated during the latest US presidential election.
'Two-thirds of the interaction came from people aged 24 years and younger ' younger people who earlier did not feel connected with politicians now had an opinion and were serious about it,' he said.
He added Facebook 'learned a lot through the elections' as well. 'We learned much on the importance of localization and knowing the pulse of the market,' he added.
Seperately, towards the end of the year, Tokopedia, a local e-commerce website, received US$100 million in funding from two giant, international investors, SoftBank Corp. and Sequoia Capital.
The news generated positive vibes in the e-commerce space as the investment signaled attention to the local market. The merger between OLX Indonesia and Berniaga, two major classified ads websites, further pumped spirits.
'I think the [investment] should be considered as a good momentum, and Indonesian entrepreneurs need to use this momentum,' William Tanuwijaya, Tokopedia founder, said.
Tokopedia had the ability to pick among the drove of investors based on 'whom we think is best for the company,' he added.
'And I plan to spend the next two years making Tokopedia a billion dollar company with initiative, worthy of competition with global players, Indonesia can be proud of,' he said.
Jason Lamuda, founder of e-commerce site, Berrybenka.com, said that the sizable investments and mergers in the e-commerce space, were the success stories that would boost the morale of the young industry.
'This whole year has been very positive because the Indonesian Internet space is glowing brighter, and attracting eyes,' he said.
'And as the industry grows, we [businesses] would need to attract the kind of funding that will fuel future growth,' he added.
And closing the year was the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, which entangled itself in controversies in the past, announcing that mobile operators could now run tests for 4G, or LTE networks.
The tests will be the basis for regulator framework regarding the latest telecommunications technology which promises faster mobile broadband speeds.
'4G networks have become my priority. We would focus first on preparing related permits and licenses, in addition to customer service,' he said.
'Having this technology available would prove to be essential for startups, because without good access, growth would be hampered,' he added.
