World’s capital for Social Media

Most of the world is interconnected thanks to email and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, according to a new poll released today.

Eighty five per cent of people around the globe who are connected online send and receive emails and 62 per cent communicate through social networking sites, particularly in Indonesia, Argentina and Russia, which have the highest per centage of users.

More than eight in 10 Indonesians and about 75 per cent of people in Argentina, Russia and South Africa visit social media sites, the new Ipsos/Reuters poll showed.

Although Facebook and other popular social networking sites, blogs and forums, were founded in the United States the percentage of users was lower at six in 10, and in Japan it fell to 35 per cent, the lowest of the 24 countries in the global survey.

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg delivers a keynote address at Facebook’s “fMC” global event for marketers in New York City, February 29, 2012. REUTERS/Mike Segar

“Even though the number in the United States was 61 per cent, the majority of Americans are using social media sites,” said Keren Gottfried, research manager at Ipsos Global Public Affairs.

The fact that more than six in 10 people worldwide use social networks and forums, she added, suggests a transformation in how people communicate with each other.

“It is true interconnection and engagement with each other. It is not just about a message back and forth but building messages across communities and only the meaningful messages stick,” she explained.

“It looks like a majority of the world is communicating this way,” she said, adding the numbers were more than half in almost every country polled.

Ipsos questioned a total of 19,216 adults around the world in the online survey.

Email usage was highest in Hungary, where 94 per cent of people communicated online. The numbers were similar in Sweden, Belgium, Indonesia, Argentina and Poland.

Saudi Arabia, where 46 per cent of people said they communicate via email, had the lowest usage, followed by India at 68 per cent and Japan at 75 per cent. In all the other countries eight or nine out of 10 people were email users.

Although Americans and Japanese are thought to be very tech savvy, voice-over IP (VOIP), audio conversations conducted via an Internet connection, were not very popular in both countries with less than 10 per cent of people using the relatively new technology, compared to 36 per cent in Russia, 32 per cent in Turkey and 25 per cent in India.

Ipsos questioned people in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Britain, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States.

http://www.todayonline.com/TechandDigital/Digital/EDC120327-0000160/Indonesia-tops-poll-on-global-social-media-usage

Sierra Deserves It!

Her lovely appearance assuredly attracts the public eyes’ attention. Though, Sierra Soetedjo also has bright quality of voice and excellent portfolio that deserve recognition. This friendly lady surely brings a special nuance to the Indonesia’s jazz field. Yes, Sierra is really something!

The Prelude

It was such a precious moment when jazzuality.com given a great opportunity to meet up and talk to Sierra Soetedjo, a new young and gifted singer of jazz. Taking place at Bluegrass Bar & Grill, she’s sitting at an outdoor with her glam yet stylish look, and excitedly receiving the jazzuality.com team’s turn-out.

Sierra is actually not that new at all, as she’s been already taking part in several music moments. The huge passion in music then propelled her to take Bachelor Degree of Music, in Jazz Performance, at Edith Cowan University, Australia. It’s no wonder why she always comes up with her ace quality of performance in every stage show, where her musical knowledge has been formed well in university. Besides, this Jakarta born lady admits, she’s initially in love with music since childhood. “From that moment I became more realized that music is my energy!” She recalls.

Having graduated from the university in 2007, Sierra decided to get back in Indonesia a year later for good. However, her affection in music was still poured through many local’s off-air events. Until in 2009, she was called by someone from a production house that asked her willingness to make a buzz at the Java Jazz Festival! “I was totally amazed and honored given a chance to highlight the festival. It’s Java Jazz and it’s not an ordinary music event but exceptional!” Sierra says enthusiastically.

The jazz moment itself seemed become a golden first step that bridge her to be able to collaborate with some of great jazz musicians like Idang Rasjidi, Ireng Maulana, and Bubi Chen. In 2008, Sierra’s sweet voice even captivated Tompi, and she was trusted to play an important role thereafter on a duet project in a song called ‘Love Letter’. Afterwards, this Cancer Lady expanded her music skill by having a shot at numerous local jazz galas like Jak Jazz 2008, Jimbaran Jazz Semarang 2009, New Friday Jazz Night 2010, Jazz Seduction with Balawan, Ngayogjazz 2011 in Yogyakarta, Jazz Traffic Festival in Surabaya and also had splendid performance with KLa Project. All the great experiences finally drove her to cook up an album titled The Only One. “Taking on genre of jazz, I mostly include the sense of bossanova here. All is recycled songs, but this is such a very easy listening album which is worth to listen,” She tells with smile.

When it comes to singing and making the music, Sierra acknowledges that some of international names have enlightened her vocal character. “I’ve learnt a lot from brilliant musicians like Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Krall, Esperanza Spalding, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, and Beyonce Knowles. While, in order to shape up my stage action, Michael Bublé becomes my inspiration,” She explains.

In love with Jazz

The story of her flare-up in jazz actually was begun during in college. As she loved every kind of music including R&B beforehand, Sierra started delight with the genre due to the academic reason. “It was a like a university’s path where I must pick one type of music which I love the most. For some reason, I chose jazz then, and evidently I was in love with that!” For Sierra, jazz is such a genre that gives her freedom of expression. This fashionable lady also adds, this music burst her into creativeness by the time she comes up with the melody-improvisation. Undoubtedly, Sierra is sure that this music branch is her comfort zone presently.

Her devotion to Jazz is not only spilled through an album, but also in several music shows. Luckily, a fortune-goddess brought her to come together on stage with a veteran Indonesian pianist, Bubi Chen. Considering that he’s kind of a great yet expert musician, Bubi is surely craving for working with those who have brilliant music skill in jazz, and he doesn’t mind to opt for Sierra. “Playacting together with Bubi Chen is somehow really fantastic; therefore, I always try to give my best skill.” Apparently, Sierra’s distinctive vocal character calls up Bubi Chen to give a special nickname according to her exceptional scatting skill. “He dubbed me as a scatting song bird. There’s nothing I can feel but honored!” Sierra says passionately.

Hence, it’s reasonably why Sierra includes the sense of bossanova, latin, and a little touch of pop in her first album. More than just her frenzy to the catchy yet sweet beat, she assumes, the rhythms are quite simple to understand as well as easy to listen up. “So, I really hope that my first album would get positive response from the jazz buffs,” This Michael Bublé’s big fan says.

When the fashion meets business

Aside from her passion in music, Sierra also has big fascination in fashion. One of the world’s fashion icons, Victoria Beckham, really inspires her glamorous look. For Sierra, Victoria has exceptional sense of style that’s able to actualize. “Even if she comes out with simple outfit, her performance is always elegant, sophisticated, and dazzling! She’s one of my role model in fashion!”

In it, this charming lady loves to emphasize her feminine side in order to flaunt her charisma. After all, Sierra acknowledges, she’s been really into fashion even before she came into entertainment spotlight as now. “I’ve never intended to wear random outfit. For me, a woman should be able to act out neatly and attractive.”

When she’s not singing or updating her fashion style, Sierra spends her spare time with mates at her own restaurant which was recently just released. Together with some of good friends, Sierra whips out The Bluegrass: Bar and Grill, a pleasing bar which combines American and Indonesian style in between. “I love any kind of foods either from international or local. So, that’s the reason why I forge this one.” With the unique concept, sumptuous design, and cozy ambience, Sierra believes that Bluegrass: Bar & Grill is such a right place for those who want to get relaxed, or even just craving for meeting up with friends while enjoying its signature delicious food and beverages.

Consequently, Sierra is a right picture of a lady with million talents. She really knows how to realize her goals and dream. She sings gracefully, sweet on fashion, and gets into the business world. A very complete one! All in all, Sierra is more than just ‘something’; she also gives a new hope, new atmosphere, and new color, particularly to the Indonesia’s jazz matters.

Credit: Jazzuality.com

Writer: Rizka Azizah (Chika)
Photographer: Omar Arif Maulana

Photo-shoot location: Bluegrass Bar & Grill
Wardrobe: Sierra’s private collection
Stylist: Rizka Azizah (Chika)

“Menguasai” (Kembali) Asia Tenggara

Saya teringat ketika seorang teman saya dari Bangkok menulis tentang rencana Indonesia membangun pusat peluncuran pesawat ruang angkasa di Biak. Di blog-nya, dia menulis sesuatu yang membuat saya merinding,

“When Indonesia comes across my mind, all I remember is about great warriors.“

Sebenarnya mudah saja menelaah hal tersebut, dimana Indonesia pada tahun 70-80-90an menjadi buah bibir di Asia Tenggara, masa itu adalah masa di mana para pemusik Indonesia sering melakukan konser di Malaysia, Singapura, atau Brunei; masa dimana peluncuran satelit Palapa I menjadi bahan pelajaran di sekolah-sekolah dasar di Asia Tenggara; masa dimana Indonesia mengirimkan ribuan guru-guru ke Malaysia; masa dimana militer Indonesia adalah salah satu yang terkuat; masa dimana Indonesia selalu unggul dalam ajang Sea Games; masa dimana Kontingen Garuda tersebar diseluruh penjuru dunia; masa ketika Indonesia membawa inisitif perdamaian di Kamboja, dan lain lain.

Masa-masa itu kini seolah tenggelam dengan berbagai masalah yang mengitari bangsa ini dari waktu ke waktu. Namun yang tidak disadari banyak orang adalah secara perlahan, budaya, karya, dan pengaruh Indonesia kembali menembus batas dan merasuki generasi-generasi baru di Asia Tenggara. Hal ini tidak terlepas dari beberapa sebab, diantaranya menghamburnya turis-turis Indonesia ke Singapura, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, dan lain lain. Saya tidak memiliki jumlah akurat berapa turis Indonesia di negara-negara tersebut, tapi bayangkan saja, jumlah turis Indonesia di Singapore adalah yang terbesar dibandingkan turis dari negara-negara lain, jumlah turis Indonesia di Malaysia adalah yang terbanyak ke dua. Selain itu juga tentu saja, banyaknya tenaga kerja Indonesia yang bekerja di sektor-sektor swasta dan informal di kedua negara tersebut.

Di lain pihak, makin banyak negara-negara Asia Tenggara yang berkunjung ke Indonesia. Jumlah turis Singapura dan Malaysia masuk dalam 10 besar turis asing ke Indonesia, dan jumlah ini terus bertambah.

Karena faktor diatas, makin banyak saja kedai makanan Indonesia yang buka di Singapura atau Malaysia, bahkan sampai di Kamboja dan Vietnam. Warung Bali di Phnom Penh, Kamboja adalah salah satu restoran yang populer di sana. Ayam Penyet, rendang, cendol, dan lain lain, bisa menjadi begitu populer di Malaysia dan Singapore karena faktor di atas.

Dan sepertinya, lagu-lagu Indonesia tetap sering diperdengarkan di Malaysia dan Singapura, bahkan dinyanyikan dalam kontes-kontes menyanyi di negara tersebut.

Tentu sesuatu yang hal wajar bila Indonesia yang begitu besar bisa memberi influence ke negara-negara lain. Namun sebenarnya, Indonesia bisa jauh lebih besar menembus batas batas negara.

Di jaman Majapahit dan Sriwijaya, konon Nusantara bahkan menyebar sampai Filipina, Vietnam, Kamboja, Thailand selatan, Malaya, dan Srilanka.

Written for Good News From Indonesia by Akhyari Hananto

Macan Pertumbuhan Bernama Kreatifitas

Gonjang ganjing kasus korupsi Nazarudin, Surat Palsu KPU, Banggar DPR melawan KPK, kekalahan berturut-turut PSSI, reshuffle kabinet dsb seperti menguras energi anak bangsa ini dan melupakan tantangan bangsa kedepan dibidang lainnya dalam hal ini ekonomi. Bukannya hal-hal tersebut tidak penting; itu penting dalam rangka penegakan hukum dan upaya clean government dan goog governance; namun juga tidak boleh dilupakan adalah upaya misalnya mengentaskan kemiskinan dan dan daya tahan perekonomian Indonesia kedepan. Penulis tertarik untuk membahas salah satu aspek dalam kehidupan ekonomi yaitu masalah pentingnya ekonomi kreatif dan industri kreatif yang nampaknya semua orang pada lupa dikarenakan persoalan-persoalan diatas; padahal sector ini dapat dijadikan andalan mengentaskan kemiskinan di negeri ini.

Istilah industri kreatif pertama kali dipakai oleh Partai Buruh di Ingrris pada tahun 1997. Dalam beberapa tahunnya analisa dampak dari indutri ini pada perekonomian Inggris dilakukan, misalnya industri ini pada tahun 2000 telah menyumbang sekitar 7,9% penerimaan nasionalnya dan menyerap banyak tenaga kerja. John Howkins dari Inggris juga yang memperkenalkan ekonomi kreatif ini dalam bukunya “Creative Economy How People Make Money from Ideas”. Dia menyebutkan bahwa ekonomi kreatif adalah suatu aktivitas penciptaan dimana inputnya adalah Gagasan dan ouputnya juga sebuah Gagasan. Ekonomi kreatif adalah transaksi dan hasil kreasi produk-produk kreatif yang muncul dari sebuah gagasan.

Di Indonesia masalah ini mulai santer dibicarakan pada awal tahun 2006; dan menteri Perdagangan Mari Pangestu pada tahun itu membuat blue print bagaimana mendayagunakan ekonomi kreatif ini di Indonesia yang bertujuan salah satunya untuk meningkatkan daya saing Indonesia di pasar global. Menurut menteri Mari Pangestu sector indusri kreatif itu di Indonesia meliputi: Jasa periklanan; Arsitektur; Seni Rupa; Kerajinan; Desain; Mode (fashion); Film; Musik; Seni Pertunjukan; Penerbitan; RIset dan Pengembangan; Software; TV dan Radio dan Video Game.

Dinegara-negra maju sumbangan industri kreatif itu pada PDB (Produk Domestik Bruto) nya cukup signifikan. Misalnya pada tahun 2000 sektor ini menyumbang 3% di PDBnya, Amerika dan Ingrris sekitar 5%-8%; dan di Amerika sector ini berhasil menyerap 30% penduduknya untuk bekerja. Temuan Deperindag Indonesia pada tahun 2006 menunjukkan bahwa industry kreatif ini menyumbang sekitar 5,7% PDB, menyerap tenaga kerga sekitar 4,9 juta orang yang bekerja di sekitar 2.000 lebih perusahaan dan nilai ekspornya bisa mencapai Rp 81 milyar lebih.

Negeri kaya gagasan

Mungkin presiden SBY ketika menyatakan bahwa ekonomi kreatif ini merupakan ekonomi gelombang ke-empat terinspirasi oleh teori Alvin Tovler tentang gelombang peradaban manusia dari gelombang pertama ekonomi pertanian, kedua ekonomi industri, ketiga ekonomi informasi. Saat ini ketika persaingan di era globalisasi yang ketat dan kompleks ini negara-negara didunia ditantang untuk masuk pada ekonomi gelombang keempat yang oleh banyak pakar disebut sebagai knowledge based economy atau ekonomi yang berbasis kreativitas. Negara-negara maju yang tidak memiliki sumber daya alam yang besar seperti Indonesia telah membuktikan sejak lama bahwa gagasan atau ide cemerlanglah yang sanggup menguasai dunia. Jepang dan Swis misalkan ide-ide kreatif dari manusia-manusianyalah yang mampu menciptakan produk-produk yang bersifat global. Jepang telah mengimplementasikan definisi Kreatif secara nyata. Kreativitas atau Creativity ada yang mendefinisikan sebagai developing something new that never existed before. Creativity atau Kreativitas itu bisa dalam bentuk Innovation – menemukan sesuatu yang baru; synthesizing –menggabungkan sesuatu dan modification –merubah sesuatu menjadi baru. Jepang berhasil melakukan itu semua.

Tidak kalah serunya dengan Jepang ini seorang mahasiswa dari Munich University of Applied Science bernama Slavche Tanevsky merancang konsep Lamborghini Madura. Dia memakai nama Madura pada mobil mewah dan ramping ini sebagai nama Lamborghini baru yang akan diluncurkan pada 2016 nanti. Dia menemukan kata Madura dari internet ketika dia ingin mencari kata banteng. Kemudian dia menemukan karapan sapi dan itu di Madura. Karakter Madura yang cepat dan straight forward itulah yang memunculkan ide kreatifnya membuat konsep mobil mewah ini. Inilah yang disebut gagasan dalam ekonomi kreatif itu.

Indonesia sebenarnya tidak kalah dengan negara-negara lain karena negeri ini memiliki banyak anak bangsa yang memiliki gagasan atau ide yang cemerlang. Arsitektur Borobudur dan Batik adalah bukti bahwa bangsa ini sudah lama memiliki gagasan cemerlang yang masuk katagori industry kreatif ini. Anak-anak Indonesia juga berhasil sebagai pemenang dalam berbagai lomba kreativitas mulai dari seni sampai robot. Tari Bali dan Jawa dan seni tari dari berbagai suku bangsa di Indonesia ini adalah gambaran betapa gagasan atau ide kreatif anak bangsa ini sudah lama ada.

Sayangnya

Sayangnya di Indonesia ini kaya akan policy atau kebijakan tapi miskin implementasi. Seringkali kita menyaksikan ide-ide yang nampak bagus misalnya saja ide pembangunan infrastruktur atau keinginan membuat pasar produk agro industry yang terbesar di Asia dsb, ujug-ujug atau tiba-tiba plus tidak ada kabarnya. Sayangnya semua gagasan yang nampak cemerlang itu tidak terintegrasi. Misalnya gagasan meningkatkan sector agro industri tidak dibarengi dengan insentif pihak industry perbankan dan tidak adanya infrastruktur yang cukup. Di propinsi-proinsi Indonesia diluar Jawa anak-anak bangsa yang memiliki gagasan kreatif akan sulit berkembang bila listriknya mati setiap hari dua kali. Integrasi policy juga miskin; kawasan wisata yang penuh dengan kekayaan budaya tidak dibarengi dengan dibangunnya terminal atau stasiun KA dan bis. Tidak perlu mencontoh negara-negara maju yang jauh; Singapura dalam membangun stasiun MRT nya selalu dekat dengan tempat –tempat wisata atau bisnis. Ada keterkaitan antara city planning dan economic planning nya. Di negara-negara lain juga seperti itu. Penulis sering menanyakan pada mahasiswa sebuah pertanyaan: apabila ada turis di suatu tempat bertanya bagaimana menuju kawasan industry tas kulit misalnyan. Jawabannya: naik taxi atau angkot, setelah itu tanya pada tukang becak dimana pusat industi tas itu. Apabila hal-hal seperti ini tidak direnungkan maka sampai kapanpun Indonesia tetap berbahagia sebagai konsumen produk kreatif dan bukan sebagai pencipta.

Sayangnya insentif bagi anak bangsa yang menciptakan produk kreatif masih sedikit. Di Singapura pemerintahnya memberikan insentif S$ 20,000 pada setiap pembuat proposal pembuatan film independen. Negara-negara lain juga sangat getol memberika insentif bagi orang-orang pinternya supaya tidak meninggalkan negara. Pada acara Kick Andy di Metro TV kita pernah menyaksikan adanya orang-orang muda pinter – professor yang bekerja di luar negeri dengan gaji besar karena trauma pulang ketanah air tidak mendapatkan apa-apa. Kalau tidak salah anak muda yg bernama Dr. Reza yang diwawancarai Andy mengatakan bahwa ketika dia pulang ke tanah air dari Belanda setelah lulus S3 nya; mengajukan 50 lamaran ke berbagai perusahaan termasuk perusahaan sabun. Tapi di tolak semua. Dan kini dia menjadi orang penting di perusahaan raksasa di Eropa. Ketika ditanya apakah tidak punya nasionalisme dengan tidak mau pulang. Dia menjawab masih memiliki nasionalisme itu tapi untuk pulang tunggu dulu karena dia punya trauma yang menyakitkan ketika lamarannya ditolak.

*) Drs. A. Cholis Hamzah, MSc alumni University of London, wakil ketua I Ikatan Alumni Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Airlangga dan dosen pada STIE Perbanas Surabaya

(Tulisan serupa oleh penulis pernah dimuat di harian Jawa Pos tahun 2009)

Antara Kemacetan dan Kemakmuran

Dalam sebuah diskusi di Manila, saya ditanyai oleh salah seorang warga Manila yang baru saja mengunjungi Jakarta. Pertanyaannya sangat serius, namun entah mengapa pada saat tersebut saya ingin menjawab dengan santai. Sampai sekarang, karena diskusi ringan tersebut, saya dan si penanya menjadi kawan baik, namanya Sahid Casimiro, seorang Muslim dari Legazpi, Propinsi Albay.

Sahid: Kenapa Jakarta sebegitu macetnya? Saya kesana tahun 90-an, dan kemacetan tidak seperti sekarang.

Saya jawab ringan: Karena orang Jakarta tambah kaya.

Jawaban itu memang sederhana, singkat, dan mengundang tawa pada waktu itu, namun mengandung makna yang benar. Membeli mobil tentu butuh uang banyak, bahkan untuk membayar DP-nya, dan angsurannya. Saya sampai sekarang belum mempunyai mobil hasil dari kantong sendiri, dan saya masih menganggap bahwa harga mobil jauh diluar jangkauan kantong saya.

Saya masih ingat ketika masih kecil, Jalan Kaliurang di Yogyakarta adalah jalan yang sangat sepi, dan mobil yang lewat, kalau tidak bis Baker, juga tesyen (station wagon). Pernah ketika jam kelas sedang kosong, saya yang kurang kerjaan menghitung jumlah mobil yang lewat, dan dalam satu jam tidak lebih dari 5 mobil.

Kalau sekarang ternyata penjualan mobil naik secara dramatis, suka tidak suka, kita harus jujur bahwa kemakmuran masyarakat juga naik. Tiga hari lalu saya membaca di koran, bahwa penjualan mobil di Indonesia pada bulan September 2011 naik 62.4% YoY, dan perlu diingat, semua adalah mobil baru, dan mobil baru harganya ratusan juta.

Terlepas dari ketidakmampuan pemerintah menyediakan jalan yang memadai, terlepas dari kemacetan yang semakin parah, tapi kenaikan itu adalah bukti bahwa ekonomi sedang melaju kencang. Banyak yang meyakini, dalam 2-3 tahun ke depan, penjualan mobil di Indonesia akan mencapai 1 juta unit pertahun, dan mengalahkan market Thailand yang selama ini disebut sebagai Southeast Asia’s largest car market.

Satu hal lagi, begitu banyak pabrikan yang akan mulai membangun pabrik-pabrik perakitan mobil di Indonesia, bahkan China akan membangun pabrik Geely terbesar di dunia di luar China. Dan kalau ekonomi RI makin maju, pendapatan masyarakat naik, jumlah kelas menengah makin naik, bersiap-siaplah, tidak hanya Jakarta, tapi bisa jadi seluruh Jawa akan menjadi “lahan parkir” terpanjang di dunia.

Written for Good News From Indonesia by Akhyari Hananto

Smile Indonesia; Braces are the New Sign of Prosperity

Dr Mirza Shan’s dental clinic in downtown Jakarta has never been fuller. The number of new patients asking for braces is so great he hired two orthodontists and three nurses to ease the workload.

It’s the latest sign of rapidly rising prosperity in Indonesia, an emerging democracy of 240m, where the number of registered orthodontists quadrupled to 160 this year, according to the Indonesian Medical Council.

“I’m putting on 10-15 sets of braces per month. When I started in 2006, we might have done one in a good month,” says Mirza, whose clients include Jakarta’s rich and famous. “Most of them are young professionals who come to have their teeth straightened for aesthetic reasons.”

Indonesia is enjoying an economic boom, with growth of more than 6.5 per cent, inflation near a record low and rising consumer spending and incomes. This year, Indonesia became a middle income country, with per capita GDP passing $3,000.

That is creating jobs for university graduates, being hired by the thousands by companies. One of them is Ria Syafitri , 24, who recently started working as a data analyst at a marketing magazine. In August, after six months of research, she got braces with fashionable pink elastics for $500.

“I spent quite a lot on these braces and still have to spend another 100,000 rupiah ($11) for a check-up every two weeks. But it’s alright, I will have a better smile and it increases my self-confidence,” Syafitri says.

While many countries are in the grip of double-dip recession fears, Indonesians are more bullish than ever about their finances. They are borrowing, investing and spending more on everything from motorcycles and life insurance to private jets and yachts.

A survey by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Roy Morgan research last month found a record 54 per cent of respondents expect their finances to improve in the coming year. Almost as many believe now is a good time to spend on major household appliances.

The signs of growth are overwhelming in urban centres. In Jakarta, custom bike shops have popped up, catering to hip youth caught up in the ‘fixie’ fad that swept the US in recent years. The brightly coloured, single-gear bikes take over Jakarta’s roads on car-free Sundays.

Jakarta’s 100 or so malls have been joined by a thriving online marketplace as households get wired. Khairiyyah Sari, a former fashion editor and TV anchor, started selling high-end fashion accessories once owned by celebrities in January.

Dozens of Louis Vuitton, Channel and Prada handbags and shoes have sold for as much as $2,300. “Our target market is middle class women in the provinces who like the idea of wearing labels used by celebrities. They’re not just housewives, but also working class women,” Sari said.

Not everyone is spending on dental work or clothing. Purchases of Ferraris, yachts and private jets are on the rise, powered by booming commodities prices and stock market returns.

Indonesia’s wealth is expanding more rapidly than China’s and India’s, with the number of individuals with more than $1m, excluding property, projected to triple by 2015, a study published this month by CLSA and Julius Baer found.

“Indonesia is turning into a capitalist society,” said Adil Hakim, owner of JetRoyal, a new private charter service catering to business executives and the elite. “The new mindset is: If you can afford it, you can flaunt it.”

News and photo source: Financial Times (by Anthony Deutsch)

“Indonesia has massive potential to be a leader in the digital space in Asia.”

VIVAnews – LinkedIn is the world’s second biggest social networking after Facebook and the largest professional network with over 100 million professional members worldwide.
Now LinkedIn has over 18 million members in Asia Pacific and recently announced Singapore as the base for its regional headquarters. Following its IPO, LinkedIn has set its sights on expansion within APAC, leveraging the success of existing offices in Australia and India.
Last Thursday, LinkedIn Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand, Clifford Rosenberg spoke at Indonesia’s IDBYTE event in Jakarta. Following his presentation, Rosenberg gave an exclusive interview with VIVAnews.com discussing both LinkedIn’s strategy for regional expansion and Indonesia’s digital industry.
LinkedIn just opened its Singapore branch. What functions will the office serve and what will be the headcount?
We announced our Asia Pacific and Japan headquarters in Singapore on May 31st 2011. The new office in Singapore will serve as the regional headquarters to over 18 million LinkedIn members in Asia Pacific (and Japan), supporting both existing markets in Australia and India and providing a launch pad for further regional expansion.
There will initially be approximately a dozen staff initially for the Singapore office across Sales, Finance, Marketing and Human Resources. Arvind Rajan has relocated from LinkedIn HQ in Mountain View California to set-up the regional office in Singapore. He will now serve as Managing Director & VP of APAC & Japan.

Is it true that LinkedIn also wants to enter into the market in China?
Entry into China is not something that we take lightly – we’re focused on getting it right and continuing to explore ways to be in China over the long-term.

What is the growth rate of the 18 million LinkedIn members in Asia Pacific?
About 1 million professionals join LinkedIn every week, a growth rate of more than 1 member joining per second. In APAC specifically, Comscore reports that LinkedIn visitors increased by 132 percent from March 2010 to March 2011.

What about users in Indonesia? Do you have the statistics of Indonesian users?
We have over 18 million members in Asia Pacific, including over 2 million in South East Asia. But we haven’t broken it down by the country. So at this point of time, we’re not talking about Indonesian specific number.

In your opinion, what do you think is the future for Indonesia’s online industry?
Indonesia has massive potential to be a leader in the digital space in Asia. Mobile penetration is high and there’s a lot of enthusiasm in the industry, which is exciting to see.
If you look at the percentage of online advertising spend in Indonesia, it only represents about 1 percent of total advertising spent, so there’s enormous scope for growth. Indonesia spends roughly US$40 million per year on online advertising yet the total advertising, across TV, print, and other mediums is about US$ 5 billion.
So when you look at the amount of time people are spending across the range of media, there’s a disproportionate amount spent on TV/print versus online. So I think it’s a market that’s ripe for growth. You only need to look around at this conference and you can sense plenty of enthusiasm and excitement about the future of digital in Indonesia.

Yahoo has entered the Indonesian market. How many years will it take for LinkedIn to do the same?
As mentioned, we’ve just established a presence in Singapore, adding to existing offices in Australia and India, and we’ll use Singapore as a hub to explore expansion into new markets across Asia.

Are you going to use content from local news publisher for LinkedIn Today?
I mentioned a new product in my presentation called “LinkedIn Today” where we take content from various news sources and offer customized news feeds according to the industry that’s most relevant to members.We would like to have as many publishers around the globe involved in providing good content for our members, so yes, it’s entirely possible this could be the case in Indonesia.

How are these new features, like LinkedIn Today and LinkedIn Groups leveraging user engagement on LinkedIn?
It’s becoming increasingly difficult for professionals to sift through the volume of content they receive on a daily basis, and that’s why we introduced ‘Signal’ and ‘Today’ – two products that allow busy professionals to get real-time insights from the large stream of information shared by their network of connections.
LinkedIn Groups are a way for professionals to engage and conduct interactive discussions with their industry peers – we have more than 900,000 Groups on LinkedIn.
It’s all about enabling people to manage their professional brand online, raise their profile and build their career. Every day, professionals are gaining new job or business opportunities, insights and information by networking and engaging on LinkedIn.

What percentage of traffic and engagement do they provide?
I think the best way when you think about engagement is the statistic that I showed in my presentation about LinkedIn being one of the top 50 websites in the world. When you look at the amount of traffic going to LinkedIn, we’re now the second largest social media website in the world. And when you look at the traffic on LinkedIn, which is increasing, I think it’s testimonial to increasing engagement levels on LinkedIn.

In addition to advertising, a large proportion of LinkedIn’s revenue comes from recruitment services and premium subscriptions. Are they relevant for Asian countries?
Yes absolutely. We have three key lines of revenue; marketing solutions (advertising), recruitment solutions (for recruiters and hiring managers), and subscriptions. All three are relevant in every market, and with a skills shortage across Asia, we’re seeing particular demand for our recruitment solutions products.

What content innovation will show up on LinkedIn in the near future?
We’re constantly launching new products that are designed to make our members more productive and successful. I gave an example earlier today of our mobile applications on BlackBerry, Android and on the iPhone.
Those applications are very important to us. We see a lot of our members increasingly using these mobile applications, particularly for daily content via LinkedIn Today. We’re focused on listening to our members and building products that allow them to be better at what they do, wherever they are.

How do you differentiate your site with other employment sites like Monster.com or CareerBuilder?
A major challenge for recruiters is finding high quality candidates quickly and connecting with passive candidates. LinkedIn is aligned to connecting talent with opportunity at a massive scale.
LinkedIn provides a platform to create dialogue and drive conversations, whilst job boards are restricted to display only. Recruiters are also discovering that the best candidates are often ‘passive’ and may not necessarily be applying for jobs.
Apart from also offering a job network where recruiters can post their job openings, LinkedIn offers employers the opportunity to position their company brand among professionals and build a talent pipeline.
“LinkedIn Recruiter” has search and communication tools to identify and reach highly skilled candidates and also built-in collaboration tools that enable recruiters to share project information and organise workflow.

taken from VIVAnews

Indonesia360: Komunitas yang Tidak Mungkin Anda Lewatkan

Baru-baru ini, muncul sebuah komunitas yang menarik di Indonesia bernama Indonesia360 yang memfokuskan diri pada sebuah teknik fotografi, yakni VR photography yang belum terlalu dikenal di Indonesia, walaupun teknik ini sebenarnya sudah dikenal sejak lama di luar negeri. VR (Virtual Reality) 360^o photography adalah sebuah seni fotografi interaktif berupa panorama 360^o yang memberikan anda sensasi yang berbeda ketika anda melihat hasil daripada foto yang sudah diolah sedemikian rupa.

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Mari Mengubah Dunia

Sabtu, 13 Agustus 2011 TedX Jakarta mengadakan sebuah event inspiratif yang bertajuk ‘Journey to Return’. Acara yang diadakan di Jakarta International School ini telah berhasil membuat saya pulang dengan hati yang bergelora untuk membuat sebuah perubahan besar di komunitas saya. Acara yang diisi oleh berbagai macam pembicara dari bidang yang berbeda-beda namun dengan satu tujuan yaitu membuka pandangan hadirin dengan sesuatu yang inspirasional ini berjalan dengan sangat kondusif. TedX Jakarta telah berhasil mengadakan suatu acara yang hangat dan penuh dengan wawasan baru bagi para hadirin.

Dimulai dari Siti Musdah Mulia (Interfaith Peace Advocate), Didi Nini Thowok (Cross Gender Dancer) , dan pembicara dengan segudang rahasia yaitu Arif Abdillah disatukan dalam satu sesi yang dinamakan ‘The Golden Rule’. Sesi ini mengajarkan hadirin, mengenai toleransi beragama dan bagaimana kasih dapat mengubah seseorang bahkan dunia.

Dilanjutkan dengan sesi kedua yang bertajuk ‘Progress with Purpose’, John Hardy seorang Green Entrepreneur yang mendirikan sebuah green school di pulau Bali telah mengagumkan hadirin dengan konsep surga tropisnya yaitu sebuah sekolah yang dibuat dari pohon bambu. Dilanjutkan dengan Dhira Narayana yang sudah berhasil mengubah pandangan kebanyakan dari hadirin mengenai pohon ganja dengan penampilannya meyakinkan nan persuasif. Ewa Wojkowska seorang Innovation Connector, menuangkan berbagai ide briliannya untuk dapat membantu masyarakat yang membutuhkan dapat menggunakan teknologi yang memudahkan hidup mereka dan terjangkau. Ridwan Djamaluddin (Ocean Scientist) menggelitik hadirin dengan presentasinya yang menarik tentang gempa dan tsunami di Indonesia dan ditutup oleh Derek Sivers (Music Entrepreneur) seorang pribadi yang benar-benar menarik dan menyenangkan yang sudah berbagi tentang rahasia beliau dalam kesuksesannya.

Sesi ketiga yang berjudul ‘Forgotten Wisdom’ memang sangat berkesan bagi banyak penonton yang hadir sore itu, dibuka oleh seorang pembaca cepat dari Surabaya, Muhammad Noer yang membuktikan bahwa kita sebenarnya mampu membaca 52 buku dalam 1 tahun. Pinneng seorang Underwater Photographer tentunya memanjakan kami dengan berbagai foto bawah laut yang membuat anda ingin kabur dari Jakarta saat itu juga. Setelah itu, hadirin dibawa kembali ke masa lalu oleh Zaini Alif, seorang Traditional Games Expert yang sudah meneliti berbagai mainan tradisional di Indonesia. Jubing Kristianto dengan profesionalnya memainkan gitar dan berbagi cerita mengenai bagaimana ia bisa sukses sampai ke kehidupannya yang sekarang yaitu seorang gitaris akustik lagu rakyat. Akhirnya sampailah di penghujung acara dengan pembicara rahasia, yaitu Bapak Suyadi atau yang biasa kita kenal dengan Pak Raden yang menutup acara dengan dongengnya yang merupakan kesimpulan dari acara hari itu, yaitu kebahagiaan dapat didapat melalui kasih dan kebersamaan.

Di penghujung hari, akhirnya banyak yang pulang dengan berbagai teman baru, pertanyaan yang berbeda, rasa lelah yang dikombinasikan dengan semangat bergelora dan tentunya dengan sebuah keinginan yang menggebu-gebu tentang bagaimana kami dapat mengubah komunitas kami. Kami sudah melihat bagaimana mereka mengubah dunia, sekarang saatnya kami mengubah dunia dan benar adanya bahwa satu kursi di TedX Jakarta sudah mengubah hidup kami.

Written for Good News From Indonesia by Sherley Meiske Pakasi

Indonesia’s First SocMed Festival

Indonesia’s first social media festival will be held in Jakarta from Sept 22 to Sept. 24, featuring online business, family and youth communities.

Organized by Fx mall, SalingSilang.com and Daily Social, the event is expected to be the biggest offline meeting among social media users.

“We expect 10,000 people to come to the festival,” Rahmad Harlyadi, one of the Social Media festival initiators, said on Thursday in a press conference.

The festival will take place in Fx shopping mall, Jakarta, occupying seven floors.

Taken from The Jakarta Post