Meet SouthEast Asia Web, OpenWebAsia/SEA Conference Coming in July in Malaysia

When we started OpenWebAsia conference, the idea is very simple: We want it to be the leading conference truly focusing on Asian web industry and a platform connecting the west with the east. We did the first and amazing one in 2008 in Seoul, and we were planning to do it again in 2009 but unfortunately did not make it mainly because of the financial crisis (lacking of sponsorship).

But, definitely we want to carry on openning the Asia web. Now with great pleasure, we can confirm you that you won’t miss it this year! Supported by MSC Malaysia and led by our friend Daniel CerVentus and his Entrepreneurs.my team, OpenWebAsia’s SouthEast Asia version is set to 13th-14th, July in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The official site is up on http://sea.openwebasia.com.

What will OpenWebAsia/SEA 2010 focus on:

Discover why most fail and few succeed in implementing their web strategies in South East Asia
The good, the bad and the ugly of web technology & platform
The mobile broadband wave – Android vs. iPhone
Learn the future of Web and Mobile platform which is shaping the next web resolution
How Cloud computing strategies can create high growth

The registration page is also up here: http://apps.socialwalk.com/events/393-open-web-asia–south-east-asia. If you are interested in attending, here is the Promo Code you may need for some special discount: 27876.

Looking forwards to meeting you in SEA web.

June 16, 2010 · Filed Under Asia Web, Malaysia Web

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Indonesia Observed: The Mobile Internet Phenomena

Everytime I travel to Indonesia, I am delighted by the fervour of mobile browsing. So what makes Indonesians and Mobile browsing tick?

1. Mobile browsing is the perfect Substitution

As a native of Malaysia, Indonesia’s neighbouring country. I always wonder what is it that Indonesians have that we don’t, as a matter a fact. We have more than them. Malaysia has better fixed line infrastructre, which means that people are already hooked to the net. And our rollout of WiMax and 3G/HSDPA has been equally fast, if not faster.

Then I realized that perhaps, this is the the very reason why Indonesians are more receptive to mobile browsing: simply because they have a bad fixed line infrastructure that they readily hop to the next substitution.

2. Indonesia’s telco is a case of Perfectly Competitive Market

Secondly, open competition. Bigboy Indosat charges 1 rupiah per 1 kbps (about USD0.80 for 10 mbps)and some newboys like SMART and AXIS are trying to beat this pricing. Compared to Malaysia, we are charging a hefty 30 times more (read Maxis, DiGi or UMobile’s prepaid and postpaid rate are at RM0.0.1/1kbps). For an unlimited plan, it’s approximately USD8 per month in Indonesia.

3. The Berry Factor

Thirdly is the berry factor. Everyone is hooked on blackberry’s messaging program. Blackberry’s messaging program is the sticking point where it gets people to start using mobile browsing. iPhone might help push the buzz further as it launches this week in Indonesia(and Malaysia too). I have to speculate that iPhone is not gonna be as big. It might get some love, but in a country where SMS is huge, touch-based phone are counter-productive.

I have started using touch-based phone for seven months now(reveal: HTC Touch Diamond) and I still can never get comfortable with texting. I (so do all Indonesians and Malaysians) inherited the ability of texting with my phone in the pocket in my teenage years where I can write an sms just by pressing the keypad in the pocket. In any case, the blackberry fever is a helping hand in Mobile browsing.

4. A browser for all

Lastly, Opera Mini. Opera Mini is Opera’s mobile browser variant that compresses everything that you request to approximately 20% of the actual size. It’s hard to argue the cause and effect here, but with lesser bandwidth consumption, it means saving 80% of your data charges – a high value proposition in a prepaid mad country.(disclosure: I work for Opera)

As for the prospect of mobile Web2.0. Just imagine – 220 million people market, booming mobile browsing. Your guess.

Note: I was in Jakarta as a guest speaker in BINUS and also spoke in Jakarta’s MobileMonday event.

March 30, 2009 · Filed Under Indonesia, Malaysia Web, Mobile 2.0