Cybermodel contest held to attract young surfers
JAKARTA (JP): Modeling, while not being the best profession in the world, is always one of the most sought after careers, especially among teenyboppers. The glamorous look of models, the trendy celebrity lifestyle and the fame are all part of young women's dreams.
But how about "cybermodeling"? The world has been enticing many young people to big cities throughout the country, who now seem unable to live without the Internet.
A cybermodel contest was recently held in bolehmail.com, one of the many local dot-com companies. The response was overwhelming. A total of 346 boys and girls aged between 15 years old and 25 years old from as far away as Irian Jaya registered in the contest. The judges were those visiting the website. More than 20,000 voters made their selection online.
Dia Dewayani from Bogor, West Java, and Fadhly from Medan, North Sumatra, were crowned as the first female and male winners at the Fashion Cafe in Central Jakarta on Tuesday. Each of them pocketed Rp 2 million.
The Cybermodel contest, which is the first of its kind in Indonesia, started from May 15 and ended on June 24.
The participants were required to register online and use the Internet for a minimum of one hour at their favorite Internet cafe, which are locally called warnet (warung Internet). There were 250 Internet cafes that participated in this event and the first cafe which yielded the most entrants was given a scanner, while the cafes which were second and third were given a printer each.
There are approximately 500 Internet cafes in Jakarta, according to Darma Putra, the finance officer of PT Boleh Net Indonesia, the operator of bolehmail.com. The exact number, however, is unavailable as Internet cafe operators, unlike wartel (telecommunication booths) are not obliged to register with the government.
For participants of the cybermodel contest, which was the first ever to be held in the country, the event must have seemed like a big dream that they could one day become a model -- either in the real or virtual world. But for the organizer, it is obvious that the contest was held to attract more members.
"The contest is mainly to promote the Internet. People have a high awareness of the Internet, but the time they are on it is short," he said.
In a way, it seemed that the contest was successful in attracting more users as curious visitors to the website must register to become a member before they can participate in the contest or cast their vote. It apparently helped lengthen the time they were on the Internet. However, when The Jakarta Post tried to interview the first prize winners online, the e-mails remained unanswered 48 hours after they were sent.
It is estimated that there are about 1 million Internet users in Indonesia. Most, however, use the Internet either at the office, where they can have free access, or at Internet cafes.
Putra claimed that bolehmail.com has registered 100,000 members since it was launched on Jan. 3.
PT Boleh Net Indonesia is a Korean company and has so far spent over US$1 million on its operation, according to Putra.
The Internet, which has been around for about a decade, has become more and more popular in Indonesia, especially in the past few years. This has been followed by a mushrooming of Internet cafes and dot-com companies.
In developed countries like the United States, dot-com mania is said to have almost reached a saturated level, with some even saying that the bubble of the new economic trend has burst, as indicated in the fall of the dot-com companies' shares. In Indonesia, however, it seems that nothing can stop dot-com mania. The dot-coms are competing with each other to win over users and advertisers.
"In Indonesia, the Internet industry is at an infancy stage. We haven't actually felt the 'boom' that our counterparts in more advanced countries have.
"The dot-com is a relatively new phenomenon in Indonesia and there are a lot of opportunities that haven't been explored to the fullest extent. If we talk about the Indonesian market, the point of saturation is a far cry from where we are today," Putra said.
In the case of countries having "high internet adoption rates", it is becoming more and more difficult to differentiate a service since the playing field has become so narrow and competition is at its peak, he said.
"In this case, I think 'niche' players have a competitive edge since they are focused toward a more specific segment. In a nutshell, how soon dot-com mania will enter its saturated level will depend on which market we're talking about. If it is a maturing market, then exposure to risk is higher but if it is an emerging market, then there is still room for players to capitalize on their investments." (sim)