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Singapore: Technology Implications
The Singapore social media scene is growing at a very fast pace. The efforts from both the industry, the public as well as the government have led to some interesting developments in Singapore in the past few years. Looking ahead, Digital Media technologies will definitely have huge implications for many different aspects of life in Singapore. In this section, we document some of the major areas where Digital Media is having an impact, and the implications thereof.
1. Politics
In a recent interview with Channel News Asia, PM Lee Hsien Loong mentioned that the PAP would be taking a leaf out of the Obama campaign, and leverage on new media for the upcoming 2009 General Elections. The implication of this is that PM Lee expects to get many ministers trained in new media, so they can use the medium better. The Government has already taken some steps in this direction, by responding to letters sent in by readers on the Straits Times website. It will be interesting to note how the PAP actually utilizes social media in their campaigns during this election. With increased broadband penetration, and a large amount of the Singapore public being quite active on the internet, this move towards social media could very well work in the favor of the PAP. But PM Lee also acknowledged that the nature of the online community is such that people are very vocal and have strong points of view, so any online efforts must be handled with care. Read more about this here.
2. Entrepreneurship
In a recent study, Singapore was ranked as the most business friendly country in the world. With such an environment, it is no surprise that entrepreneurship is highly encouraged in Singapore. Social media technologies will have big implications for budding entrepreneurs as well as those with established businesses of their own. Many start-ups are utilizing social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to spread awareness about their companies and the services they offer. The days of traditional classifieds in newspapers is fast giving way to Facebook groups and Twitter updates. Entrepreneurs in Singapore today have a lot more avenues to identify and reach potential customers.
3. Journalism
There has been a lot of talk worldwide about the death of traditional media and the rise of social media. In terms of implications for journalism, what this means is that newspapers and magazines must be ready to face this challenge, and adapt accordingly to changing technologies. In this article, Lee Boon Yang, Singapore's Minister for Information, Communication, and the Arts mentions that Traditional Media still has a pivotal role to play in the form of nation building and being a medium for the government to communicate its policies to its citizens. He acknowledged that a lot of citizens in Singapore are getting their news updates through websites and blogs instead of through traditional mediums. Inspite of this he says the outlook for journalism is still not bleak, and the most important thing for journalists is to recognise the inherent strengths of traditional media, and leverage on those, while aiming for a convergence with social media.
4. Infocomm
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is in the midst of implimenting it's 10-year iN2015 strategic masterplan, which "is the blueprint to navigate Singapore’s exhilarating transition into a global city, universally recognised as an enviable synthesis of technology, infrastructure, enterprise and manpower". Some of the key goals of this plan include:
Read more about the masterplan at the IDA website.
1. Politics
In a recent interview with Channel News Asia, PM Lee Hsien Loong mentioned that the PAP would be taking a leaf out of the Obama campaign, and leverage on new media for the upcoming 2009 General Elections. The implication of this is that PM Lee expects to get many ministers trained in new media, so they can use the medium better. The Government has already taken some steps in this direction, by responding to letters sent in by readers on the Straits Times website. It will be interesting to note how the PAP actually utilizes social media in their campaigns during this election. With increased broadband penetration, and a large amount of the Singapore public being quite active on the internet, this move towards social media could very well work in the favor of the PAP. But PM Lee also acknowledged that the nature of the online community is such that people are very vocal and have strong points of view, so any online efforts must be handled with care. Read more about this here. 2. Entrepreneurship
In a recent study, Singapore was ranked as the most business friendly country in the world. With such an environment, it is no surprise that entrepreneurship is highly encouraged in Singapore. Social media technologies will have big implications for budding entrepreneurs as well as those with established businesses of their own. Many start-ups are utilizing social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to spread awareness about their companies and the services they offer. The days of traditional classifieds in newspapers is fast giving way to Facebook groups and Twitter updates. Entrepreneurs in Singapore today have a lot more avenues to identify and reach potential customers. 3. Journalism
There has been a lot of talk worldwide about the death of traditional media and the rise of social media. In terms of implications for journalism, what this means is that newspapers and magazines must be ready to face this challenge, and adapt accordingly to changing technologies. In this article, Lee Boon Yang, Singapore's Minister for Information, Communication, and the Arts mentions that Traditional Media still has a pivotal role to play in the form of nation building and being a medium for the government to communicate its policies to its citizens. He acknowledged that a lot of citizens in Singapore are getting their news updates through websites and blogs instead of through traditional mediums. Inspite of this he says the outlook for journalism is still not bleak, and the most important thing for journalists is to recognise the inherent strengths of traditional media, and leverage on those, while aiming for a convergence with social media. 4. Infocomm
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is in the midst of implimenting it's 10-year iN2015 strategic masterplan, which "is the blueprint to navigate Singapore’s exhilarating transition into a global city, universally recognised as an enviable synthesis of technology, infrastructure, enterprise and manpower". Some of the key goals of this plan include:
- to be #1 in the world in harnessing infocomm to add value to the economy and society
- to realise a 2 – fold increase in the value-add of the infocomm industry to S$26 billion
- to realise a 3 – fold increase in infocomm export revenue to S$60 billion
- to create 80,000 additional jobs
- to achieve 90% home broadband usage
- to achieve 100% computer ownership in homes with school-going children
Read more about the masterplan at the IDA website.
anirban.dattagupta |
Latest page update: made by anirban.dattagupta
, Apr 9 2009, 3:50 PM EDT
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