Beware of infographics, especially if the findings are too good to be true

Click for full infographic.

So Indonesia is now officially more entrepreneurial than United States or Germany.

That’s according to an infographic by Gist, which describes the Silicon Valleys of the world. While I’m not trying to diss Indonesians, I find the results somewhat suspicious. So I went snooping around.

It turns out that the conclusion is derived from an “Entrepreneurship Index”, which gave Indonesia a score of 2.81 and the US a score of 2.8.

The scores come from a survey in which people were asked to gauge the following about their country: Whether innovation and creativity are highly valued, how easy it is for people to start a business, whether people who start their own businesses are highly valued, and whether people with good ideas can usually put them into practice.

The infographic revealed that Indonesia ranked 48th in the world for attractiveness to investors. The country has also apparently made it easier for entrepreneurs to get funds and start a business.

Entrepreneurs in 2003 took an average of 168 days to start a business, compared to 47 days in 2010.

While the infographic is somewhat insightful, I am inclined to take the rankings with a heavy dose of salt.

Here’s the issue I have with infographics: While they make data easier to digest, they simplify information so much that it sometimes gets distorted.

An infographic can be both a blessing and a curse. The worst kinds are those that are done purely for marketing purposes, and are flippant about listing their sources and ensuring that their information is accurate. Many companies do shoddy surveys for the same reasons (the GlobalEnglish one is a good example).

The situation could get worse. Tools like Piktochart and Visual.ly are making it easier for people to come up with a seductive infographic. That’s part of the problem: Anyone can do it. Even shameless self-promoters. Or idiots.

Scrutinizing the Gist infographic further, we realize that the Entrepreneurship Index was actually derived from a GlobeScan poll, which surveyed over 24,000 people in 24 countries. The survey appears credible, since GlobeScan is an international polling firm.

A tell-tale sign that the firm knows what it’s doing is the stated margin of error in the report: Within-country results are “considered accurate within +/- 2.1 to 3.5 per cent 19 times out of 20.”

However, doubts remain.

While the survey compared responses across countries and derived a ranking based on it, there’s no telling how cultural differences could affect the way people interpret the meaning of the questions and respond to it. Could a dose of patriotism lead them to shed a more positive light about their country?

Also, we don’t know if the composition of the participants were kept consistent across countries. Lastly, the fact that the survey has only gauged people’s sentiments indicates a blind spot. Such studies are best complemented with more objective indicators. In fact, I actually doubt if there’s a point in ranking countries for entrepreneurship.

So, if you’re thinking of doing an infographic to further your marketing aims, please think thrice about the information you’re using and where you get them from. Don’t add to the digital pollution.

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Facebook Showing Solid Growth in Japan and Korea

New figures from Nielsen/NetRatings indicate that Facebook’s (NASDAQ:FB) reach is extending among Japanese and Korean markets. Their new report says that among PC users [1] Facebook’s visitors in Japan for May amounted to about 17.2 million, Looking back on the same figure for the previous year, that number was at about 8.2 million.

It’s important to note, however, that as impressive as this growth is, the report estimates that Facebook’s reach among the general population is still only about 29 percent. When you compare that to other nations like Brazil (77.9 percent) or America (67.2 percent), then there’s still a long way to go.

I should point out that this report does not include individuals who access Facebook via mobile devices. Most likely, Japan’s newfound love for Facebook would be even more apparent if smartphones were factored into this equation.

The report also has some interesting insights into Facebook’s success in Korea. Currently, the popular social network is still behind the domestic incumbent Cyworld, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. But Facebook’s trajectory sees it steadily growing, and it could overpass Cyworld in visitors the next year or so.

It should be noted that Social Bakers, another prominent source for Facebook metrics, puts Japan and Korea at about 10 million and 7 million users respectively.

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1. I’m told that Nielsen/NetRating’s figures are based on data collected from their audience ‘panels’ of individuals, and that data is then weighted to be representative of the national population.  ↩

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#VCSaid–What a rage! [Today's Contest : #mymistake]

Well, what started as an experiment turned into a serious rage and while #VCSaid was trending on Twitter, we were overhelmed with the response and here are some of the curated tweets* from yesterday’s rage.
[View the story "#vcsaid " on Storify]

We initially planned to have 5 winners/day, but going by the awesome response – we will giveaway 10 passes for yesterday’s contest (winners will be DMed and announced separately).

What about today? Well, we have something more insightful planned – i.e. share some of the mistakes you have committed in your startup. Let’s actually learn from each other.
Did you make a hiring mistake? Did you delay the funding process?

Contest Rules

- This is a 1-day contest (June 28th).
- You can participate N number of times.
- Even if you aren’t able to attend the UnPluggd event, you can give the pass to a deserving entrepreneur.
- You need to follow @pluggdin on Twitter. Winners will be DMed (on June 29th). In total, there will be 10 winners (5/day).
- Syntax: “<Mistake quote>” #mymistake http://unpluggd.org

For example. “We delayed the co. incorporation process” #mymistake http://unpluggd.org

 

*: Of course, the contest has to be taken in the right spirit of fun and not so seriously by any community!

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Well That Was Fast: New York Times’ Weibo Account Now Suspended

Remember how we reported on the New York Times having joined Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social network, yesterday? Well, the New York Times‘ Weibo has been suspended already, less than 24 hours after its launch, with no clear reason for this having happened. As for the brand-new NYT Chinese edition of its news site, which went online this morning, that’s still unblocked and working fine in China – albeit quite slowly, since it has overseas servers, not ones based in mainland China.

Sina Weibo often suspends accounts that post politically sensitive material. It’s possible that it posted several sensitive terms on its Weibo page in the course of linking to posts on its new NYT Chinese site. The apparent unilateral suspension of the New York Times’ Weibo makes a mockery of Sina’s “user contract” that was recently implemented which deducts points from its microblog users for infractions like spreading gossip or mentioning lots of hot-button words. Under that system, the NYT should’ve had a secret points tally which would have dwindled down to the point that the user got an alert that its credibility – so to speak – was running low after a number of offenses.

Of course, Sina’s (NASDAQ:SINA) hand is being forced in all this by oft-issued media directives from authorities on words and issues that it wants avoided – and eradicated – from the web. Especially from social networks where real-time sharing spreads information so quickly.

Only a few hours earlier, the New York Times ‘Media Decoder’ blog lauded the launch of the NYT Chinese edition of its site, which is targeting China’s “educated, affluent, global citizens.” Sina Weibo has many such users too – but the NYT seems to have been halted from engaging with them on social media.

We’ll update if there are further developments, and will watch closely the NYT Chinese site to see if it gets blocked.

As for the new NYT Chinese edition site, that's still working. For now.

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MIIT Asks People to Invest in China’s Telecom Industry

An official release yesterday from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) encourages members of the public to invest in the telecommunications industry, and other information technologies. Many of China’s largest telecom companies and most of its infrastructure is state-owned, so it’s interesting that a government body is now pushing for more private investment in those areas.

The full release includes eight ways private citizens can invest in the telecom industry (via internet companies, via infrastructure, etc.), and five ways the government will help protect those investments. These include some interesting — if vague — promises, including developing the rule of law, increasing supervision and management of the industry, perfecting services for private investors, etc.

The document also encourages telecoms and investors to “go out into the world” and attempt to compete globally. That’s something many internet and telecom companies have been finding very difficult (see Huawei and ZTE, for example, but it hasn’t stopped many of the larger operations from pushing beyond China’s borders anyway. Will that expansion continue? Will China’s telecom industry become increasingly privatized, as MIIT seems to be hoping? We’ll just have to wait and see.

[Xinhua via Sina Tech]

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Microsoft Office 365 celebrates first anniversary, launches free education plan and signs new major customers in Singapore

Credits: http://www.investinternals.com/

Microsoft Singapore celebrates the first anniversary of its cloud-based productivity service, Office 365, with significant new customers Tiger Airways, NTUC Unity Healthcare and TeleChoice.

Microsoft Office 365 is a software plus service offering that includes Exchange, SharePoint, Lync and Office.

The one-year anniversary celebration of Microsoft Singapore’s Office 365 comes with some key announcements:

• Office 365 is now available for education in Singapore, allowing students and educators to take advantage of cloud-based communications and collaboration tools at not cost. The basic tier plan for Office 365 for education, Plan A2, is available for free to all students and educators.
• Tiger Airways, NTUC Unity Healthcare and TeleChoice are the new Office 365 customers wins for Microsoft Singapore.
• Singapore is ranked in Microsoft’s Top 10 markets globally in the adoption of Office 365.
• More than 4,500 businesses of all sizes in Singapore are Office 365 customers today.

Read the full press release below.

****

Singapore — June 28, 2012 — More than 4,500 small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and large enterprises in Singapore are using  the company’s cloud productivity service for businesses of all sizes. This milestone was announced today as Microsoft celebrates the first anniversary of Office 365 in Singapore and Asia.

Additionally, Microsoft Singapore announced today that Tiger Airways, NTUC Unity Healthcare and TeleChoice International Limited have signed up to use Office 365 across its workforce, where more than 2000 workers will benefit from the service.

Office 365 brings together Microsoft Office, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Exchange Online and Microsoft Lync Online in an always-up-to-date cloud service. Businesses of all sizes can sign up for Office 365 for as low as US$4 per month per user with Microsoft’s network of 120 authorized infocomm partners, including StarHub and Global Yellow Pages.

With Office 365, moving to the cloud does not require people to change the way they work because it is based on the familiar, industry-leading productivity tools that they know and trust. People get new ways to work together, on virtually any device, using the familiar Office applications they already know. In addition, business owners get the reliability, security features and IT controls they need in the cloud.

Office 365 – Trusted and Proven among Singapore-based businesses

Commenting on the strong momentum in the local market, Jessica Tan, Managing Director of Microsoft Singapore said, “We have seen great growth momentum for Office 365 in Singapore over the past year. We are proud to announce that Singapore is currently ranked one of Microsoft’s top 10 markets globally in the adoption of Office 365; cutting across various industry sectors, including retail, hospitality, construction, transportation, among others .”

“We are particularly proud to be able to have on board local and regional brand names such as Tiger Airways, NTUC Unity Healthcare and TeleChoice for Office 365. This is a great testimonial of Singapore as one of the most connected and infocomm-savvy economies globally, as well as recognition by Singapore businesses that Office 365 is a tested and proven cloud productivity service delivering value to their operations .”

Tiger Airways will be deploying Office 365 across its workforce, providing its dispersed operations with the latest office productivity suite, while at the same time, ensuring that its IT resources is always mouldable to the ever changing business needs in a competitive aviation industry. (See separate media release: Tiger Airways chooses Microsoft Office 365 for email and collaboration in the cloud for more information)

NTUC Unity Healthcare has chosen to invest in Office 365 after suffering from unreliable IT solutions for storing and sharing of documents; as well as facing deep rooted challenges in communicating with its employees across some 48 pharmacies and 13 dental clinics across Singapore in a responsive and manageable manner.

Today, Office 365 is used by about 250 employees of the organization  to collaborate on a reliable and secure cloud-based platform.  “Office 365 has indeed provided an excellent collaboration platform for us to improve our internal communications. It has also made us more productive and responsive, without significantly increasing operating costs,” said Chong Nai Min, Director, Information Systems and Technology, NTUC Unity Healthcare.

More than 250 staff from TeleChoice International Limited, a regional diversified provider and enabler of innovative info-communications products and services, are moving to Office 365 for better collaboration where information workers can now share files centrally on the cloud as well as communicate on a single platform including Microsoft Sharepoint and Microsoft Lync on Office 365. TeleChoice has benefitted from its Office 365 investment where it is able to realise a 30% reduction in demand for IT and communication support resources among its employees. “Office 365 is easier to use and has more familiarity among our users. Once everyone is using Office 365, our IT group won’t have to spend a third of our time managing requests for more email space,” said Wong Keng Wan, Senior IT Group Manager, TeleChoice.

Office 365 – Now available for education institutions in Singapore

Microsoft Singapore also announced today the general availability of Office 365 for education in Singapore, allowing students and educators to take advantage of cloud-based communications and collaboration tools at no cost. Office 365 for education helps students and educators create documents, share information and provide more ways to collaborate. The solution provides schools with comprehensive security features, reliability and support so that IT staff can be freed up to focus on more strategic initiatives.

Jessica added: “We are excited to build on Office 365’s positive momentum in Singapore by providing students and educators with the technology tools they need to bring learning beyond the classrooms. We encourage all students and educators to sign up for Office 365 for education and enjoy next-generation cloud productivity services today.”

The basic tier plan for Office 365 for education, Plan A2, is available for free to all students and educators. Plan A2’s features include Email & Calendar, Office Web Apps, Instant Messaging, SharePoint and Web Conferencing. Interested students and educators can sign up for Office 365 for education today on: http://www.office365.com

###

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

About Tiger Airways

Tiger Airways is one of Asia’s leading low-cost carriers. Established in September 2004, the Airline has steadily grown its fleet to 34 A320 aircraft with an average age of under three years. It also has two A319s that are operated independently by SEAir in the Philippines under a partner airline programme. The Airline will build its fleet to 68 aircraft by December 2015.  Operating from Singapore and Australia, Tiger Airways’ network extends to over 30 destinations across 12 countries in the Asia Pacific region.

Tiger Airways is committed to offering customers great value fares and friendly service while maintaining the highest standards of safety, security and reliability. For more information, visit www.tigerairways.com.

About NTUC Unity Healthcare

NTUC Unity Healthcare was established in August 1992 in response to workers’ concerns over rising healthcare costs. Today, NTUC Unity Healthcare is the largest healthcare cooperative in Singapore. It currently operates 48 Unity pharmacies, 13 Denticare clinics island-wide. NTUC Unity Healthcare’s mission is to empower the community to care for their health and wellness, enabling them to live life to the full, enjoying every stage of their life.  We deliver this with our quality range of health and wellness products and services, served by warm and professional staff, pharmacists and dentists, supported by the labour movement’s commitment to caring for the community.

About TeleChoice International Limited (Regn No. 199802072R)

TeleChoice International Limited (“TeleChoice”) is a regional diversified provider and enabler of innovative info-communications products and services. Incorporated in Singapore on 28 April 1998 and listed on the Main-Board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (“SGX-ST”) on 25 June 2004, TeleChoice is a subsidiary of leading info-communications group, Singapore Technologies Telemedia Pte Ltd, which operates in the Asia Pacific, the Americas and Europe.

TeleChoice’s three business divisions – Personal Communications Solutions Services (“PCS”), Info-Communications Technology Services (“ICT”) and  Network Engineering Services, collectively offer a comprehensive suite of services and solutions for the info-communications industry.

For more information, please visit our website at www.telechoice.com.sg

****

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Microsoft Office 365 celebrates first anniversary, launches free education plan and signs new major customers in Singapore

Credits: http://www.investinternals.com/

Microsoft Singapore celebrates the first anniversary of its cloud-based productivity service, Office 365, with significant new customers Tiger Airways, NTUC Unity Healthcare and TeleChoice.

Microsoft Office 365 is a software plus service offering that includes Exchange, SharePoint, Lync and Office.

The one-year anniversary celebration of Microsoft Singapore’s Office 365 comes with some key announcements:

• Office 365 is now available for education in Singapore, allowing students and educators to take advantage of cloud-based communications and collaboration tools at not cost. The basic tier plan for Office 365 for education, Plan A2, is available for free to all students and educators.
• Tiger Airways, NTUC Unity Healthcare and TeleChoice are the new Office 365 customers wins for Microsoft Singapore.
• Singapore is ranked in Microsoft’s Top 10 markets globally in the adoption of Office 365.
• More than 4,500 businesses of all sizes in Singapore are Office 365 customers today.

Read the full press release below.

****

Singapore — June 28, 2012 — More than 4,500 small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and large enterprises in Singapore are using  the company’s cloud productivity service for businesses of all sizes. This milestone was announced today as Microsoft celebrates the first anniversary of Office 365 in Singapore and Asia.

Additionally, Microsoft Singapore announced today that Tiger Airways, NTUC Unity Healthcare and TeleChoice International Limited have signed up to use Office 365 across its workforce, where more than 2000 workers will benefit from the service.

Office 365 brings together Microsoft Office, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Exchange Online and Microsoft Lync Online in an always-up-to-date cloud service. Businesses of all sizes can sign up for Office 365 for as low as US$4 per month per user with Microsoft’s network of 120 authorized infocomm partners, including StarHub and Global Yellow Pages.

With Office 365, moving to the cloud does not require people to change the way they work because it is based on the familiar, industry-leading productivity tools that they know and trust. People get new ways to work together, on virtually any device, using the familiar Office applications they already know. In addition, business owners get the reliability, security features and IT controls they need in the cloud.

Office 365 – Trusted and Proven among Singapore-based businesses

Commenting on the strong momentum in the local market, Jessica Tan, Managing Director of Microsoft Singapore said, “We have seen great growth momentum for Office 365 in Singapore over the past year. We are proud to announce that Singapore is currently ranked one of Microsoft’s top 10 markets globally in the adoption of Office 365; cutting across various industry sectors, including retail, hospitality, construction, transportation, among others .”

“We are particularly proud to be able to have on board local and regional brand names such as Tiger Airways, NTUC Unity Healthcare and TeleChoice for Office 365. This is a great testimonial of Singapore as one of the most connected and infocomm-savvy economies globally, as well as recognition by Singapore businesses that Office 365 is a tested and proven cloud productivity service delivering value to their operations .”

Tiger Airways will be deploying Office 365 across its workforce, providing its dispersed operations with the latest office productivity suite, while at the same time, ensuring that its IT resources is always mouldable to the ever changing business needs in a competitive aviation industry. (See separate media release: Tiger Airways chooses Microsoft Office 365 for email and collaboration in the cloud for more information)

NTUC Unity Healthcare has chosen to invest in Office 365 after suffering from unreliable IT solutions for storing and sharing of documents; as well as facing deep rooted challenges in communicating with its employees across some 48 pharmacies and 13 dental clinics across Singapore in a responsive and manageable manner.

Today, Office 365 is used by about 250 employees of the organization  to collaborate on a reliable and secure cloud-based platform.  “Office 365 has indeed provided an excellent collaboration platform for us to improve our internal communications. It has also made us more productive and responsive, without significantly increasing operating costs,” said Chong Nai Min, Director, Information Systems and Technology, NTUC Unity Healthcare.

More than 250 staff from TeleChoice International Limited, a regional diversified provider and enabler of innovative info-communications products and services, are moving to Office 365 for better collaboration where information workers can now share files centrally on the cloud as well as communicate on a single platform including Microsoft Sharepoint and Microsoft Lync on Office 365. TeleChoice has benefitted from its Office 365 investment where it is able to realise a 30% reduction in demand for IT and communication support resources among its employees. “Office 365 is easier to use and has more familiarity among our users. Once everyone is using Office 365, our IT group won’t have to spend a third of our time managing requests for more email space,” said Wong Keng Wan, Senior IT Group Manager, TeleChoice.

Office 365 – Now available for education institutions in Singapore

Microsoft Singapore also announced today the general availability of Office 365 for education in Singapore, allowing students and educators to take advantage of cloud-based communications and collaboration tools at no cost. Office 365 for education helps students and educators create documents, share information and provide more ways to collaborate. The solution provides schools with comprehensive security features, reliability and support so that IT staff can be freed up to focus on more strategic initiatives.

Jessica added: “We are excited to build on Office 365’s positive momentum in Singapore by providing students and educators with the technology tools they need to bring learning beyond the classrooms. We encourage all students and educators to sign up for Office 365 for education and enjoy next-generation cloud productivity services today.”

The basic tier plan for Office 365 for education, Plan A2, is available for free to all students and educators. Plan A2’s features include Email & Calendar, Office Web Apps, Instant Messaging, SharePoint and Web Conferencing. Interested students and educators can sign up for Office 365 for education today on: http://www.office365.com

###

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

About Tiger Airways

Tiger Airways is one of Asia’s leading low-cost carriers. Established in September 2004, the Airline has steadily grown its fleet to 34 A320 aircraft with an average age of under three years. It also has two A319s that are operated independently by SEAir in the Philippines under a partner airline programme. The Airline will build its fleet to 68 aircraft by December 2015.  Operating from Singapore and Australia, Tiger Airways’ network extends to over 30 destinations across 12 countries in the Asia Pacific region.

Tiger Airways is committed to offering customers great value fares and friendly service while maintaining the highest standards of safety, security and reliability. For more information, visit www.tigerairways.com.

About NTUC Unity Healthcare

NTUC Unity Healthcare was established in August 1992 in response to workers’ concerns over rising healthcare costs. Today, NTUC Unity Healthcare is the largest healthcare cooperative in Singapore. It currently operates 48 Unity pharmacies, 13 Denticare clinics island-wide. NTUC Unity Healthcare’s mission is to empower the community to care for their health and wellness, enabling them to live life to the full, enjoying every stage of their life.  We deliver this with our quality range of health and wellness products and services, served by warm and professional staff, pharmacists and dentists, supported by the labour movement’s commitment to caring for the community.

About TeleChoice International Limited (Regn No. 199802072R)

TeleChoice International Limited (“TeleChoice”) is a regional diversified provider and enabler of innovative info-communications products and services. Incorporated in Singapore on 28 April 1998 and listed on the Main-Board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (“SGX-ST”) on 25 June 2004, TeleChoice is a subsidiary of leading info-communications group, Singapore Technologies Telemedia Pte Ltd, which operates in the Asia Pacific, the Americas and Europe.

TeleChoice’s three business divisions – Personal Communications Solutions Services (“PCS”), Info-Communications Technology Services (“ICT”) and  Network Engineering Services, collectively offer a comprehensive suite of services and solutions for the info-communications industry.

For more information, please visit our website at www.telechoice.com.sg

****

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TenMiles’ Productivity App, Wonderful Day tops the iOS App store (ahead of Keynote)

Chennai based Tenmiles launched its productivity app, Wonderful Day in the month of February (2012) and the app made it to top 3 apps (in India app store) within a week of its launch and now, the app has made it to the top 2 app in US app store (paid productivity apps category).

Wonderful Day @App Store

Started as a hobby project, Wonderful Day app is a dead-simple ToDo app (paid app, priced at $0.99)  that helps you track the progress of your daily activities/goals over a period of time (recurring events as well) and has pushed several heavyweight apps like Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Clear, Omnifocus etc down the iTunes list.

Wonderful Day App Performance

Wonderful Day aims to help you develop the habits that you aspire to have, by motivating you everyday. Inspired by Jerry Seinfeld’s Productivity Secret, it visualizes your goals in a way that screams out “Don’t break the chain‘!

What has worked for the app?
TenMiles Founder Shalin Jain has kept us updated on the app performance ever since the launch and a common thread has been the unpredictability of app stores and importantly, an example of how a neatly-done out app can grow on its own (without spending in marketing $$s).

Wonderful Day's Productivity Secret

Watch this introductory video of Wonderful Day

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