While big data is no longer a stranger to us, the implementation of such technology is still uncommon here in Indonesia. This is something that Roy Simangunsong, the CEO of Okezone, always wants to change. At least that’s reflected when the CEO launched the latest version of Okezone.com yesterday (6/10).
In an interview session, Simangunsong clearly stated his vision to enable the new version of Okezone for not only advertisers but also users as well. “Content, technology, and sales are three main pillars of the new Okezone,” Roy stated when DailySocial met him at his office in Kebon Sirih, jakarta.
Responsive and Adaptive Website
Roy, who previously led Yahoo! Indonesia, has always been regarding technology as his first priority for Okezone. This has even been this Microsoft and IBM alum’s vision ever since he joined the team in last March 2014. By providing captivating yet convenient design for the users, he indeed aims to take Okezone to the next level. One thing for sure, it’s not there without a reason. “Every single component of this new design is based on the feedback from our own visitors these past 4 months,” he said.
That’s literally what Okezone did these past months. The team collected as many information about the behavior of their visitors as possible, enabling them using the data as the very basis of their brand new design.
Simangunsong further added that this brand new Okezone also got optimized for tablet. To support the convenience of browsing in various screen sizes, Simangunsong and his team even made the new design available for desktop and smartphone as well.
If It’s not Broken, Don’t Fix It
During his time of leading the team, Simangunsong claimed that it is not their competitors that he is afraid of, but rather the internal mindset of his own team. He is afraid that his team is okay with the ‘if it’s not broken, don’t fix it’ thing which, obviously, is not the way a dynamic media company works. His vision is to turn Okezone into a vibrant and young news portal. By this, he means to keep Okezone catching up the latest trend without losing the spirit of the youth.
“We keep the concept of Vibrant and Young in purpose, not otherwise. The fact that we are not youth any longer doesn’t stop us from implementing new technologies which in result may add more values to Okezone,” he stated.
OkezoneID and Community
Besides launching a new design, Okezone also introduces its own Single-Sign On (SSO) feature called OkezoneID. Although the ID only serves as a feature where users may leave their comment or subscribe to certain channels at the moment, Simangunsong claimed that in the near future, the ID will be implemented to various online properties under MNC media group. It’s true that there are a number of established SSOs already, like Facebook or Twitter login, but it’s still not that simple to integrate many stuffs without having our own platform.
Further, Okezone also introduces the “Ruang Anda” feature which enables users to have their own freedom of expression and interaction, not to mention personal content consumption. To catch up with the trend, Okezone also arms the platform with “MyZone” feature, where users may contribute by posting their own reports there.
Two Years, Top 3
By the launching of this brand new design, Simangunsong and his team have a new dream to pursue. “We aim to be the top 3 local news portal by 2016,” Simangunsong strongly emphasized. Well, considering that the company is backed up by the power of MNC group, such milestone is not impossible to achieve. According to Alexa, the top 3 local websites at the moment are Detik (#9), Kompas (#10), and Liputan6 (#13). Okezone itself is placed thirty-fifth on the list, right before Kapanlagi (#36).
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