Youtube is not copyright friendly and Skype is not telco friendly. A break-thru’ product or service is about “breaking the rule”.

In Singapore, one is more likely to be arrested before one can break the rule and come out with a break-thru’ product or service.

Food for thought?

Creating a new business like youtube, or a new invention, or the growth of genus depends solely on the natured instinct of the people.

The curiosity and imagination out of the natured instinct is the mother of all new creations. In the process of the natured instinct interacting with circumstance, the creativity prevails if it is maintained and developed and is stifled when it is turned into intuited instinct. Creativeness decreases generally when intelligence prevails.

The natured instinct could not be measured intelligently. It could only be easily known when it turned into great success or failure. The world is dominated intelligently that could not and chose not see it but it resides in every one of us

The instinct of people either intuited or natured decides all action based on the Total Cognitive Sense.
The Total Cognitive Sense is a state of mind, or a belief, or a feeling or a sum of the three arises on or is generated from a kind of collective or summery of the experience and knowledge that have interacted and obtained from society, family, education, self study, guidance, inculcation and any other sources plus the appropriate awareness of self capability.

The collective or summery process like a mixer continuously receiving all ingredients in a never stopping blending process that are producing a ever changing of mix- the total cognitive sense.

It embeds into the instinct that decides the best possible move consciously or unconsciously in case of emergency.

The intuited instinct base on this sense with intelligent analysis to decide the logical move or an intuition move solely base on the past experiences and knowledge in an emergency.

Natured instinct decides the move while there is no vital information of the ultimate end available to explore the unknown or the creation of new entity. By this nature the move is always abnormal or a surprise in the eye of the general public and against the intelligent belief. It inclines in an emergency, to make the move for the best possibility that is based on belief.

The value of the natured instinct could not be measured and comprehended as it is decided by the ongoing development of that value. It spurs up the creativeness, but creativeness itself is worthless until it turns into an invention, product, service, new entity or great failure.

Unless the people understand the different of this intuited and natured instinct of human, we are then nearer to the creation of great new businesses and inventions by the individual entrepreneur. An entrepreneurial nation could then be possibly built.

Many of us strand at facing the threat and opportunity brought by the globalization and technology evolution. To help ourselves and to make our life better, we need to free ourselves from our usual thinking by understanding our instinct where the “X” factor resides.

Even the government wouldn’t want you in the civil service. A failed entrepreneur is as good as dead.

Why are we talking about making a Singapore YouTube, and not a brandnew SG-made idea?

The decision makers know they want a good dot-com and seeing the success of others make them want to follow instead of creating something new.

Not saying following or coping isn’t good, since it’s proven successful by others. Many would know that Japanese are good copier and innovator such that they can make an old idea / product new.

I believe if we are going to make a Singapoe YouTube, it should be better than the current YouTube or be targeted at a different group of users with innovative functions etc.

If the Singapore YouTube we are talking is just going to be a copy of the current YouTube and with only slight improvements etc, I suggest the idea be dropped as it will only be a waste of funds.

And, instead, take on another idea.

The decision makers should:

Groom more entrepreneurs

Head-hunt potential entrepreneurs from schools and institutes.
(Self-made entrepreneur higher risk-taker, tough against failures)

VALUE THEM, not creating some worthless competition and end of story. (Should put more effort to make the entrepreneur competition pieces into reality if they are practical enough to be made reality)

There are greater opportunities of success in countries other than China and US due to less competitiveness and the ongoing globalization, and a virgin land to grow company the way as skype in Estonia.

Singapore has the ready pool of intelligent people either Singaporean or foreigner the technology mastered is sufficient to form the foundation of creating company like youtube but lack of the steering hand. If such steering hand with the marketplace idea that could move the world do exist, it could not create company like youtube due the Ignorance Of Marketplace Idea By The Decision Makers. The discision makers in the government and VCs could not see the opportunity beyond the cloud. They are the most intelligent people who think and act practically and logically following the growth path that have been proven and taken in the dotcom business.

I believe there are such steering hand with the desire exist in Singapore and if with a few million dolloars Singapore is a better place than SV to grow such a company lavaraging and providing opportunity for the local telants to excel and breakthrougth. Without the few million dollars the steering hand may still take 10 years Path To Top Dotcom.

Fix it along the way… thicken your skin… market like crazy… Get up when you fall… Try again… if you don’t stop… you will get your big hit sooner or later.

“you don’t really need to start a company in the valley, but if you need to grow your company, move it to the valley.”

Putting the argument of Sg being a small market aside (its a very relevant point btw), we still have to consider the fact that our population are relatively late adopters of web technology.

This point could be debatable, cos pple might start comparing sg with neighbouring countries like msia, vietnam and whatnots. But hey, comparing ourselves with equally developed economies, face it..how many of your friends are exploiting the full powers of the latest advancements in web2.0?(YouTube’s not counted, its an established old daddy considering its already 1 year old). I feel this could probably be due to the following:

1) There aren’t enough technology enthusiasts (like us =P) to support a new web company, to help spread word about them, or to put it in cliched terms, to help them cross the chasm.

2) Our population is still mostly comprised of followers. Only when other markets have started adopting the technology, would we consider adopting them. Its the case even for artistes here. They would have to make a name for themselves abroad before locals would be convinced of their talents. This is a problem a local web startup will have to face.

Till the day that the above problems are solved, I feel that we will never see a web company like YouTube being grown in our spartan garden.

You’re defintely right when it comes to setting your sights high and really dreaming. Its only through dreaming and being committed to making that dream a reality that sets the creators apart from the mere day-dreamers.

But its also a matter of culture I feel, and I suspect that you may feel the same. This is my criticism. Singaporeans are often content to talk in forums and on blog comments (me included…!) and dream dream dream. But we never do, engage or decide to believe in a cause that though small may one day become truly big and change the world.

And that lack of a “seeing and respecting” possibilities cullure is precisely what kills the entrepeneurial drive here.

Just like you said… Justin, in order for entrepeneurs and new products to thrive, we need “most importantly, the critical mass of the top bloggers as a large population of creative people in california who are willing to try new things out, spare their time to help you beta test and be vocal enough tell you about what’s wrong with your startup…”

1)About the ivy league equivalents being more likely to make it. I was making a limited point. I was venturing to guess and see IF there is a you-tube out of Singapore, what the profile would be like. And notice I said only fresh graduate teams. I still stand by pedigree counts in the example I was using.

2) Actually I do not think based in Spore, targeting china is any more far fetched than based in Singapore targeting USA. There are firms who have done it. Buzzcity, SPH Zaobao.com are good examples of decent successes in China market and with strategy and key management based in Singapore.

dershing

“Built with a larger market in mind. Either China or USA. But business can be based in Singapore for development, taxation, IP etc purposes.”

My opinion is stick with US as the target market unless you or someone in the team really know China. China is a much more different market than most can imagine.

Based in Singapore and targeting China is quite far-fetched.

i believe the main question is whether or not “youtube”-like companies can be created in singapore…again, statistically it’s possible (better odds with an increase in the number of companies that incorporate here)…although i can’t remember the last time i read about a “hardwarezone”-level or higher startup being setup here…

btw, love the job u guys are doing for the ppl…