Those expecting the service to be free should not hold their collective breaths, though… the outlet operators are given the choice to provide Wi-Fi to their customers for free or for a reasonable fee.

In an interview with the NST, Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad Ismail acknowledged that Wi-Fi is in demand and that food outlet operators who offer it will be giving their customers value-added services.

The mayor also mentioned that the council is also currently studying the feasibility of  installing Wi-Fi facilities at public food courts.

Image credit

KL Eateries to be Wi-Fi Ready originally appeared on GreyReview.com on January 4, 2012.

Facebook acquired a Malaysian startup in 2010. Facebook is the only social web company with a development team in Malaysia.

Interested to join the 800 million users social networking giant? Apply here.

Facebook Software Engineering Job in Malaysia originally appeared on GreyReview.com on October 11, 2011.

Like other hundreds of group buying deals sites, Slosht offers attractive discounts for its customers. But unlike the other deals site, Slosht introduces group buying concept to nightlife experience. The group buying deal site negotiates deep discounts for alcoholic beverages with bars, nightclubs and alcoholic beverage companies by guaranteeing sales of X number of drinks for one specified night.

People pre-order their drinks and when a minimum order is achieved, the party is on. A day before the event, buyers will receive redemption codes via SMS and email. At the party venue, buyer uses the redemption code to get his drinks. Currently, the service covers the Klang Valley areas and is founded by Chak Onn Lau, who is also the founder of Foldees.

The Slosht beta launch party is on August 18 2011 at Bakita. The inaugural Slocht deal is Glen Grant 16yo Single Malt Whiskey selling at RM228 and the normal price is RM495. That’s 54% discount and no doubt, a steal! (CEO of MOL, Ganesh K Bangah, posted on his Facebook mentioning about his birthday bash also at Bakita on August 18 and it is shaping up to be a Sloshtful night).

Slosht can make its community of drinkers more, errm, intoxicating and living up to its tag no one drinks alone. Say, once the party (or deal) is on, buyer can plan party with their buddies via group invite and messaging features on Slosht website or mobile app. Also, buyers can earn bragging rights (i.e. Dude who’ve saved RM1000 on Slosht, Hardcore Sloshter) and “shout” them on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Slosht Sex Up Nightlife by Deep Slashing Alcohol Prices originally appeared on GreyReview.com on August 9, 2011.

The XOOM features a 1GHz dual-core processor, 32 GB of memory and 1GB of RAM, front-facing and rear-facing cameras, true multi-tasking functionality, and the latest Google Mobile services on a 10.1-inch widescreen HD display.

At an exclusive launch at the Ciao Ristorante in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, T. Kugan, Vice-President of Product, Device and Innovation at Maxis said, “Maxis customers will be the first to enjoy the coveted Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi in Malaysia. User experience will definitely be enhanced by the fact that Maxis today has the widest and fastest 3G broadband footprint in Malaysia, enabling them to enjoy the features of the smart device on seamless high-speed mobile data networks.”

Robert van Tilburg, senior regional sales director for Motorola Mobility in South Asia had this to add: “Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi re-defines what the tablet experience should be. Designed from the ground up with the user in mind, it provides more ways to have fun, connect with friends and stay productive while on the go. Whether surfing the Web, watching the latest hit movie as it was intended or video-chatting with friends, Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi will delight customers with its ease of use, speed and vivid graphics, as well as its Motorola Smart Accessories.”

Since the one to be made available in the Malaysian market will be the Wi-Fi only version, Maxis is offering a bundle of the XOOM together with the Motorola Defy for a combo price of RM2499. The Motorola Defy being an Android smartphone has a portable hotspot feature which will allow it to share its connection with the XOOM. However, according to Maxis, this limited period offer will be valid only from May 6 until May 22, and customers will need to sign up for a 3GB x 24 month contract on the Motorola DEFY.

Excerpt from Maxis’ official press release on the XOOM’s features:

Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi features – a new mobile experience

Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi delivers exceptionally fast performance with its 1 GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM. The tablet showcases the innovations of the Honeycomb user experience – including widgets, true multi-tasking, tabbed browsing, notifications and customization – on a 10.1-inch widescreen HD display with 1280X800 resolution enabling video content that’s richer and clearer than ever before. Support for HDMI enables viewing of videos and movies on larger screens, such as HD televisions. A 5 MP rear-facing camera captures HD video, and a 2 MP front-facing camera enables clear video chats using Google Talk™.

The latest Google Mobile services include Google Maps 5.0™ and access to Android Market™. Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi also supports a beta version of Adobe® Flash® Player 10.2 downloadable from Android Market, enabling the delivery of rich Flash-based web content including videos, games and rich Internet applications. The tablet also features a built-in gyroscope, barometer, e-compass, accelerometer and adaptive lighting. It supports up to 10 hours of video playback, and charges in half the time of competitive tablets on the market.  Motorola XOOM has an SD card slot but this will not be supported at launch – a software upgrade will follow after launch to enable this feature.

Motorola Smart Accessories

• A Speaker HD Dock for sending HD content directly to a TV or clearly listening to music through two built-in speakers without attaching external speakers
• A protective gel case designed to be a snug fit and to give you peace of mind when you are on the go
• A premium folio case which protects your Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi when you are on the go. It also allows you to position it at two different angles

Meanwhile, Motorola launches world’s first Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet XOOM in Malaysia originally appeared on GreyReview.com on April 29, 2011.

Here are some photos of iPad 2 queues at some of the Apple reseller stores today in Kuala Lumpur / Klang Valley areas.

Machines, Suria KLCC

photo by Daniel Riveong on Twitter.

photo by Machines on Facebook.

Machines, Sunway Pyramid

photo by Ramakrishnan CN on Facebook.

photo by Andrew Lee on Twitter.

Machines, Mid-Valley

photo by Machines on Facebook.

photo by Lowyat.NET on Twitter.

photo by Sharine L. on Twitter.

Machines, Lot 10

photo by YH Lim.

Switch, The Mines

photo by Muhammad Hijazi on Twitter.

Macstudio, Berjaya Times Square

photo by YH Lim.

Mac City, 1Utama

photo by Mei Ng on Facebook.

Macstudio, Low Yat Plaza

photo by YH Lim.

iPad 2 Sold Out notices

photo by YH Lim.

iPad 2 swarms in Malaysia: Launch Day [Photos] originally appeared on GreyReview.com on April 29, 2011.

A check on the service provider’s website reveals that it has started an online pre-registration campaign to allow those who are interested in signing up for the service to pick a unique Yes ID and 018 mobile number. The website also reveals that Yes.my is actually the front for YTL Communications Sdn Bhd, which is a subsidiary of YTL Corporation Bhd, the largest non-government linked company in the 2010 MB100 survey of Malaysia’s Largest Listed Companies.

It will be interesting to see if YTL Communications Sdn Bhd or any of its marketing arms actually got the go-ahead from Lucasfilm Ltd. (George Lucas is the Founder and Chairman of the company), which owns the rights to Star Wars and its bevy of characters, to utilize the Stormtroopers characters to promote its fledgling service provider. Knowing how litigious Lucasfilm and its principal George Lucas can get (see here and here, for example), it can get pretty messy for the upstart service provider (and its parent company) should they fail to obtain any prior approval for usage of these characters.

Image credits: YES Troopers photos by Henry Lee and Stormtrooper cartoon by Joe Wight.

Bold 4G Marketing by YTL: Did Lucas say Yes too? originally appeared on GreyReview.com on November 14, 2010.

A continuously updated list of most popular Malaysian Facebook Pages, ranked by total Likes:

Most Popular Facebook Pages in Malaysia

Rank	Facebook Pages	Company	Total Likes
1	Upin & Ipin hit children animation series	Les' Copaque Production Sdn Bhd
2	Maaduu free to watch Korean dramas and pop videos	PlayTV Asia Sdn Bhd
3	AirAsia Southeast Asia's largest no-frills carrier	AirAsia Bhd
4	McDonald's Malaysia fast-food restaurant chain	Golden Arches Restaurants Sdn Bhd
5	Hot FM popular Malay radio station	Media Prima Bhd
6	iluvislam.com Islamic media site	ILI dot com
7	TV3 leading free-to-air TV station in Malaysia	Media Prima Bhd
8	Golden Screen Cinemas Malaysia's leading cinema chain	Golden Screen Cinemas Sdn Bhd
9	Pizza Hut Malaysia pizza restaurant chain	Pizza Hut Restaurants Sdn Bhd
10	Berita Harian Online Bahasa Malaysia daily newspaper	Berita Harian Sdn Bhd
11	MOLPoints virtual currency to buy Facebook Credits and more	MOLPoints AccessPortal Sdn Bhd
12	Sharing media site for youth	Web Idea
13	Malaysia Airlines Malaysian national carrier	Malaysian Airline System Bhd
14	CIMB Malaysia 2nd largest commercial bank in Malaysia	CIMB Bank Bhd
15	Mudah.my online marketplace	Mudah.my Sdn Bhd
16	Imam Muda reality TV format with Islamic teachings	Astro Entertainment Sdn Bhd
17	Oh! Media web and advertising company	Oh! Media Network
18	Harian Metro first afternoon Bahasa Malaysia newspaper	Harian Metro Sdn Bhd
19	BlackBerry Malaysia popular smartphone in Malaysia	Research In Motion
20	DiGi Youths youth community curated by DiGi	DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd
21	Remaja teen magazine	Kumpulan Karangkraf Sdn Bhd
22	Maxis leading mobile services provider	Maxis Bhd
23	DiGi Telecommunications Malaysia's 3rd largest cellular network provider	DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd
24	Nike Football Malaysia leading sportswear company	Nike Sales (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
25	Kit Kat Malaysia chocolate-coated wafer confection	Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd
26	Astro satellite TV service provider	MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems Sdn Bhd
27	Super Dancer Online Extreme online game	CiB Net Station Sdn Bhd
28	Gempak Starz Malay-language info-comics magazine provider	Gempak Starz Sdn Bhd
29	KFC Malaysia fast food restaurant chain	KFC Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd
30	Hotlink cellular prepaid service	Maxis Bhd
31	Hitz.fm English radio station	Airtime Management and Programming Sdn Bhd
32	Big Apple Donuts & Coffee local doughnuts chain	Big Apple Interasia Sdn Bhd
33	United International Pictures Malaysia leading film distribution company	United International Pictures Sdn Bhd
34	BeautieQQ Fashion women fashions online store	BeautieQQ Fashion Sdn Bhd
35	Sony Ericsson Malaysia mobile phone maker	Sony Ericsson Sdn Bhd
36	Canon Camera (Malaysia) leading camera brand in Malaysia	Canon Marketing (M) Sdn Bhd
37	Majalah Solusi Islamic magazine	Telaga Biru Sdn Bhd
38	HarakahDaily political newspaper	Telesign Communications Sdn Bhd
39	Pa&Ma parenting magazine	Kumpulan Karangkraf Sdn Bhd
40	Watsons Malaysia health and beauty store chain	Watsons Personal Care Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
41	Firefly Airlines budget carrier by MAS	FireFly Sdn Bhd
42	UFun video contents sharing Page	Shine Cloud Studio
43	Padini Holdings largest fashion retailer in Malaysia	Padini Holdings Bhd
44	BoBoiBoy Malaysian animation series on Disney Channel SEA	Animonsta Studios Sdn Bhd
45	Home Ideas wall stickers online store	San De Bayu Sdn Bhd
46	Everyone Connects broadband lifestyle community by TM	Telekom Malaysia Bhd
47	Mingguan Wanita magazine for women	Kumpulan Karangkraf Sdn Bhd
48	Adidas Malaysia sportswear brand	adidas Malaysia Sdn Bhd
49	Sunway Pyramid shopping mall	Sunway Pyramid Sdn Bhd
50	Babymanja Fans Club online & retail baby store	Manjaku Sdn Bhd
51	Avalon sarees online store	Avalon Sarees
52	AXE Malaysia male grooming brand	Unilever (M) Holdings Sdn Bhd
53	7-Eleven Malaysia convenience store	7-Eleven Malaysia Sdn Bhd
54	Mobile9 portal to share, download mobile contents	Mobile9.com
55	Nestle Drumstick ice cream	Nestle Products Sdn Bhd
56	Xpax mobile prepaid service	Celcom Axiata Bhd
57	Sushi King sushi restaurant chain	Sushi King Sdn Bhd
58	PetsMore.com Malaysia largest pets store chain	Pets More Sdn Bhd
59	U.O.X. mobile prepaid plan for youth, 18 to 25 years of age	Celcom Axiata Bhd
60	IKEA Malaysia international home products company	IKEA Malaysia
61	KongSi action Bahasa Malaysia movie	Metrowealth Pictures Sdn Bhd
62	Murai entertainment news portal	Digital Five Sdn Bhd
63	MMOG.asia online game publisher	MyCNX (M) Holdings Sdn Bhd
64	GAP Malaysia clothing retailer	GAP Malaysia
65	Zouk Club KL entertainment outlet	Zouk Club Sdn Bhd
66	Revive isotonic drink	Permanis Sdn Bhd
67	Sony Malaysia consumer electronics	Sony (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
68	Guinness Malaysia popular Irish dry stout	Guinness Anchor Bhd
69	Lelong.my leading auction site	Interbase Resources Sdn Bhd
70	S.O.X. mobile prepaid plan for youth, 12 to 18 years of age	Celcom Axiata Bhd
71	TM Rewards customer loyalty programme	Telekom Malaysia Bhd
72	Machines Apple reseller	Machines Sdn Bhd
73	Action City toy store chain	Big Box International Sdn Bhd
74	Racing Boy motorcycles accessories brand	Meng Kah Auto Parts Trading Sdn Bhd
75	Milo Fuze popular chocolate and malt drink	Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd
76	Funtora deals site	Atom Media Sdn Bhd
77	Twisties Malaysia snack food product	Kraft Malaysia Sdn Bhd
78	Pavilion KL shopping mall in Bukit Bintang area	Urusharta Cemerlang Sdn Bhd
79	Maggi Malaysia instant noodles	Nestle Malaysia Bhd
80	Sinar Harian Malay-language newspaper	Kumpulan Karangkraf Sdn Bhd
81	Resorts World Genting casinos operator	Resorts World Bhd
82	15Malaysia socio-political short films	Pete Teo / Packet One Networks (M) Sdn Bhd
83	MHI TV3 Malay-language morning talk show	Media Prima Bhd
84	Secret Recipe Malaysia lifestyle cafe chain, popular for its cheese cakes	Secret Recipe Cakes & Cafe Sdn Bhd
85	Puma Malaysia sportswear	PUMA Sports Goods Sdn Bhd
86	Awan Dania TV drama series	Nusantara Seni Karya Sdn Bhd
87	SilkyTrend online store for women apparels	SilkyTrend Enterprise
88	100PLUS Outdo Yourself isotonic drink	Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd
89	Hard Rock Hotel Penang a luxury resort in Penang Island	HPL Hotels & Resorts
90	Pantene Malaysia shampoo brand	Procter & Gamble (M) Sdn Bhd
91	Hennessy Malaysia cognac maker	Moet Hennessy Diageo Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.
92	MyNewsHub Malay-language online news portal	Mynewsnet Sdn Bhd
93	NissanMalaysia automobile	Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad
94	Maybank Malaysia's largest bank	Malayan Banking Bhd
95	Sunsilk Malaysia shampoo brand	Unilever Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd
96	CornettoLove Wall's ice cream	Unilever (M) Sdn Bhd
97	AirAsiaGo online travel portal by AirAsia	AirAsia Bhd
98	Tune Talk mobile service provider	Tune Talk Sdn Bhd
99	Johnnie Walker Malaysia popular scotch whiskey brand	Moet Hennessy Diageo Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.
100	Lollytot baby and children online gift store	Lollytot
101	Intel Malaysia world's leading chipmaker	Intel Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd
102	Nokia Malaysia mobile phones supplier	Nokia (M) Sdn Bhd
103	F.O.S clothing retail chain	F.O.S Clothing Co Sdn Bhd
104	Lipice Malaysia lip care products	Rohto-Mentholatum (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
105	Avon Malaysia beauty products	Avon Cosmetics (M) Sdn Bhd
106	Friends of MyEG Malaysia's e-government service provider	MyEG Services Bhd
107	OHBULAN! entertainment news	Driven Media Sdn Bhd
108	Silkygirl cosmetics	Alliance Cosmetics Sdn Bhd
109	Lancome Malaysia cosmetics brand	L'Oreal Malaysia Sdn Bhd
110	Generasi Hebat youth community by BRAND'S essence of chicken	Cerebos (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
111	Lumix Club Lumix camera users in Malaysia	Panasonic Malaysia Sdn Bhd
112	BOH Tea Malaysia Malaysia’s largest producer of premium black teas	BOH Plantations Sdn Bhd
113	Ripcurl Malaysia surfing sportswear	Wicked Wave Sdn Bhd
114	F&N Fun beverages	Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd
115	BonusLink customer loyalty card	BonusKad Loyalty Sdn Bhd
116	Windows Malaysia OS by Microsoft	Microsoft Malaysia Sdn Bhd
117	Crocs Malaysia footwear brand	Kinderdijk Sdn Bhd
118	Yes 4G mobile Internet service provider	YTL Communications Sdn Bhd
119	My Clean and Clear facial products	Johnson & Johnson Sdn Bhd
120	Baskin Robbins Malaysia ice cream store chain	Golden Scoops Sdn Bhd
121	Shama Fashion House online women fashion boutique	Shama Fashion House
122	Ronasutra Mineral Makeup beauty products	Aurafine Marketing
123	Maybankard card products from Maybank	Maybank Bhd
124	Toshiba Regza Malaysia TV brand	Toshiba Sales & Services Sdn Bhd
125	Ed Hardy Malaysia clothing line inspired by Ed Hardy's famous tattoo designs	Ed Hardy Malaysia Sdn Bhd
126	BROS reusable water bottles brand	Living Wing Sdn Bhd
127	Haagen-Dazs Malaysia premium ice-cream	General Mills (M) Sdn Bhd
128	Proton Edar marketing unit of Proton	Proton Holdings Bhd
129	Michelin Malaysia tires maker	Michelin Malaysia Sdn Bhd
130	Gillette Malaysia men's grooming products	Gillette (M) Sdn Bhd

NOTES

• These Pages are created by businesses, local and foreign, to primarily engage with (there is a total of 12 million Facebook users in Malaysia.
• However, this List excludes public figures (i.e. Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad with over 1 million fans or Lisa Surihani with over 1.2 million fans) and non-business related Pages (i.e. No Mega Tower with over 200k fans).
• If there is a popular Malaysian Facebook Page missing from this Top 50 list, please recommend it in the Comments area below.

Updated: December 21 2011

Most Popular Facebook Pages in Malaysia originally appeared on GreyReview.com on November 4, 2010.

This year, a total of 180 nominations from 16 member economies for 16 categories. “From a small member base of 5 countries in the first International APICTA Awards, we have now grown to include 17 nations across the Asia-Pacific region, most recently adding Taiwan to our ranks,” said Sutee Satanasathapon, Chairman of APICTA. The 16 member economies of APICTA are Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Since it started in 2001, the awards programme has recognized and rewarded the innovation of numerous ICT companies across the Asia-Pacific region. Past APICTA winners have contributed to the regional ICT Industry with two such examples being:

• CyberPlanet Interactive Co. Ltd., 2004 Winner for Media and Entertainment, has become a public-listed company and expanded into China and Japan to become the largest console game developer in South East Asia
• Les’ Copaque, 2007 Winner for Best Start-up Company, is now rated as one of Malaysia’s foremost production and animation houses with its flagship animation series, Upin & Ipin with broadcast in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines, Vietnam, Hong Kong and South Korea.

Malaysia won 4 Awards

There are a total of 29 Malaysian finalists for this year’s Awards, consisting of 24 companies, 3 universities and 2 schools. Winners are judged based on these criteria:

• Uniqueness
• Market potential / value for public
• Functionalities and features
• Quality and application of technology
• Presentation

In this year’s International APICTA Awards, a total of 4 Malaysian entries winning the following categories – Research and Development, Tourism and Hospitality, E-Learning, and E-Government. Singapore-based Ephone International Pte Ltd clinched two awards – Best E-Health and Best Start-up Company – for its product, EPI Life. Other notable winners are IP Payments Account Receivable Solution from Australia, which won the Financial Industry Applications category and Thai company, Geomove Co. Ltd. for their Sensor Service Grid application, which won the Tools & Infrastructure category.

Here’s the full list of winners:
Best of Research and Development: nuRF Wireless Sensor Network and Smart Wireless System – Free Alliance (Malaysia)

Best of Tourism and Hospitality: GDX Guest Services Management – FCS Computer Systems (Malaysia)

Best of E-Learning: Jayonik Convoy Dynamic Driving Simulator System – Jayonik MSC Sdn Bhd (Malaysia)

Best of e-Government: eKasih National Databank on Poverty – Implementation Coordination Unit, Prime Minister’s Department (Malaysia)

Best of Start-Up Companies / Best of e-Health: EPI Life – Ephone International Pte Ltd (Singapore)

Best of Financial Industry Application: IP Payments Account Receivables Solution – IP Payments Pty Ltd (Australia)

Best of Tools and Infrastructure: Sensor Service GRID – Geomove Co. Ltd (Thailand)

Best of New Media and Entertainment: Scoreless Music Suite – Scoreless Music Pte Ltd (Singapore)

Best of Communications: Smoov.me – Smoov Pte Ltd (Singapore)

Best of Security Application: iMatch Mobile – PCS Security Pte Ltd (Singapore)

Best of E-Inclusion and E-Community: Brain Fitness Gymnasium for the Ederly – The Hong Kong Society for the Aged (Hong Kong)

Best of E-Logistics and Supply Chain Management: NEOtrace – NEO Invention Co. Ltd. (Thailand)

Best of Industrial Application: Java Human Machine Interface Engine – Thales Australia (Australia)

Best of Secondary Student Project: My mom’s mobile phone as my sister’s tutor – Salman Al Fansi Full Day School (Indonesia)

Best of Tertiary Student Projects: Stereoscopic video generation from Monoscopic Video – City University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)

APICTA Lifetime ICT Award

The evening also saw former Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad received a Lifetime ICT Achievement Award, for his contribution to the ICT industry. The MSC Malaysia is the brainchild of the Tun Mahathir.

Winners at the 10th International Asia Pacific ICT Awards (APICTA) 2010 originally appeared on GreyReview.com on October 17, 2010.

When it comes to building a community of evangelists, most companies naturally start by going ‘outside’ the corporate wall i.e. engaging with influencers, bloggers, etc. Why not start with employees? Use them as seeders and spreaders of your brand story. After all, there’s a blurring of work and play in the social media space. Leverage on what you have and can control. Organic evangelism, it is!

A Good Use of Twitter List by P1 originally appeared on GreyReview.com on November 20, 2009.

How Foldees Works the Crowd

Foldees holds series of contests to entice and encourage designers to contribute card designs. Each contest has a specific theme – “We are all Geeks” (held in June 2008), “A Comic Book Christmas” (September 2008), “The Game of Love” (November 2008) and its on-going contest with the theme “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” Foldees community will rate design submissions for each contest to determine the winners (who will receive cash prizes).

For its first contest, Foldees chalked up 43,504 page views, 24,744 ratings and 1,992 comments. Out of a total of 189 submissions, 70 were selected.

Personalized Greeting Card

Buyers can buy either buy blank cards or customize the cards with personalized messages. Foldees will print the cards (using eco-certified paper) and deliver them to the intended recipients. Each card costs US$2.00. For each card sold, the card designer gets a royalty payment of US$0.10.

Unfolding Foldees

Foldees is owned and operated by Energon Sdn Bhd, a Kuala Lumpur-based company founded by Chak-Onn Lau and Alvin Yu on August 31 2007. According to Lau, they got a healthy dose of inspiration from Threadless, which sells t-shirts designed by its community.

In October 2007, it received the support of the MSC Malaysia Technopreneur Pre-Seed Fund to catalyst its development. Its website went live on June 15 2008 and started selling cards on September 07 2008.

According to Lau, Foldees will be releasing a new feature called @ddress to allow its users to send each other greeting cards without the need of mailing addresses. Also, the site will embrace Facebook Connect and other social networking tools to further ‘socialize’ its platform (Author note: Looking forward to see Foldees on Twitter soon).

The Wisdom of Crowd

Crowdsoucing is increasingly popular in various sectors, from music (e.g. Sellaband) to book (e.g. James Patterson’s AirBourne) to search (e.g. Google SearcWiki) to galaxy probing (e.g. Galaxy Zoo 2. Foldees does seems to make crowdsourcing work. Today, it has over 1,300 registered users with a total of 170 designer greeting cards in its inventory. In addition to generating card designs, it also relies on its community to counter design plagiarism and rip-offs. There may be some wisdom in the crowd, after all.

Greeting Cards by the Foldees Crowd

Look What the Crowd Drags Into Foldees originally appeared on GreyReview.com on February 19, 2009.