Several days ago, DailySocial write an article about a location-based social networking from Yogyakarta that is t4nya.com. I tried to contact one of the four founders of t4nya.com via email, he is Yonathan Utomo.

Yonathan built T4nya.com together with his three friends who also founder, Andhri Hermawan Effendi (Web Developer), Widy Agung Priasmoro (Android Developer), and Waskito Adi (System Admin). They all build t4nya.com at first they met in a group on Facebook called PPP . Here’s a brief interview with one of the founders of t4nya.com, Yonathan Utomo:

DS: When was t4nya.com launched?

Development process on the web version began in September 2010. While the beta version (for web) since January 2011 (but only distributed to our own friends). We haven’t launch it officially.

DS: Why do you t4nya as a name?

Initially we chose PoI dipeta as the name. POI = Point of Interest, dipeta = the name of the company. POI is not a common knowledge for other people, so we chose a name that is easy to remember which can be directly demonstrated that the application is themed “places”. So we chose the name ‘tempatnya’. To be more interesting we made t4nya (read tempatnya in Indonesian, although some friends insist t4nya = tanya (question in english).

DS: Can you tell us a bit about the background story when you made t4nya.com?

The background is easier for people to share favorite/interesting places including information to others. Almost every day we hear questions containing the word “where”, asking the location of a place, for example: where we going to have lunch today, where is the location of A campus, etc.

To answer these questions we usually answer them orally, or if the instructions a bit complicated, we may draw a map. Well, it would be much better if there is a system which provides a map that can be accessed anytime and descriptions containing brief information about the place. These descriptions can be given by people who really understand the place (especially if it is a favorite spot). And people who want to know where it is can ask freely to people who know the venue information.

In addition, we also want to accommodate people who are happy sharing knowledge about a location/places of interest along with the photos associated with that place.

We expect an interaction between users (both in discussions about a place, photos, etc.), Maybe it will resemble a forum. Interaction can be done through each page and in t4nya.com, place on Facebook and Twitter (if you want to interact more personally with your friends).

DS: What makes t4nya.com unique compared to other location based startup? Maybe it’s the features?

We focus on the interaction and the information of interesting places, so we highlight more in the page of location/places photos. On every page people who want to know a place can ask freely to people who know the venue information. Either through the pages on t4nya.com or can share through the facilities in FB/Twitter if you want to ask your friends in FB/Twitter (you can also reply to more personal questions). In order for more convenient interactions, there is a notification feature that notifies users when there are others who respond to comments/questions on the page location/photo.

If a place does not exist, then the user can add them easily. For the web edition, users must include a photo of the place (could be buildings, logos, menus, or other photos who could represent the place). To cope with a double, user can not add a place which has the exact same name within a radius of 30 m. (The possibility of this system will be revised at a later date, to avoid multiple places). We also develop gaming systems on t4nya. Although there is gaming system in t4nya, we preferred interaction among our users.

Overall, t4nya.com is still under development. For the web edition is still in beta, while for the Android version, we plan to launch it shortly. The mobile web is under development. We are also available in Twitter, Plurk, Facebook Fanpage, Kaskus, and Google+. For these places we are looking for a suitable format (such as user interaction etc.). Importantly there is an interaction, not just info only.

DS: How many t4nya.com users right now?

We still have only a few users, mostly our own friends (from campus, family and friends in FB)

DS: How are you going to monetize t4nya.com?

We consider a few ways. The first is advertising. The landlord can advertise his place on the page location. They will be given additional features to promote the place. We are also developing a paid promo joint system, which will be integrated with t4nya.com, Tagtung.com, and Carialamat.com.

Business owners can promote their business on this promo system (pay), and his place of business will be listed in t4nya.com, Tagtung.com, and Carialamat.com. Our first main target is the small businesses (warung burjo, laundry etc. – local food place and local laundry service-ed). For Tagtung.com and Carialamat.com, the owner is Dwining Wahyudi (domicile Yogya) and Srex Setiawan (Jakarta domicile). Both of them is a member of PPP too.

DS: What obstacles are now being faced by t4nya.com?

Time sharing. We still have much to develop (mobile version, Android Apps, and some promo with features and systems). So much time is focused on marketing via social media (FB, Twitter, Plurk, etc) somewhat neglected (update only available when we have the chance).

DS: What is the next strategy for t4nya.com?

We will develop t4nya.com in all platforms (web, mobile web, web apps on Android, Blackberry, iPhone, WP) and bring t4nya.com in FB, Twitter, Plurk, and G+. But because we are a small team, then the development process will be step by step. We are also developing a system of joint promotion, which will be integrated with t4nya.com, Tagtung.com, and Carialamat.com. Promotion system is one of our monetization strategies.

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Seeing the background of the founders of this startup, the spirit of their young lives is very strong, I hope their strong in spirit to survive in developing t4nya.com, sustainability in setting up a startup is a necessity, especially when it’s associated with the consumer, where the adaptation and introduction of services takes time. T4nya also has not been officially released and many development plans are being prepared by them.

While waiting for the various developments that will happen, there are some improvements in t4nya.com, such as the UX on the web so that new registered users can easily use t4nya.com. For now t4nya.com is developing a mobile app on the Android platform, possibly from readers curiosity about the mobile app from t4nya.com, I hope the UX in mobile app will also be easily understood by the users.

The thing that makes t4nya.com interesting is uplifting small businesses especially in Yogyakarta area like Warung Burjo, angkringan, laundry, etc to make them a pay promotional system. If many small business register to t4nya.com, users can find location more easily, wherever and whenever.

So, we wait for the next surprise from t4nya.com.

Thank you to Yoga Hanggara for introducing me to Yonathan.