We have already discussed about Kongkoow which was established in 2008 by IM2, one of the Indosat subsidiary. That time, Kongkoow focused on some friendship sites and wished to be the “Indonesian-MySpace”. After 3 years, we knew that MySpace is down and Kongkoow did not get expected traction. Now, IM2 is swerved. They try to facilitate Kongkoow to be online marketplace for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

As stated on Tempo Interactive, Kongkoow will be the media for SMEs to sell on the internet. This will improve the IM2 business, which, by far, focuses on the infrastructure area. Later, IM2 will bundle the broadband internet connection service and this online shop place. It does not mentioned whether the support from IM2 covering the training to build online shop in Kongkoow.

Unfortunately, when I visited to the address that supposed to be the online marketplace, the Kongkoow platform marketplace is not ready yet. I do not know what engine they are using now because there are some dummies made in 2008 or 2009. If it is a prepared engine, it is very unfortunate because the appearance is far from being interesting.

For me, besides giving a place for SMEs to broaden their business on the internet, it needs to train the SMEs about the internet users’ behavior. It is important because most of the SMEs is not really know about the internet and the users’ behavior. Are their commodities or services appropriate with the internet users’ demand? Not always. Therefore, before getting in the online area, IM2 needs to train SMEs with adequate knowledge. It is to avoid the possibility of culture shock or the difficulties to survive because of the unsuitable marketing strategy.