Link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ryVeoyn1fBBxfCD19iAnLtdpi9PyyEjp?usp=sharing
atau
https://goo.gl/GKVYCZ
Sincerely Bali
Native Balinese rediscovering my lovely home island after 9 years away. Sharing thoughts about progress, business, marketing, behavioral economics, and other topics. I'd like to contribute to progress using my ideas. Who knows, one or two may stick.
Monday, September 17, 2018
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Kuesioner MK Perilaku Konsumen 2017: Motivasi Wisata Mahasiswa
Yth. Mahasiswa Mata Kuliah Perilaku Konsumen Universitas Dhyana Pura semester Genap 2016/2017,
Mohon isi kuesioner Motivasi Wisata Mahasiswa melalui tautan (link) berikut, 1 response per mahasiswa:
https://goo.gl/forms/tHin9KVqbUX9e1Wr2
Mohon isi kuesioner Motivasi Wisata Mahasiswa melalui tautan (link) berikut, 1 response per mahasiswa:
https://goo.gl/forms/tHin9KVqbUX9e1Wr2
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Menemukan dan kehilangan sahabat sejati
Seorang sahabat menaruh kasih setiap waktu, dan menjadi seorang saudara dalam kesukaran (Amsal 17:17). Ayat ini mungkin berresonansi bagi kita yang beruntung dalam dunia ini sudah boleh menemukan sahabat sejati. Entah bagaimana awalnya persahabatan itu dijalin; entah berapa lama waktu yang boleh dilewatkan bersama; dan entah lewat media apa persahabatan itu dibangun.. Satu hal yang pasti, kita akan tahu ketika kita sudah menemukannya. Bak sebuah lagu yang kita sukai, lewat pendengaran kita mengenal lagu tersebut namun kita akan tahu bahwa itu lagu yang 'nyambung' dengan kita lewat gut-feeling kita, seakan hal itu instingtif. Kita akan segera merasa sudah mengenalnya lama dan segera bisa in-tune, menyelaraskan diri, dengan nada-nada yang dilantunkan. Nada, irama, dan ritme akan sangat harmonis dan dinamis.
Ada kalanya, walau dengan sahabat sejati sekalipun, kita bernyanyi out-of-tune.. ada saat berlantun dengan sumbang atau tidak seritme. Namun sahabat sejati akan membantu meluruskan kita atau ikut menyesuaikan diri dengan nada, irama, ritme kita.
Ada saatnya sahabat itu pergi untuk sementara, atau persahabatan tidak seerat dulu lagi. Namun berbahagialah kita para sahabat sejati karena ketika bertemu kembali kita akan bisa dengan cepat sync, menyesuaikan nada kembali seolah tidak ada masa yang terlewatkan.
Ada kalanya, sahabat sejati itu meninggalkan kita untuk selamanya. Namun seperti lagu favorit kita yang begitu dalam masuk ke dalam ingatan, persahabatan sejati akan tertanan dalam lubuk hati yang paling dalam. Seperti halnya lagu lama yang dahulu begitu sering kita dendangkan namun telah terkubur dalam memori lagu-lagu kini, ada kalanya kita akan ingat lagi terhadap lagu lama itu dan kenangan kita dengannya. Seperti itu lah sahabat sejati yang telah lebih dahulu meninggalkan kita. Sesekali kita akan teringat akan mereka. Kita hanya bisa memutar ulang memori indah bersama sahabat yang telah pergi, dan berharap bahwa dari atas sana mereka melihat kita dan tersenyum.
Selamat jalan, sahabat sejatiku.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Open letter to Mr. Prabowo Subianto
The
Honorable Mr. Prabowo Subianto,
I am writing
this letter in English, hoping for a dismal chance that your campaign
strategist, Mr. Rob Allyn, might be able to read it also.
“I will
respect the will of the Indonesian people,” nine words that you keep repeating
but have yet to turn into action. In more than one occasion you stated that
your opponent hasn’t explicitly stated the exact same sentence. “Not once,” you
kept stressing the technicality of those nine words.
My question
to you, dear Sir, does it matter if Mr. Jokowi has explicitly stated it exactly
the way you did or not? Isn’t it IMPLIED? Moreover, why does it matter whether
he said it in exactly such manner when what matters more is the sincerity of
words uttered and the concrete actions to be done? Is it better to say nothing
explicitly but act in such a way that is consistent with honoring the people’s
will, compared to you repeating those nine words while in other occasions
refuting yourself by stating that “losing is not an option”?
Your inconsistency
is more wearisome than Mr. Jokowi’s silence. Somehow I get the sense that your
camp’s will is to win, by any means necessary, including my publicly stating that
you will respect the results of the election while privately mobilizing your
mercenaries to make sure the victory is ultimately yours. Please prove me wrong.
I hope I’m
wrong but I think there is larger issue behind your repeated claim. Instead of
acting upon these nine words with a big heart, you instead (perhaps as
prescribed by Mr. Allyn) use these words as your latest spin. I’m curious what
it would be. Previous spins during the campaign season have worked to your
benefit. First, your camp falsely accused Mr. Jokowi as a non-muslim and of
Chinese descent. Interestingly, some people actually believed this. I guess
when a lie is repeated over and over with such a determination, some people may
actually believe it as the truth. But some of us knew better. Second, you “wrote
a letter” to Indonesian teachers, falsely asserting that Mr. Jokowi’s
administration will take away their certification incentives. Where did you get
access to the database of the nation’s teachers, a private data to which only
the Department of Education would have full access, in the first place?
Hypocritically, now you speak about unfair advantage and questionable techniques.
Touché.
But I
digress. The real issue here is those nine words and your spin on it. If you
want to get technical, let’s talk about how you could potentially define “Indonesian
people”. My fear is that you will spin this claim by honoring the will of the forty-something
percent of Indonesians who voted for you, by not conceding and pursuing this
matter to the constitutional court or even to the streets. In respecting “the
mandate” of the people who voted for you, would you be willing to create
division, even chaos, in our beloved nation? What then, will you hope to
achieve? Please prove me wrong.
My dear Sir,
you keep saying that your political coalition will control to two-thirds of the
seats in the House of Representatives. Well, that doesn’t technically mean you
have the mandate of two-thirds of Indonesian people. Remember that we elected
representatives directly, and that is not a direct mandate to you. Unless you
want to revert back to the pre-amendment UUD 1945, which stipulated that the
president is elected by the MPR. With the revision to UU MD3 in the horizon,
you could secure an absolute majority in governance (given that your fragile coalition
holds). That’s not your ultimate goal, is it? We won’t let that happen anyway.
Please prove me wrong.
The respectful
Mr. Prabowo, democracy is more than two wolves and a sheep trying to decide
what to have for dinner. Of course, the mechanism of direct presidential
election doesn’t allow for consensus. But that’s the point in exercising a mature
form of democracy. Forty-something percent of the Indonesian people did vote
for you (at least on paper, but that’s a different story). As the grand person
you often portray yourself, you should prove to us that you have a big heart and
not just big personality. As you said, the real winner is the Indonesian
people. You have the chance to rally your supporters, mercenaries, and the
people who have voted #1 for a better future without lies, intimidation, or
fear. Then, you will have proved to us that you are that great leader you claim
to be.
At the end,
your nine words remaining: “I will respect the will of the Indonesian people”.
I have only two words for you: PROVE IT.
Respectfully,
Putu Chris
Susanto
Educator
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
The Rise of the Independent Value Driven Travelers
The Rise of the Independent Value Driven
Travelers
Putu Chris Susanto
Lecturer at Dhyana Pura University and a self-professed
budget traveler
Let’s face it. Bali is no longer
an exclusive travel destination. The island has a bit of everything for
everybody, from budget to luxury—for travelers ranging from high school tour
groups to high flying socialites. Bali is increasingly accessible, attainable,
and affordable for both domestic and international travelers. We can no longer
assume that travelers have bottomless pockets, that their trip to Bali is
backed with an unlimited budget to splurge.
People are increasingly choosing
to spend their hard earned money traveling to and within Bali because, given
the price tag and what is being offered, Bali is their best option. While this
is not necessarily a bad thing, industry practitioners from market vendors to
hoteliers have to adjust their strategies to attain a bigger portion of the
travelers’ pockets. First, they need to realize that there is a large market
potential for independent value driven travelers in Bali. Then, they need to be
enlightened on the characteristics of this market.
Independent travelers can be
defined as tourists who organize their own trips, without buying packaged
holidays. Independent travelers are usually very aware of where they are going
to and also enjoy planning for their experiences. Value driven travelers are
tourists who are very aware of their resource restrictions, including their
budget and time with which they still want to get the best out of their travel
experience. Thus independent value-driven travelers (IVT) refer to tourists
who, seeking to maximize their travel experience with their limited resources
without being a part of an organized group, do their own planning a la carte.
The IVT segment cannot be easily
narrowed down by their demographic characteristics as this group transcends age
groups, level of education, country of origin, and other demographic
characteristics. However, they tend to fly to Bali from points of embarkation
within 6 flight hours or less—anything more would require them to stay longer
to make it worth their time and money flying into a destination. Or if they
reach Bali by road, they tend to come from areas within 24-hour drive or
nearer. The more interesting phenomena to observe are the psychographic/behavioral
traits of the IVT segments. Below are seven such characteristics.
First. IVTs try to cover as much ground as possible in as little time as
possible. As opposed to the true backpackers who spend many days even weeks
exploring and sharing experiences with fellow travelers, value-driven travelers
only have a few days to travel. IVT’s length of stay is as limited as their
budget, usually fewer than 5 days with an emphasis of visiting popular or
“happening” places and sharing their experiences with their friends and
followers on social media. They tend to do an extensive pre-arrival research
online and through word of mouth references. So if you want your business to be
included in this list of popular venues, you better build a great online
presence and a good reputation, including paying attention to what people write
on online travel review sites.
Second. There’s no room for error. Since IVT’s have limited time but a lot
of grounds to cover, staying fit is essential. There’s no time for getting sick
while on vacation. When you cater to them, be sure that the perceived authentic
experience you provide does not make them debilitated from continuing on with
their next planned activities. Do not take too much of their time—again, time
is money and both are limited. Additionally, traveling for them can be a
stressful experience, especially for the person in charge of organizing the
activities. Any small service to relieve stress is usually welcomed. At times,
travelers in this segment would seem difficult. Understandably, arranging the
trip alone can be a stressful exercise for them. You will only make it worse by
reciprocating and being difficult to get back at them. Remember, Bali is known
for its sincerity which makes people come again and again.
Third. There’s some flexibility, but not much. IVTs usually have a clear
idea of the places to see or be seen. This usually involves a lot of
sightseeing and activities that require the weather, traffic, ceremony
schedules, and business hours to cooperate. There’s little room to breathe, let
alone be flexible with unforeseen events. The show must go on; there are no
contingency plans. If there’s something unforeseen, IVTs tend to trust their
smartphones to quickly research plan B on the spot—usually done wherever free
wifi is available. If you’re a good independent tour operator, it would be to
your benefit to be able to think on your feet on which activities would be good
alternatives if the main plans fail.
Fourth. There’s usually one place, or event, as the highlight of the trip.
If these travelers go to Singapore, for example, a trip to Universal Studios
might be that highlight. In Bali, it is much more difficult to pinpoint that
one place or experience that complete the sentence, “You haven’t really seen
Bali until you’ve been to …” But typically, this special place or event
involves dinner at a popular restaurant or sunset at a very happening beach
club. If you work in these popular establishments the worst thing to do is
dismiss people based on their appearance or the language they speak. Some IVTs
may be frugal—they have to be in order to optimize their vacation budget. But
no one wants to be regarded as cheap. You never know; your place could be the
highlight of their trip that they’ve saved up for and look forward to. If you
don’t treat them well because of a preconceived notion regarding the amount of
money they’ll spend or the tip they’ll leave, you may ruin the one thing that’s
the highlight of their trip to Bali.
Fifth. They may sacrifice on a few things, but some things are non-negotiable.
Some hoteliers wouldn’t like this about IVTs. The one thing that they would
sacrifice to get the most out of their travel budget, second only to
sacrificing comfort for low air fares, is the quality their accommodation. This
means that as long as they have a roof over their heads and an acceptable bed
to rest, IVTs tend to go cheap when it comes to hotel rooms. Guesthouses,
homestays, or hotels in small alleys rejoice. As long as you’re reasonable,
you’d be considered for accommodation. IVTs do not generally see their choice
of lodging as the top priority on their trip; the experiences and the places
they see are. For every dollar they can save on renting a room, they can spend
more on the non-negotiable must see and must do. They’re more likely to post
pictures of their excursions and the meals they have than to post a “check in”
at the hotel on social media anyway. Thus, so-so hotel is OK, but picture
worthy experiences are a must!
Sixth. Popularity and quality come first, authenticity second. IVTs want
to show off to their friends and relatives back home that they can afford a
good quality Bali vacation—this is why they are willing to sacrifice on some
things. They may stay in a modest hotel, but they want to buy good, well-known
gifts for people back home. Whether the experiences and gifts are truly
authentic is secondary; the first concern is whether they are popular. Ask the
people who diligently stand in line to purchase a brand of Bali pie that’s so
popular with Indonesians outside of Bali. Then ask a local Balinese about it.
Admittedly the quality is good, but it is about as authentic as French fries to
America. Regardless, people buy them up. True authenticity, therefore, is
second to popularity and quality so long as there’s the perception of something
being authentically Bali.
Seventh. What happens in Bali stays on Facebook. IVTs want to show off
without a high price tag, but whatever they do or consume has to be
picture-worthy and indicate that they’re having a great time splurging. They
take their entire social media networks and followers on vacation with them.
Even those who are usually dormant from social media activities would come
alive from their hibernation from Facebook, Twitter, or Path during their trip
to Bali. So, if you operate a restaurant you have to make sure that any food
you send out is tasty and picture worthy because, chances are, it will end up
on social media. This is a great way to build notoriety. These travelers will
make their followers envious and want to come to Bali just to show that they,
too, can have the same Bali experience as their friends. Any positive or
negative experience could end up online. So industry practitioners should pay
attention to every moment of truth, every point of interaction. But don’t be
discouraged, IVTs will not post anything that counters their online persona’s
claim that they are having a great time in Bali.
At the end, it is still difficult
to identify this segment by observable demographics. Still, this article is
hoped to bring awareness about the rise of the independent value driven
travelers in Bali. Industry practitioners should not ignore this market
segment, but rather adjust their offerings to help all travelers have a great,
genuine Bali experience that is known the world over.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Does True Love Really Exist?
It’s been a while since I posted here. I was on my motorbike
(like everyone else in Bali) and I got inspired to write this blog. Does true
love really exist? Is there such a thing as your one true love? I think not, at
least not exactly. I believe that there are true loves (plural or multiple
loves) and that true love is a function of fate (or whatever you may call it:
coincidence, destiny, or whatever), decisiveness, and choice.
So: True Love(s) = f [fate ·
decisiveness · choice]
I’m going to freely use the word “fate” here to describe the
first function in determining true loves. There’s more than one person with
whom you have the potential of being in a relationship. It depends on fate
which one you meet first. Say you live in Bali. You may live your whole life
never knowing that you have a true love waiting for you across the globe in
Buenos Aires, who doesn’t speak your language and you’d never meet in your
life. The one connection is that he/she is one of your true loves. So, fate
allows you to meet your other true love who is more accessible, with whom you
can connect more easily and conveniently. Yes, true love is also about
convenience. Although the world is getting smaller and distance is getting
closer (both physically through the ability to travel and virtually through the
ability to connect online), I believe that you shouldn’t have to try to hard
for your true love. Especially because you have more than one true loves. It
just the matter of which one gets to you first.
But what if you have more than one true loves within a convenient distance from you or basically within reach? Well, this is where the second function, decisiveness, comes into play. You decide to go with one of those potential true loves. I agree with the notion that people who are more decisive are likely to be coupled faster. The conventional wisdom is that more attractive people tend to find their mates easier. I tend to think that people who are more decisive tend to mate faster; it just so happens that a majority of these decisive people are attractive, and thus the conventional wisdom. So if you find one of your true loves, decide to build a relationship with him or her, then you have your ONE true love. For a lot of people, this would be THE one in their entire lifetime. Remember that people can be conditioned or even condition themselves to love. So, as long as there is a potential within a person to be one of your multiple true loves, go with it and learn to build a lasting relationships.
Then, what about people who are with multiple true loves throughout their lives (at different times or even at the same time)? Now that is a function of choice. Once you choose a mate you also have to choose, throughout the relationship, to be with that true love exclusively and not open your heart for another potential true love. This is where some people fail, and thus affairs happen. Choosing to open yourself for another potential true love is the root of relationship problems. Especially since you have multiple true loves in your life. It could just happen you find one of your true loves first, and then while you are with him/her you find another one. It just depends whether your heart is open for that.
So, I believe you have more than one true loves in your
life. It depends of fate which one you meet first; it depends on your
decisiveness with which one you build a relationship; and it depends on your
choice to stay with that one true love or open yourself for your other potential
true loves.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
"Ilmu Padi" and Social Network
"Ilmu Padi" is an old saying in Indonesia and perhaps all over Southeast Asia that compares one's maturity and self attainment with the growth of the rice paddy plant. In Indonesian, it says "semakin berisi, semakin merunduk" meaning as the rice paddy mature, and the grains and the spikelets get heavier, the panicles seem to nod or bow down. This is a metaphor for our own personal growth: as we mature, get better educated, or become more well-off, we should be more humble about our achievements and possessions.
In the recent years, I've noticed that this old metaphor has become somewhat of a paradox in the always-connected, modern 21st century lifestyle where our lives is not just about the actual physical things we do or consume, but also about our online presence with the various social networks through which we share our lives. Sharing is one thing, I've noticed (and experienced) that social media has encouraged outright bragging--on our activities, our travels, our consumption, and our possessions. This is very prominent in the Asian cultures where we like to brag about our experiences and our ability to purchase/consume/go to/belong to whatever.
Don't get me wrong, I am guilty of this as well. Perhaps, I am more guilty that many of you. It's just so much easier to brag than to be humble. Sometimes, I'm guilty of trying to paradoxically combine the two; I think UrbanDictionary calls this "humble-bragging," which in and of itself is an oxymoron. If you look at my facebook, twitter, instagram, path, etc.. I've posted, checked in, and shared a lot of travel experiences, food items, and even mp3 playlist that are strategically shared to 'build' a certain persona about me. Is it wrong? I'm not sure. It is most certainly not humble in the context of Ilmu Padi.
So what are we to do? Social media have definitely made it easier for us to share and to brag about ourselves. It is so easy to succumb to the pressure. All your friends are doing it, why aren't you. Are we departing from our age-old East Asian culture? I don't have the answers.
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