Interactive Digital Media in Singapore

I had a chance to see efforts in Singapore in Interactive Digital Media (IDM) area. I was asked to serve on an International Panel to review this program. The program received about US $ 350 Million (S $500M) to build this area in Singapore. SIgaporeans treat you very well when they put you on a panel, but they also make you work real hard for 4 days. Kept me real busy from Sunday P to Thu PM — no time for anything else — total immersion in their programs.

Very impressive program overall. Mike Yap is leading this efft. He is a ve dynamic leader. They are cnsidering the complete eco-system and trying to build thewhole eco-system rather than only one aspect of it. Given the size of Singapore, it is impressive how fast the areprogressing and how many things are happening here. The most impressiv aspect is that in reserch as well as in entrepreneurship, things have become cutting edge — at the world level — here. Singapore has systems in place tomove things aggressively and collectively. I see more action here than any other place. Of course, in US things happen at bigger scale, but then the size of the community there is entirely different. Singapore is definitely a place to be if you are interested in IDM — I knew it based on my personal experience. This panel gave me a chance to examine overall progra related activities — and that impressed me a lot more. Now if they could only build some central activity to attract more people from diferent countries to address fundamental issues in IDM, then this place could become a magnet for talents. They want to do it and I think they can.

I was pleasently surprised that my thoughts related to Folk COmuting were received so positively by Singaore community. I will talk in more detais about that in my next post.