You readers are the ‘eye on DNA’

• Need demanding readers to drive us to produce even better stories
• Top quality contributors from Malaysia and overseas have also chipped in

USER-generated content was a big thing for us in the early days of planning for Digital News Asia (DNA). Nothing would drive engagement more than readers commenting on our articles, we figured, but we also wondered if they would.
 
This was actually one of the big sore points for me in my years of being a print journalist. In my 11 years of running the tech pullout [email protected] for The Edge, I probably saw 30 letters in response to articles we wrote! Was anybody even reading the work we put out, I would wonder.
 
Yes, there was a core group of people who would read the articles we put out but they were what a senior colleague described somewhat sarcastically as “your fans.” Apparently they did not count.
 
But I wanted accountability too. I wanted reactions to the stories. They were very few in coming.
 
Thank god for the participatory nature of the online world though! One of the things about DNA that thrills me the most is when our articles generate conversations and elicit comments from you readers.
 
That tells us we have managed to engage with you and that you are not just being passive recipients of what we produce.
 
If anything, I wish readers would challenge us more. One reader recently pointed out something really interesting about an article I wrote. I was kicking myself for not spotting an obvious hole in a claim made by an entrepreneur. But this reader’s observation has set me off to dig some more before I do a follow-up piece.
 
So dear readers, please be more demanding of us. Help us shape DNA into a world-class tech ecosystem news site. Believe it or not, we can’t do it on our own. We need your help. While we aim to be your eye on the tech ecosystem, you be the eye on DNA!
 
And here, let me give a big shout-out to Dr Gabriel Walter, CEO and founder of Quantum Electro Opto Systems Sdn Bhd, who has been the most prolific commentator on DNA this past year!
 
His comments have been interesting and always thoughtful and sometimes challenging to the ecosystem. We need more like him!
 
Meanwhile, the expanding list of contributors we have and their quality is a source of great excitement to me. It is also humbling to think that these subject matter experts, not just in Malaysia but from across the world, are happy to invest their time and effort to share current developments in the world of technology with DNA readers.
 
We have already had some of the most respected names in Singapore’s tech ecosystem writing for us, and soon will have someone from Thailand sharing their thoughts too. All exciting stuff!
 
On the home front, while I think all our contributors are superb, I want to draw attention to a commentary Bernard Sia wrote recently after he attended a briefing by the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) on an Entry Point Project under the Business Services National Key Economic Area.
 
Let’s face it, we nosy journalists are not going to be invited to a lot of industry events. We need the ‘Bernards’ of the ecosystem to share their thoughts on areas they have a strong interest in.
 
And kudos to MDeC, who surprised as they were, took it very well. This all signifies that there is an increasing acceptance for openness and robust discourse on our ecosystem.
 
Beyond technology, we even have Verne Harnish, a leading authority in small business, an author, consultant and entrepreneur. He currently writes for Fortune magazine and for four years, from 2004 to 2007, led a leadership and management programme in Kuala Lumpur called ‘Taipan: The Making of Asian Giants,’ that was organised by the Malaysian chapters of the Entrepreneurs Organisation & Young Presidents Organisation.
 
Verne’s monthly articles have been around the issue of leadership and various organisational challenges. All good stuff, and written with a global perspective and of relevance for many of our readers who run their own tech-based businesses.
 
Interesting that I end on this note, as it is on the subject of leadership, people skills and management ability that today’s DNA-TeAM Disrupt is all about.
 
If you have not locked in your seat, do so now and I will see you there at 5pm. The panel discussion starts at 5.30pm.
 
We are also proud to have Malaysia Venture Capital Management Bhd (Mavcap) as our sponsor for Disrupt.
 
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