Internet brings an incredible impact to human life. The Internet and social networking sites, such as Facebook, twitter and blogs allow every individual to convey his/her expression quickly and easily. However, unfortunately, freedom of expression through new media in Indonesia has not been so focused and there are deviations anywhere. Not a few cases, such as defamation, abduction, spreading viruses, and pornography have occured.
Information Technology expert, Ono W. Purbo, said the government had already tried to filter various contents that are not good. However, this effort is not something easy to make. Therefore, he urged people to be considerate about the Internet, calling for its wise use.
Safe internet movement was initiated by ICT Watch, whose vanguards includes Ono W. Purbo. Through ICT Watch, they introduce and encourage the use of Internet safely and beneficially. This movement is expected to clear the image of the Internet that seems to have been closely related to pornographic sites. "Filtering sites that are not good, such as pornographic sites, is not easy. If people use the Internet to write something positive and beneficial, the Internet eventually will be filled with positive things. We try to push forward for it," he said, Wednesday (14/12), at UGM Faculty of Social and Political Sciences.
In the National Seminar on New Media, Ono also discussed how to introduce Information Technology to the public. According to Ono, there are two ways we can do. For children, the introduction of IT is made through fun approach, such as through games. Meanwhile for adults, the introduction of IT is done through benefit approach.
Similar statement was made by Head of Information and Public Relations from Center of Ministry of Communications and Information, Gatot S. Dewa Brata. Wisdom is key in dealing with the new media. The government ought to be able to act wisely and not reactively. In addition, the response to this phenomenon should be natural, not spending too much energy.
Gatot also urged people to be careful in using this new media. "What has been publicized is hard to retrieve. Therefore, careful consideration is necessary before posting something so that not harming yourself and other people," he explained.
Meanwhile, a lecturer of UGM Communications Department, Kuskridho Ambardi, in the seminar highlighted the phenomenon of media shake up in Indonesia. In the last five years, the phenomenon of media shake up happened more intensively. Some groups did mergers and acquisitions, conducting business maneuvers to anticipate the development of digital technology. A number of groups, Kompas Gramedia Group, Tempo, Media Indonesia, Mahaka, MRA, First Media, Jawa Post Media Corporation, MNC, and Visi Media Asia, have built a cross-sector corporation that summarizes the business of television and radio, print media, and digital port/Internet.
Media conglomeration in Indonesia has a number of similarities with the global media conglomeration when all the traditional media sectors are included. The groups were trying to win a dominant position in every market at national and local media. However, at the level of integration, business line from upstream to downstream and service-based integration of digital platform media conglomeration in Indonesia is different from what happened in the global media one.
"Para Group, for example, recently bought Detik.com. However, up to now Detik.com is a separate unit, not yet integrated with Trans. Likewise with KKG Group, Kompas TV, and Kompas newspaper are units which are still separate in terms of its management and information services," Dodi said.