DiGi in search of inspiring and everyday internet stories from all walks of life

• Latest campaign gets Malaysian netizens sharing meaningful mobile internet experiences 
• Two most interesting ideas will be produced into a TVC

SHAH ALAM, 29 May 2014 – DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (DiGi), with the support of Google Malaysia, is in search of inspiring mobile internet stories. The newly launched What’s Your Internet Story? campaign aims to reach out to the increasing number of Malaysians on the internet to uncover their experiences, how they have benefitted from being connected to the internet on the go, and the use of Google products and tools.

The two winning stories will be produced into a television commercial to be shared with other Malaysians to inspire them, with each contributor winning RM5,000 cash each. Meanwhile, all 10 finalists will each get a chance to attend an experiential learning programme hosted by DiGi and Google Malaysia to gain deeper understanding of their culture, innovation and products.

Speaking in conjunction with the launch of the campaign, Christian Thrane, DiGi’s Chief Marketing Officer said, “Every day we enable internet services for millions of customers. Access to mobile internet has empowered many individuals and helped them transform their lives through access to knowledge, financial inclusion, and affordable and accessible healthcare services, among many other things. Opportunities abound with having internet on the go, and they present meaningful moments and experiences for each user.”

“We are looking for a varied collection of mobile internet anecdotes. It could be an example of a life-changing moment or a routine activity with deep, meaningful impact to one’s daily life. There are many inspiring stories out there and we’d like to encourage all Malaysians to pitch in and share theirs,” added Thrane.

How do I share my internet story?
All you have to do to participate is to log on to www.digi.com.my/yourinternetstory, sign in with your Google+ account or personal email, and share your story in writing. Submissions are open to all Malaysians from now until 24 June 2014.

All stories must be authentic and multiple entries are encouraged. Participants are welcomed to share stories of family or friends as long as they obtain permission from the person and attribute the story to them.

For each submission, participants will need to:

• Articulate how they have benefitted from the use of the internet on the go, and elaborate how it has changed their lives and/or enhanced their lifestyles
• Within the story, clearly state Google products and tools, and describe how they were used
• Finally, participants are required to pin their location

Google products and tools include Google Search, Google Translate, YouTube, Gmail, Waze, Google+, Google Hangout, Google Drive, Google Maps and Google Earth.

Selection process and criteria
All eligible entries will be evaluated based on originality, relevance of the story, how the use of the internet and Google products have been optimised, impact to the lives of the user and the people around them, and the emotional influence of the story. Judges from DiGi and Google Malaysia will shortlist 10 finalists and select two winners after the closing date.

For more information on What’s Your Internet Story? campaign, please visit:
www.digi.com.my/yourinternetstory

Doodle 4 Malaysia, and Get Featured on Malaysia Day

First ever Google Doodle competition now open to all Malaysian school students

Kuala Lumpur, 21st April 2014: Google today announced the first ‘Doodle 4 Google’ competition in Malaysia, inviting school students to showcase fun, creativity and originality by submitting unique doodle designs with a local flavour.

Doodles are the spontaneous changes made to the Google logo that have become a much-loved part of the Internet and done to celebrate holidays, anniversaries and the lives of famous artists, pioneers and scientists who have helped shape history. Doodles are usually created by Google doodlers but the company does make special exceptions, as in the case of Doodle 4 Google Malaysia.

Themed ‘Malaysia to me is...’ in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2014, the competition aims to stimulate and nurture young students’ natural ability to dream big and help inspire creativity. It is open to all Malaysian primary and secondary school students within the following four age categories: 7 - 9, 10 - 12, 13 - 15 and 16 - 17.

The winner not only gets bragging rights and joins a circle of elite non-Googlers who have designed doodles, but also has his or her creation featured on google.com.my on Malaysia Day, 16 September 2014.

Malaysia joins a list of several countries where the competition has been held over the years, where children are invited to create doodles. And although this is the first such competition held here, it’s not the first time Google has created a Malaysian-centric doodle. Merdeka Day, the 2013 Elections and Yasmin Ahmad’s 56th birthday, among others, have taken the spotlight on google.com.my.

Google Malaysia Country Manager Sajith Sivanandan said doodles reflected Google's personality and love of innovation, with an emphasis on designing fun things.

“When designing around the theme 'Malaysia to me is...' we would like students to consider what they appreciate about Malaysia and what makes this country loved by them,” he said. “This can include anything about culture, diversity, people, food, landmarks or any unique images that represents Malaysia to them, but imagination and creativity are what we value.

“Most of all, we want students to have fun!” 

Doodles have been a part of Google's history since 1998, when Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin placed a stick figure drawing behind the second ‘o’ in the word Google as a message to users that they were “out of the office” attending a music and art festival. Since then, doodles have celebrated and marked worldwide events, anniversaries and holidays designed on, around and through the Google logo on the site's homepage.

Today, Google does hundreds of doodles a year around the world. Apart from international anniversaries and holidays, doodles have also been produced for the birthdays of several noted artists and scientists including Andy Warhol, Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Louis Braille, Percival Lowell and Edvard Munch, among others.

The closing date for Malaysia’s Doodle 4 Google contest submission is 15 July 2014. To download entry forms, competition rules and for more information, visit google.com.my/doodle4google.

Google AdWords Now Available in Malay

Kuala Lumpur, 17th April 2014: Google’s online advertising platform, AdWords, is now available in Malay. That means advertisers can now target keywords in the Malay language when users search for them on Google Search or visit relevant websites.

The AdWords user interface is also now available in Malay to individuals, businesses and agencies managing AdWords campaigns.

AdWords helps businesses grow and reach new customers by serving online ads to potential customers who are searching for products or services, or consuming content on websites or mobile devices. AdWords keyword targeting lets advertisers select a list of words that are related to their business and serve relevant and helpful ads around the Web.

 (L) Sajith Sivanandan, Country Head, Google Malaysia and Matthew Zaheen, Head of Marketing, Google Malaysia (R), at the announcement of Google AdWords in Malay today.

For the majority of Malaysians -- around 60 per cent of the population, the Malay language is their primary language. In the region, there are approximately 40 million native speakers of the Malay language and worldwide over 220 million speak the language. The language itself has grown and expanded: from the regional lingua franca 600-years ago, the Malay lexicon has grown to around 83,000 words today.

There are an estimated 700,000 small-medium businesses in Malaysia, but only around 15 per cent are online today. With close to 20 million Internet users from a population of 29 million, coupled with more than 35 per cent smartphone penetration today, there is tremendous potential for businesses that move to address this gap.

With the launch of AdWords in Malay, advertisers big and small can now take advantage of keywords that the majority of Malaysians use to experience the Web. More than half of the Malaysian online population prefer to consume their daily content online -- that’s more than traditional print and broadcast combined.

“AdWords in Malay can help businesses expand their reach among native speakers in the language they are most comfortable with online,” said Sajith Sivanandan, Google Malaysia Country Manager.

“One of our main motivations making AdWords available in Malay is to help small-medium businesses grow their reach and become more discoverable through online advertising. We hope to have even more of these businesses come online and market themselves online.”

For more information on AdWords, visit google.com.my/adwords.

DiGi Challenge for Change 5 announces top mobile app ideas

Four winning ideas, alongside a surprise DiGizens’ Choice idea move to app development phase

SHAH ALAM, 19 February 2014 – DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (DiGi) announced the four winners of the ideation phase of its fifth DiGi Challenge for Change programme (DiGiCFC5) today, with a surprise DiGizen’s Choice idea joining other top ideas in each of the four subject categories. All five ideas will now be the subject of the next phase of the challenge, where DiGi and partners will engage with mobile applications developers to turn these ideas into full-fledged mobile apps.

This year, more than 2,500 mobile app ideas were submitted online, across the four categories. A rigorous filtering process was then carried out to select the best four, including an #IdeaJam session with the top 60 ideas, and a subsequent face-to-face Judging Session to select the final four.

Henrik Clausen, Chief Executive Officer of DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (middle) with DiGi Challenge for Change 5 Ideation Winners.

The four winning ideas stood out from the rest for having real potential for commercialisation, adoption and relevance to Malaysians’ use of mobile apps.

Category	Application Idea	Category Winner
Connected Citizens	Tag A Price – enables consumers to contribute and compare grocery prices across selected shopping outlets and locations.	Alex Wong Kek Liang, 27
Learning & Edutainment	1Auto – enables the sharing of tips for easy car maintenance, allows users to identify and offer solutions to troubleshoot car problems, and track mileage and car service reminders.	Asharudin Abdul Buhari, 23
Discovering Culture	Jalan Jalan – an interactive travel app idea that enables the sharing of relevant information to simplify and enrich travel experiences in local cities across Malaysia.	Lim Fern Yit, 27
Health & Wellness	Running Paws – a gamification app idea that makes running more enjoyable with virtual running buddies, allowing users to improve their own running performance, and compete against others.	Kum Peng Han, 27

The fifth idea was a special “DiGizens’ Choice” selection: MyBanjir aims to help better prepare communities and ease the effects of floods across the country. The app will push early flood alerts to Malaysians in high risk areas, help connect stranded victims to nearby evacuation centres, and provide a collaborative platform for volunteers and relief organisations to mobilise aid speedily to affected communities.

Henrik Clausen, DiGi’s Chief Executive Officer said the winning ideas reflected the goals of the Challenge to enable new and inspiring ways of using internet. “Challenge for Change has always been a key initiative in DiGi’s mission to deliver Internet For All. More than ensuring that Malaysians in all parts of the country have access to a quality internet experience, we also aspire to enable relevant and meaningful usage of the internet. Challenge for Change plays an important role in achieving this, through the development and promotion of quality local content and applications.”

“This year, we received a broad variety of high quality ideas, coming from Malaysians between 13 to 60 years-old. Interestingly, it was the newly introduced Connected Citizen category that received the highest entries across the four categories, an indication that Malaysians want easy access to services that connect them to everyday needs, on mobile apps,” he added.

Moving into the App Development Challenge

With the Ideation phase completed, DiGiCFC officially moves into the App Development phase, where top local app developers can now begin translating these five ideas into actual mobile apps. The apps will be made available for download and review by the public before the Challenge closes on 23 April 2014. Winning apps from each idea will be selected based on the judges’ decision as well as the quantity of downloads. DiGi will further support the winning apps through active promotion to its base of 4.2 million smartphones as well as on DiGi’s online app stores, retail stores, and social media properties.

DiGi will also be hosting its flagship #HACK!@DiGiCFC, a 36-hour non-stop mobile app hackathon from 28 February to 2 March 2014, to accelerate the app development process with support and input from experts in the mobile app development industry. 

“Together with the expert support of our partners, I have no doubt that the app developers will be able to come up with apps that are mature, socially relevant with strong commercial potential,” added Clausen. 

DiGiCFC programme partners include the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), the National Digital Economy Initiative (Digital Malaysia), Google Malaysia, Microsoft Malaysia, 1Malaysia for Youth (iM4U) and the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU).

For more information on DiGi Challenge for Change and how to participate in Hackathon, please visit www.digicfc.my

Google服务春节不打烊 吃喝玩乐都是你的好助手

农曆新年撇步 带你一起找年味

(2014年01月27日) 春节即将到来，已经规划好如何和亲朋好友一同度过这一年一度最令人期待的传统节日吗？大家都说行动装置与网路科技的发达，不仅带来「低头族」的现象，更拉远了人与人的距离，但只要懂得善用科技，你与亲朋好友的关係也能更紧密！为让大家都能善用现代科技的便利，享受春节假期与亲友团聚的温馨和热闹，Google今年特别推出「农曆新年」专页 <google.com/chinesenewyear>，让使用者可以在体验、互动的过程当中，更懂得善用多样的云端服务过个好年，也让农曆新年因为亲友、科技与传统的结合，变得更有年味。

新年有Google陪伴準没错

想知道Google服务如何在农曆新年期间协助使用者找回年味吗？想了解更多就造访「农曆新年」专页一探究竟吧！

    办年货、準备年夜菜：第一次办年货也不用担心，透过Google Keep，可列出购买清单，边买边确认，甚至家人要加买也可直接更新，不遗漏任何必备的食材。此外，要準备甚麽年夜菜，怎麽煮，除了问Google搜寻，还可以上YouTube找答案，不只有食谱，还有老师一步一步教做菜！同时，你也可以善用在Google云端硬碟与亲朋好友讨论如何办年货、準备年夜菜喔！

    休閒娱乐：新年期间，除了穿新衣、带新帽，也别忘了上Google Play为自己的行动装置装换上新的App，同时，也可以在Google Play图书上购买中、外文电子书，体验多萤阅读的乐趣。

    掌握即时资讯：规划好行程了吗？出门别忘了先看看你的智慧型手机喔！Google Now 即时资讯不仅能提供即时的天气，也能在出门前提供即时路况！

    拜访亲友不迷路：Google地图不仅协助使用者更轻松地找到在地资讯，内建的语音导航服务，更能精确地带领使用者前往目的地，即时路况的功能，更能协助我们聪明避开过年车潮。

    汇集海外亲友一同过年：Google Hangouts提供免费的视讯服务，最多可以同时 10 个人进行视讯对话，轻松汇集海外亲友一同过年。

    温馨聚会云端分享：Google+提供自动备份功能，让分享家庭聚会照片变得轻松容易！只要透过智慧型手机拍照，这些相片不用等到年後就可规划传到私密的 Google+相簿。

A Year in Malaysian Search: Google's Top Searches of 2013

The Lahad Datu incursion and actor Paul Walker top the 2013 trending lists

● Lahad Datu standoff, smartphone rebate and GE13 results were the country’s trending searches
● Paul Walker’s tragic death in a car crash makes the late actor the most-searched person of 2013
● Local search terms accounted for more than half of all trending lists

Kuala Lumpur, December 17, 2013 -- Today, Google announced its annual Year End Zeitgeist, a look at 2013 through the collective eyes of the world on the web, offering a unique perspective on the year's major events and hottest trends based on searches conducted in Malaysia.

The Lahad Datu standoff which began in February between armed militants and security forces in eastern Sabah had Malaysians gripped and searching for news and updates on Google.com.my during the four-month saga. Smartphone rebates via industry regulator SKMM -- announced as part of the National Budget 2014 --  took second place; followed by the results of the closely-contested 13th Malaysian General Elections which happened in May. The rest of the trending searches were rounded off by three hit Malay drama series.

Fast & Furious actor, Paul Walker’s death on November 30 generated plenty of interest, enough to offset searches for 12-year-old Indonesian street busker Tegar, who’s hit song “Aku yang dulu bukan yang sekarang” became a national phenomenon. In third place on the trending people list was national footballer Nor Sharul Idlan Talaha’s wife’s verbal scuffle with a security guard which was captured on video.

Zeffri Yusof, Head of Communications  and Public Affairs for Google Malaysia says, “Google is the first place Malaysians turn to for information or to discover new things and people; the year-end Zeitgeist is a cultural barometer that gives us a real snapshot of the big events and trends in Malaysia for 2013.”

Malaysia’s Trending Queries of 2013
1. Lahad Datu
2. SKMM
3. Keputusan PRU13
4. Setia Hujung Nyawa
5. Gwiyomi
6. Teduhan Kasih
7. Malindo Air
8. WeChat
9. The Conjuring
10. Cinta Jannah

Malaysia’s Trending People of 2013
1. Paul Walker
2. Tegar
3. Isteri Mat Yo
4. Sharifah Zohra Jabeen
5. Nelson Mandela
6. Jackie Chan
7. Sultan Sulu
8. Adam Adli
9. Lea Michele
10. Gareth Bale

Other Malaysian Trending and Top Searches of note:

Movies (Trending) 1.       The Conjuring 2.       Despicable Me 2 3.       Pacific Rim 4.       Man of Steel 5.       KL Gangster 2 6.       Iron Man 3 7.       Insidious 2 8.       Highland Tower 9.       Singam 2 10.   After Earth	Malaysian Movies (Trending) 1.       KL Gangster 2 2.       Highland Tower 3.       Psiko Pencuri Hati 4.       Vikingdom 5.       Juvana 6.       Bikers Kental 7.       Adnan Sempit 3 8.       KL Zombie 9.       Langgar 10.   Gangster Celop	Malaysian TV Series (Trending) 1.       Setia Hujung Nyawa 2.       Teduhan Kasih 3.       Cinta Jannah 4.       Adam dan Hawa 5.       Sehangat Asmara 6.       Kampung Girl 7.       Cinta Jangan Pergi 8.       Sedetik Cinta 9.       Asmara Luna 10.   Dahlia
Songs (Trending) 1.       Gwiyomi 2.       Harlem Shake 3.       Gangnam Style 4.       Putih Putih Melati 5.       Sandiwara Cinta 6.       Gentleman 7.       Wrecking Ball 8.       Aku Yang Dulu 9.       Banana Song 10.   Hanya Aku	Car Makes (Trending) 1.       Proton Suprima 2.       Proton Saga sv 3.       Nissan Almera 4.       Kia Cerato 5.       Toyota Vios 6.       Kia Rio 7.       Peugeot 208 8.       Proton Preve 9.       Ford Kuga 10.   Lamborghini veneno	Malaysian Celebrities (Trending) 1.       Izzue Islam 2.       Emma Maembong 3.       Sharifah Sakinah 4.       Nelydia Senrose 5.       Ashraf Muslim 6.       Fizz Fairuz 7.       Afiq Muiz 8.       Adi Putra 9.       Fiza Elite 10.   Amar Asyraf
Sports Personalities (Trending) 1.       Gareth Bale 2.       Thiago Alcantara 3.       Mesut Ozil 4.       Adnan Januzaj 5.       Oscar Pistorius 6.       David Moyes 7.       Marouane Fellaini 8.       Wilfried Zaha 9.       Pablo Aimar 10.   Iago Aspas	Top GE13 Politicians 1.       Anwar Ibrahim 2.       Lim Kit Siang 3.       Aspan Alias 4.       Najib Razak 5.       Rafizi Ramli 6.       Azmin Ali 7.       Husam Musa 8.       Tian Chua 9.       Taib Mahmud 10.   Mat Sabu	Top Malaysian News Sites 1.       Malaysiakini 2.       Kosmo 3.       Berita Harian 4.       Sinar Harian 5.       Harakah 6.       Harian Metro 7.       Malaysian Insider 8.       Utusan Malaysia 9.       The Star 10.   Malaysia Chronicle
Top Malaysian Holiday Destinations 1.       Genting Highlands 2.       Langkawi 3.       Gold Coast Morib 4.       Pulau Perhentian 5.       Penang 6.       Pulau Tioman 7.       Port Dickson 8.       Melaka 9.       Kuching 10.   Pulau Redang	Top Fashion Brands 1.       Coach 2.       Louis Vuitton 3.       Burberry 4.       Gucci 5.       Zara 6.       Michael Kors 7.       Victoria’s Secret 8.       Braun Buffel 9.       Sephora 10.   Marc Jacobs	Top Searched TV Shows 1.       Upin & Ipin 2.       Running Man 3.       Ultraman 4.       Boboiboy 5.       Adam dan Hawa 6.       Cinta Jannah 7.       Slugterra 8.       Thendral 9.       Ben 10 10.   Nadhaswaram

In addition showcasing what people were curious about in Malaysia, Google Zeitgeist tools also offer insight into which topics captured the world’s attention in 2013. Top search terms from over fifty countries appear on our Google Zeitgeist webpage, googlezeitgeist.com -- from most-searched travel destinations in Brazil, to trending Australian celebrities, to most-searched Egyptian Olympians, to top tech gadgets in Japan and everything in between. 

Top 10 Global Trending Queries for 2013

1. Nelson Mandela

2. Paul Walker

3. iPhone 5s

4. Cory Monteith

5. Harlem Shake

6. Boston Marathon

7. Royal Baby

8. Samsung Galaxy S4

9. PlayStation 4

10. North Korea

To see more information about Google Zeitgeist across the globe, use interactive data visualizations and to watch our annual video, visit googlezeitgeist.com