Keepo is a mix between BuzzFeed, WordPress, and Twitter in Indonesia

Founder Michael Rendy (middle left) and Keepo team with Dave McClure. 

User-generated content seems to be a hot ticket in Southeast Asia’s media space. Several local players are coming out with localized products that are specially made for Indonesian audiences, in particular the tech-savvy millennial generation that understands how to use sites like BuzzFeed and 9Gag.

At a major media event in Jakarta this week, founder of KapanLagi Network Steve Christian said the new media contenders he fears most are in fact the tech startups working out of their garages. That’s a valid fear, especially when small startups like 1CAK and Hipwee are able to pull in millions of unique visitors each month.

But one startup in the new media space that you may not have heard of yet is Keepo. The site’s primary function is to help Indonesians find lesser-known media content, according to the company’s Surabaya-based founder and managing director Michael Rendy. “Keepo is a home for indie publishers,” says Rendy. “They are working together to bring in readers and provide non-mainstream content that is entertaining.”

Accidental advertising

After six years in the design business, Rendy stumbled into Keepo’s inception by accident. He was given the chance by the Private College Association of East Java to start a print publication targeted at schools in the area. He was not paid for the position, but he reserved the right to sell ad space in magazine. The return on his work was far beyond what he had imagined, as the demand for advertising in such a publication was high, and Rendy was able to pocket some cash. “Because of this, I realized how big the potential was of unique segmentation that is served by small media, like school magazines. I want to make this even bigger,” explains Rendy.

See: 10 Indonesian startups with consistent funding and growth

Essentially, the site lets users create customized media feeds across a variety of channels. Some channels are solely dedicated to topics related to humor and culture, while others feature creative artwork and unique narratives. One feed called Fordesigners features artistic T-shirt designs only, while another feed called Le Monsier offers content for men like cars, sports, and girls. Channels like the Hot News section include indie writers that are blogging on their own about important current events.

Keepo lets publishers follow channels and individual users, not unlike any other social network. But it also offers users a dashboard experience that lets them customize the types of content they wish to discover, while also keeping track of their own readership stats, replies, and notifications.

The startup aims to be an end-to-end publishing service. First, the site lets users create and manage their content. It offers monitoring and analytics so users can see how many people are reading their stuff, but it also helps users earn revenue from their content. “We want to make use of the unique segmentation owned by the publishers, and sell it to some brands that are related to [those segments],” explains Rendy. “We will sell it in terms of sponsorship advertisements and share the revenue with those publishers as well.”

Keepo itself monetizes in a few different ways. The first is the previously mentioned segment sponsorship, in which Keepo shares the profits with publishers. Rendy did not mention the percentage Keepo takes from segment sponsorships.

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