From GoJek to GoJerk?

Gojek founder Nadiem Makarim has been credited with his savvy use of social media and on March 22, on the day when taxi drivers demonstrated against their online counterparts, he showed how it should be done.

The message seemed personal and he pitched the nationalism just right.

Observers hailed it as a masterstroke in how to use the video platform to deliver a personal, impassioned message direct to his constituents.

Fast forward to today and the hero of yesterday had posted a an in-your-face video in YouTube asking Uber and Grab drivers to abandon their employers for GoJek.

It’s a bit tasteless but not too fatal. But then Nadiem played the nationalist card again and laid it on thick:

“Apa pun keputusannya, Anda sudah menjadi pahlawan jalanan di Jakarta, jangan lupakan itu. Namun, jika Anda punya keinginan membela negara, jika Anda punya semangat ’45’ yang ingin berkobar, gabunglah dengan karya anak bangsa,” pungkasnya

This had the effect of turning G his beloved Netizens supporters against him. The YouTube video began to attract nasty comments. On Twitter netizens began flaming GoJek for hypocrisy for flying the nationalist flag while actually hiring Indian developers.

So what does GoJek do? First it switched of the comments section of the YouTube channel. Then it took the post private.

It will be interesting to see how they plan to manage this fallout. Ride out the groundswell of Net discontent or proactively address it? Time will tell.