Voters had to be British subjects. Only one-fifth of the 1 million people on the island were eligible. The turnout was just 2%.
The seats were allocated on an ethnic basis. There were two seats each for the Chinese, Indians and Malays.
Campaigning was not easy. The candidates used to congregate on Raffles Place. They used to shout like fruit sellers to get attention. Most voters did not even notice the campaign.
The contrast with the polls on May 3 could not have been greater. The turnout was 93%.
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There were 97 Members of Parliament elected in the polls on May 3. They were not the only winners. The candidates shook hands with the public at kopitiams and food centres. Some kissed babies.
A new force has emerged — the creator economy. The creator economy is the conduit that connects politicians to voters.
The biggest battle was not in the hawker centres. It was online. TikTok has become the battleground. Candidates used the platform’s reach to connect with voters.
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A new brand of content has been crafted for politics. A candidate’s adaptation of a Taiwanese ballad garnered over 9,600 shares. Most of the winners used TikTok to amplify their message.
TikTok is no stranger to politics. It has enacted measures to ensure election integrity. The election centre provides users with information. Content and misinformation by artificial intelligence (AI) are shunned by the algorithm.
TikTok is headquartered in China, while Instagram is American. Not many are aware that a Singaporean influencer agency is shaping the creator economy. It was founded in 2011 by Althea Lim, a 30-plus-year-old NUS graduate. She earned a degree in biomedical sciences but found her calling in the entertainment business.
In her student days, she prospered as a party organiser. She was adept at keeping the books and focusing on the bottom line, despite the distractions.
This led her to the entertainment business. She was an early believer in the potency of content creators.
Gushcloud plays the role of the connector between content creators and consumers. It is like the FedEx of the content economy.
Gushcloud connects brands with influencers on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. It crafts campaigns to drive sales. There are 120,000 influencers jostling on its platform.
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This scale makes it a compelling proposition. Gushcloud earns revenue through management fees and commissions.
Althea is not short of ambition. She wants to build the Hollywood of Asia. The creator economy is valued at US$300 billion ($388 billion). It could reach US$1 trillion by 2030. Most of the growth would be from Asia.
How do investors get exposure to this trend? Gushcloud is a private company. You can buy shares in Bytedance through platforms like Alta. But TikTok is now under the gun. Its algorithm has earned the wrath of the US and India. India banned the app in 2021 due to national security concerns. Both houses of the US Congress have tied a noose around TikTok’s neck.
Though TikTok is available to creators, it is closed to stock market investors. Bytedance has a private market valuation of between US$200 billion and US$250 billion. Public investors may need to find another app.
Triller is an American creator platform with a model similar to Gushcloud. Mike Tyson, the boxer, backed Triller. Triller signed an exclusive arrangement to fight at Triller’s events.
Triller has 450 million users, about a third of TikTok’s user base. Triller may knock out its illustrious adversary. Its algorithm seems welcome by the US and India. Its interface is easier to use. The AI features that TikTok has been averse to adding controversial content.
Triller is more generous. It allows the creators to retain 76% of their royalties. This is 10 times the ratio for TikTok.
Last year, Triller completed a US$4 billion backdoor listing on the NYSE. It was listed through a reverse merger with AGBA, a HK-based financial services firm. The stock has lost half its value since listing.
Singapore’s polls have showcased a powerful technology. Investors need to dance to the tune of the creator economy.
Nirgunan Tiruchelvam is head of consumer and internet at Aletheia Capital and author of Investing in the Covid Era
