The decennial population census provides key demographic, social and economic indicators as well as the foundation for future sample surveys designed to cover households. In 2010 Statistics Indonesia (BPS) experimented with a variety of measures to improve the quality and coverage of the enumeration. It also used the longest and most complex questionnaire in the history of the full count national census. This seminar will discuss observations carried out in Lombok, Bali and Jakarta, and will suggest that 2010 will achieve the best coverage ever, but may not achieve the standards of validity or reliability needed for the data used to track Millennium Development Goals. The Census was notable for the way texting (SMS) came to be used, both formally and informally, to consolidate information, track interviewers and verify responses. The Indonesian census may have important lessons for other national censuses planned for Thailand, China, and even Australia.