This 20 & 21 May 2008, a significant event geared towards the Filipino technopreneur is going to happen in Makati City — how I wish it were here in Davao instead! Janette Toral’s DigitalFilipino.com Club, collaborating with Fiera de Manila Inc, is spearheading the conduct of the much-anticipated Social Networking and eBusiness Conference Philipines 2008.

Heavily involved in community-building myself (e.g., MindanaoBloggers.com and the erstwhile IT Society of Davao), I believe I would benefit greatly from the meaty presentations and vigorous discussions that will certainly take place during the Conference.

•••Read on»

Christopher Cubos and I, ever since we got acquainted in the mid-90s, have been known to be at loggerheads when it comes to certain industry issues. For example, way back in the early days of Philippine Internet (Web 0.5?), we had a long-running argument about content vs. design.

However, we are in wholehearted agreement on one thing: community-building. On this score, we are completely on the same side. (Actually, we agree on two things: the other one is good food.) •••Read on»

The 1st Mindanao Bloggers Summit (MBS1) last 27 October 2007 was an unambiguous success. One indication is the number of participants: 97, not counting the organizers, resource speakers and guests. Another is the amount of copy now published on the Web — click here to see the links. For a first-time event — MBS1 was a pioneering effort at gathering bloggers from all over the country for a singular objective — I believe it was a major achievement. The theme, Spotlight Mindanao: Blogging for Culture, Identity & Understanding, was very apt: it proved to be the accompanying statement of all the Summit’s activities. •••Read on»

Today marks a first as The Usual Suspects host the 1st Mindanao Bloggers Summit in Davao City. The purpose of the Summit is to encourage bloggers to wield their technological tool called “blogging” for the betterment of Mindanao’s global image. The theme “Spotlight Mindanao: Blogging for Culture, Identity & Understanding” sums it all up.

•••Read on»

It was an interesting and eye-opening meeting I had with an Aussie and a Kiwi at the DTI-11 yesterday. The Australian, Quentin Kilian, and the New Zealander, Craig Hubbard, were in town to do a public demonstration of the BIMP-Eaga Business Portal. BIMP-Eaga… Australia?? Let me elaborate.

Ever since 1992 when the Eaga was established — through the efforts of then-Presidential Assistant for Mindanao, Paul Dominguez — Australia’s Northern Territory has been keen on joining this 4-nation aggrupation. For example, in 1995, an Australian trade mission participated in the BIMP-Eaga Agri Aqua Fair in Davao, to which they brough live ostriches! •••Read on»

PLDT and Smart Communications, obviously the country’s largest telecommunications conglomerate, held a technology update get-together with Davao’s I.T. industry last 25 April 2007. It was part of a nationwide roadshow that the PLDT Group is conducting in order to touch base with existing and potential clientele in key cities. Davao’s was co-hosted by the Davao Chamber and ICT Davao Inc.

•••Read on»

Right before the Davao Bloggers Party #1, Janette Toral, ever a huge supporter of Davao I.T., came back to Davao for another DigitalFilipino Club eyeball. There are currently only 6 members in Davao — but hopefully more will join us. This club is the country’s only e-commerce and technopreneurship private organization.

•••Read on»

I haven’t written about the upcoming blog party in this blog because the goings-on have mostly been more related to my Davao blog. But, aside from the first-ever blog party in town, there will be other activities around 17 March. Foremost, the event is a bloggers party. Non-IT for the most part. But the other activities do have a bearing on the local IT industry.

•••Read on»

Yesterday, after a curiously lengthy hiatus, the ICT Davao Inc. organization was formally established with the election of its first set of officers. Bong Tee, representing the Association of Computer Businesses in Mindanao (ACBM), was naturally elected president. The formation of this umbrella organization is his re-entry project after his educational stint in Australia c/o the PAHRDF. He carried it through, and now it’s a reality.

•••Read on»

Yesterday was the 2nd Techno Kapehan session (I wasn’t there for the first, but I’m sure to be there for the succeeding ones), sponsored by the Department of Trade & Industry - Region XI. Patterned after the media’s long-standing tradition of powwows, at the IT industry’s, the "bigwigs" — as host Arriel Nengasca termed it — get together to discuss the current events, issues and plans. Media people were there, as well. If I’m not mistaken, from Sunshine TV.

•••Read on»