The seminar, held at the Grand Men Seng Hotel from 1:30 to 4:30 PM, focused on developing business applications for Windows Mobile, presented by Jao, who is a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) for Device Applications Development. In attendance were representatives of corporate IT departments and independent software companies, as well as freelance programmers and students.

Judging by their positive reactions, participants of the seminar appreciated not only the expert delivery of the seminar’s content, but the content itself. Key points of Jao’s presentation were: new features of Microsoft’s development platforms, trends in mobile applications, the business aspect of developing and deploying mobile applications.

‘Mobile application’ refers to software programs built for portable devices such as mobile phones and other handheld gadgets. Jao also announced the availability of the new Internet Explorer Mobile 6, which is now ready for download.

Representing Microsoft Philippines were Ma. Angelica Radan, who heads product and audience marketing, and George Parrilla, who is a partner account manager based out of Cebu.

Radan announced that Davao City would be the venue of a Developer Days event early next year. “DevDays” is a uniquely Microsoft brand of getting IT professionals together in high-tech and interactive educational sessions, and where this software giant’s new and emerging technologies are unveiled. More details of this major undertaking will be announced here in the near future.

Another welcome development is Microsoft’s stance in supporting local companies through the provision of affordable business software. Yes, that’s right: affordable Microsoft products. These are not stripped-down versions of Microsoft Office or SequelServer or any such ploy. Radan explains that MS Philippines is offering their industry-strength development applications at ridiculously low rates in order to help startups grow their business.

Radan expounded further that the real objective is to help improve local economies by strengthening the IT industry, particularly the software development sector. By encouraging the development of local talent, she explained, this sector will be able to gainfully contribute to the strengthening of the Philippine economy. As can be seen in their educational thrusts, MS Philippines “is becoming very aggressive in evangelizing new technologies that can help the economy by developing technical skills,” Radan said.

This “local software economy initiative” is called BizSpark. For only US$100, SMITEs (small and medium IT enterprises) will be able to avail of licenses for Microsoft’s development tools, operating systems, even MS Office®. Eligible to apply for this offering are startup IT companies (i.e., less than 3 years in existence) with an operating capitalization of not more than Php1.5 million. Also, interested companies must be nominated and sponsored by a Microsoft network partner.

In Davao City, the Association of Solution Integrators in Davao (ASID) is in talks with MS Philippines to become the local network partner here. ASID shares Microsoft’s conviction in developing the local economy through information technology, and is committed to buttressing the software sector.

BizSpark will be launched on 11 December 2008. ASID will be entertaining applications to this initiative soon after. More details on this as we finalize arrangements with MS Philippines. Yours truly is the executive director of ASID, and will be making sure that Davao IT companies benefit from this program.

Speaking of marketing, here’s something that might be of interest: Ned and Ardy Roberto releases marketing business solutions book.

For the first time since its inception, the organizers of e-Services Philippines (as it is more commonly known) are on a roadshow all over the country, kicking off with the Davao leg today. We were at the offices of the Department of Trade & Industry – Region XI (which is a long-time, staunch supporter of all Philippine IT initiatives), where we were apprised of the latest developments in the preparations for this event. e-Services Philippines is organized each year by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM).

CITEM is an agency of the DTI that’s involved in promoting the country’s exports. To quote: "Its thrust is to promote the Philippines as a reliable source of high-quality products and services through trade fairs, special exhibits, in-store promotions, trade missions, and other promotional activities here and abroad."

The event features plenary sessions, seminars, business-matching opportunities, and an exhibit of IT products and services. Since 2008, it has been held at the SMX Convention Center (beside the Mall of Asia) in Pasay City. It used to be held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Ortigas.

Who can participate and/or exhibit? Why?

It is the annual meeting place in the Asia-Pacific where global thought leaders, decision makers, and centers of excellence in global ICT and business process outsourcing (BPO) converge and COLLABORATE with one another to discuss trends, issues, and emerging business models in the IT business.

It gives you the right platform to CONNECT with CEOs and international companies and organizations from the ICT spectrum including animation, back office operations, contact centers, game development, software development, healthy information management, and engineering and design services.

It is an excellent exhibition venue to meet and do business with global ICT and BPO companies who can CREATE sophisticated ICT solutions, products and services tailor-fit any client’s needs [sic].

Since e-Services Philippines is being packaged as the e-services forum in the Asia-Pacific region, companies who take part in it have a great opportunity to touch base and hopefully close business transactions with IT buyers. According to CITEM, they expect to host foreign trade missions from the US, Europe, Japan; as well as delegations from Wachovia, Accenture, Google, Deutsche Knowledge Services, American Data Exchange Corporation, and many other big-ticket firms.

Davao City has been participating in e-Services Philippines since 2003, with the support of the local government and the initiative of the private sector. Those of us who’ve been part of the effort to institutionalize the city’s participation have long held the conviction that our local IT industry can directly benefit from our continued presence at the conference and exhibits.

Next year, under the leadership of ICT Davao Inc., we hope to make a much bigger splash in the national scene. That is, if we can get more solid support from both the local government and the industry. When the Davao contingent participates in this prestigious event, it must be a concerted effort by the entire local IT industry — IT companies, IT associations, big industries, perhaps the Davao Chamber, and the city government. This way, we can make a huge impact and ensure ourselves a greater chance of attracting business and investment into Davao City.

e-Services Philippines will be held on 9 & 10 February 2009. That gives us a few short months to prepare. CITEM considers Davao one of the "next wave" cities. We believe this as well. Now it’s time to make the rest of the country see what we mean.

The DigitalFilipino.com Club is a nationwide association of e-commerce practitioners and enthusiasts, IT professionals and companies. It is a business organization, in that its focus is on how to maximize Filipino talent in bringing success to members’ businesses. I have been a member for several years now, and I have directly benefited from my membership. Twice already I have closed business deals with other members, thanks to the networking activities that the Club constantly conducts.

Members get access to valuable research material, the Club’s extensive knowledge base, and the chance to network with entrepreneurs and corporate members.

The meet-up last 14 May was the third leg of Janette’s three-city roadshow. According to her, compared to the ones in Manila and Cebu, the Davao event had the best attendance and participation. In Davao, there are only a handful of members — but hopefully this will change in the coming weeks.

The format of the event was simple and straightforward: a presentation by Janette (which doubled as an update of sorts for Davao-based members), and then a report by yours truly on upcoming IT-related activities. Attendees were also given the chance to introduce themselves and their companies. For the more aggressive, it was an opportunity to let everyone know about their products and services.

Fred Nadela of Brokenshire College, Maria Jose of Apex Innovators, and Bert Barriga, representing one of the newest software development houses here, were some of those who enthusiastically apprised us of the latest developments in their respective companies. Lizabel Holganza of MTC Academy, and president of ICT Davao Inc., announced upcoming events that relate to the IT industry. Janette remarked that the Davao attendees were wonderfully participative.

After the presentations, everybody got the chance to catch up with colleagues and meet new ones. I’m pleased to report that I was able to observe quite a few business deals being initiated during the informal networking session.

We are already planning on a follow-up meeting for Davao members and candidates in August. Hopefully, more Dabawenyos will decide to join the DigitalFilipino.com Club. For information on this, please feel free to contact me, or visit www.e-commercephilippines.com for more information.

I normally write about blogging stuff over at Blogie Blog, but this post isn’t about blogging. WordCamp, you see, isn’t like the Mindanao Bloggers Summit or the iBlog Summit. WordCamp’s content is usually more technical in nature. As are many open-source software, this powerful CMS is written in PHP, and so this event will cover plenty of ground on this language, as well as XHTML and other similar topics.

(Doesn’t mean, though, that there won’t be any partying!)

The target audience of WordCamp Philippines will be bloggers, naturally. However, we would like to encourage PHP developers to participate, as well as Web weavers (especially those who are very much into XHTML and CSS) and computer graphics designers.

There will be technical sessions on how to make full use of, and extend, WordPress: these will cover plugins and template development. For the more artistically inclined, there will be presentations and demonstrations on how to create themes for WordPress.

The event will be on 25 October 2008. While it’s true that the core organizers are based in Davao, it has been decided by the group to hold WordCamp Philippines 2008 in Metro Manila. (The actual venue has not yet been decided on.)

Too bad for Dabawenyo PHP coders… Although, I do hope that some of them will be able to make it to the event. Hey, it’s still about 5 months away — time to start saving up for the trip to the capital!

For updates on WordCamp, please subscribe to the official blog’s RSS feed.

Here’s the official press release:

The DigitalFilipino.com Club is organizing a networking event where e-business and e-commerce industry players can catch up and exchange updates in the industry.

Who can attend?
Anyone interested in e-commerce or e-business (entrepreneurs, business/ technical decision makers, ad agencies, media advertisers, Internet marketers, payment gateway service providers, bloggers, web developers, web designers, Internet and e-commerce trainers / instructors) are more than welcome to attend.

Why attend?
Meeting local e-commerce entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, service providers, online movers and shakers. Let’s network for fun and professional purposes. Talk about developments in the industry. Any excuse to meet like-minded people on a Wednesday late afternoon.

If you’re interested to know more of the digital world and e-commerce, join us! For more information, please send me a message via my contact form, or leave a comment here.

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.

I have had my small successes in the brave world of networking, but I have had a number of disappointments, too. That is why I’m looking forward to being able to attend this Conference in May: to learn from others. As well, I might just be able to share my experiences with the other participants. It is, after all, a social networking event, which I hope will be brimming with like-minded practitioners.

As a member of the DigitalFilipino.com Club, I’ve been on the receiving end of business deals that have helped push my career forward. It is because of that, and my trust in this organization as an initiator of purposeful educational events, that I would not want to miss the Social Networking and eBusiness Conference.

Up for grabs are invaluable sound bytes of wisdom from the likes of Giovanni Bacareza (Chikka.com), David Jones (Friendster), Jose Carlos Medina (Level-Up Games), Faith Ponte (itzamatch.com), Janette Toral herself, and quite a few more resource speakers.

The Internet of late has become an almost chaotic environment. How do you make sense of it all? If you’re a marketer and eyeing the digital medium, have you considered how best to navigate the tumultuous electronic pathways towards reaching your goals? What is Web2.0 exactly? And just how important is social networking as a marketing tool?

The event is still a month away — plenty of time to prepare for a trip to the capital. Attending the Conference is worth the investment, to be sure.

Social Networking & eBusiness Conference Phils.

• 20 – 21 May 2008
• Hotel Intercontinental, Ayala Ave., Makati City
• For seat reservations & inquiries, please contact:
• Ms. Maricor Tornea or Angie Tuzon, tel.: (2)896-0639, 896-0637, 899-6216
• Email: fiera[at]info.com.ph

Just to refresh your minds, the TechnoKapihan sa Davao is an informal get-together of IT industry players, supporters and guests. It’s where we can sit down and discuss issues and plans that affect our industry, but in a relaxed setting. For each time, the organizers — ICT Davao and the Davao Chamber — aim to create an atmosphere of openness so that people will be more inclined to share their thoughts.

So far, only hardcore IT industry types have attended the TechnoKapihan, plus those from the IT-Enabled Services sector (who are actually more active). I hope that people from other sectors will participate as well — Internet services, Web developers, SEO practitioners….

Well then, I look forward to seeing everybody at the next session. I will announce the venue and confirm the date/time here as soon as I receive the information. Meantime, here’s something to brighten up your day –

I’ve been doing Japanese-to-English translation work for a consulting firm based out of Makati for a couple of years now. I really can’t talk about the documents I translate because they’re sealed under a non-disclosure agreement. But I suppose I can hint at the contents a bit. I see a lot of material about the Philippine I.T. industry in those documents. Shame I can’t reveal them here yet — but my principal told me that, as soon as they get published, I can quote them already.

Japanese I.T. firms seem to be more aggressive in their push towards the Philippines this year. Or, to put it the other way around: the Philippines seems to be more visible to the Japanese lately, in terms of I.T. investments and collaboration opportunities. I guess this could mean more translation projects for me. Yay!

I only hope more Japanese-language speakers (and writers!) can be produced here in Davao. Really, I don’t mind the competition, because the potential market’s huge! In fact, I plan to go back to teaching Nihongo this year. Hopefully, a lot of college students in IT-related courses would take an interest in the language.

That’s it for this post!

The Internet Café Association of Davao will also hold an event, and there will also be the annual Davao Trade Expo (DATE). And of course, the 1st Mindanao Bloggers Summit on the 27th. That’s what’s been keeping me preoccupied for the past couple of months. Blogging isn’t necessarily an ICT thing, although of course the technical stuff behind blogs is pure information technology. But I digress.

After the blogging summit, I will definitely return to my main responsibility, and that’s to Davao’s I.T. industry. This year has seen me too engrossed in activities that are far removed from the core of the I.T. industry. But that’ll change soon enough. First order of business after the blogging summit on 27 October is to get my feet wet in industry research.

Davao’s I.T. industry sorely lacks properly researched numbers. We have no idea where we stand in terms of the number of I.T. practitioners we have, nor of the skills that they possess. A comprehensive skills survey is absolutely necessary. It is therefore fortunate that the city government has finally realized this need. Or at least the ICT Task Force, which I hope will be able to convince the LGU of the necessity of this industry research undertaking.

Another positive development in the local I.T. arena is the rejuvenation of the Association of Solution Integrators in Davao (ASID), the pla for which is being discussed now. ASID is the organization of software development companies, graphics design outfits, and e-service providers. The Association has unfortunately lain dormant for almost two years. But its revival is in the offing.

This doesn’t mean I’m not going to get my hands dirty in other blogging events anymore. Far from it. In fact, a couple are on the drawing board already…. But that’s for later.

Meantime, head on to NCCC Mall, which is where most of the ICT-related events will be taking place this week. Immerse yourself in the various and varied talks, presentations, demonstrations. Get familiar with Davao ICT’s talking heads, demagogues, activists and who’s whos.