IT rantings from the Philippines.
Melvin G. Calimag is currently the executive editor of an IT news website in the Philippines. Melvin has been covering the local IT beat for the last 13 years. He is currently a board member at the IT Journalists Association of the Philippines (CyberPress), and also serves as a charter member with the Philippine Science Journalists Association.
Social media is fast reshaping upcoming May elections in the Philippines, with civil society making great use of it through a hugely successful campaign against publicity-hungry or credit-grabbing politicians.
Despite the economic gloom that descended on other parts of the globe in 2012, things are looking up for the Philippines IT industry and, in particular, the local startup scene.
We need law and order in cyberspace, but it must not be used to stifle freedom of expression and intimidate citizens.
CEO of Philippine IT conglomerate IPVG, Enrique Y. Gonzalez, explains his voyage into mining and stresses he still believes "in the power of IT to profoundly change the world".
As it veered further away from its tech roots, Philippine IT conglomerate IPVG has made it clear its future now lies on mining--and not on ICT.
Philippine Congress passes Department of ICT (DICT) bill earlier this year, but political interference may be behind delay in ratification and implementation.
I don't know if you've noticed, but the advent of online publishing appears to have exacerbated the problem of plagiarism. I can still recall, albeit with amusement, an incident last year in which I saw an exclusive story of mine being passed off as having been written by another reporter.
Just recently, the IT world saw two blockbuster deals involving startups: the US$200 million purchase of app builder OMGPOP by casual games company, Zynga; and the US$1 billion acquisition of mobile photo-sharing site Instagram by networking giant Facebook.Although it is important to note that these transactions occurred in the U.
Despite the millions of public funds that have been poured into the modernization of local government units (LGUs) in the Philippines, it's a shame that not much has changed in the way municipalities conduct their transactions with the public.Last January, I tried to renew the business permit of Newsbytes.
Right now as you read this blog entry, there's an ongoing impeachment trial in the Philippine Senate against Renato Corona, the country's top judge. This political exercise, which is being streamed live by various Web sites, is again being lapped up by the public.