Before anything else, we'd like to thank Mr. Darf Mercado, co-founder of Luxury Rides and owner of Darfsman Autohaus, for joining our Vigattin Radio discussion today. Sir Darf is one of our merchants in VigattinTrade.com, the newest and fastest growing buy and sell site in the Philippines. He is a dealer of brand new and pre-owned luxury and sports cars like Lamborghini, Porsche, and Ferrari.
Just to give a little bit of background as to why Vigattin Radio chose the Information Technology niche when everything else on air is mostly about humor, showbiz, music, and entertainment, you might want to check out and read this article about computer programming and landing a good job: Sorry, College Grads, I Probably Won't Hire You. Here's an excerpt of what Mr. Kirk McDonald, president of PubMatic, told the new college graduates:
"The next month is going to be thrilling as you cross this major milestone in your education. Enjoy the pomp and circumstance, the congratulations, and the parties. But when it's all over and you're ready to go out into the world, you'd probably like to meet me, or others like me—I'm your next potential dream boss. I run a cool, rapidly growing company in the digital field, where the work is interesting and rewarding. But I've got to be honest about some unfortunate news: I'm probably not going to hire you."
We want our radio program as socially relevant and informative as possible because we like to address some pressing issues in the academe, government, and industry. It is our advocacy to help teach computer programming to students and make it a basic subject, just like Math or Science. In our ever-changing world of technology, we feel it is just right to give everyone the ability and capacity to access the computer.
Now, on to the topic!
This Saturday's program is dedicated to our many Filipino developers, programmers, and IT practitioners. Our country's IT industry is progressing really fast and it's almost very difficult to keep up with the new and emerging technologies. Good thing there are developer evangelists like Mr. Bryan Bibat of the Philippine Ruby Users Group (PhRUG). He's also a freelance software engineer and the VP for Technology of DevCon, a non-profit organization for IT students, educators, and professionals. We were also joined by Mr. Rai Escarez, the technical lead of Telupay Philippines Inc. and the developer of RideIn, an application for travel badges and freebies. Lastly, we had Mr. James Agawa and wife Jen, both developers in Ruby and PHP.
The Greatest Programming Language
For some programmers, a hot debate would be, "What is the difference and edge of one programming language from the others?" or, "What programming language is the best?" Well, as our guests told us, people can argue all they want, but in the end, it all boils down to preference. Programming is not all about these codes and languages but more importantly about the best practices in their said profession. These technologies are just tools, they all have their strengths and weaknesses, and it's up to the developer how he/she can maximize their potential.
Evangelization of Information Technology
Because tertiary education is usually the foundation of learning Information Technology, some developer communities feel the need to collaborate with the academe to better implement and teach IT education in the country. Somehow, there seems to be a mismatch between the skills taught to college students and the actual skills demanded by the industry. That's where evangelists like Sir Bryan come in. PhRUG, for example, holds seminars and workshops about Ruby for the better understanding of professors and students. Information Technology encompasses a very wide range of topics and learning about other fields of expertise sometimes require some help beyond what our classroom teachers can give. The seminars offered by different professional groups are great venues to bridge the gap between academic teachings and industry demands.
Developer Groups
It's very interesting to see our local IT scene nowadays. Different IT groups are holding various seminars, meetups, conferences, and other events, most of which are free. The active participation of developers all over the Philippines is very encouraging for our aspiring IT professionals. It also gives way to collaborations and sharing of ideas that shape our startup community and even the other sectors and industries.
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Our local IT industry is thriving and evolving into a very progressive community. We should not be mere users of technology; rather, we should take part in this great digital revolution. If you're a developer, join the other developers in making real difference in the IT world. If you're an end-user, make sure you know how to use technology the right way and contribute in building a technology-enabled nation. Today is all about interaction, free-flowing ideas, and sharing of information. Carry on!
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