Minding our gold mine

Last week we talked about our "gold mine" in software engineering and programming which we have not properly harnessed and used to our advantage. The talent that we have in this part of information technology holds a great promise not only for those who want to build their career in software development but also for Filipino companies who badly need such talent to be able to “go global” and reach out to foreign markets. We can also use the same talent to carve our name as a software exporter by supporting start-ups which the government and private financial institutions can easily do with very negligible risks.

The reason why we only have few Filipino-owned software companies in the country is because we all think that our software guys are better off as employees than employers. We think of our graduates in computer science or information technology, like the way we think of our nurses -- human resource instead of capital resource. We will always be a nation "laborers," indifferent and frigid to the opportunities that are laid before us if allow such mentality to persist in our minds.

In fact, we could have prevented the unemployment of nurses if we only thought of ways to help them become entrepreneurs by building nursing homes or retirement facilities which can be jointly ran as a cooperative or as a private company.

The "nursing glut" should serve as an ominous reminder to the IT sector or another lesson to be learned. We will end up in the same fate if we take our talent merely as part of the supply and demand chain.

We are reckoned globally for our strength and competence in software engineering and it would be such a waste of talent to see a $300 billion dollar-demand annually in the hands of a few companies.

Unlike manufacturing, software development is one business that anyone can put up -- no heavy equipment, less energy, less people, less real estate and practically less in all aspects. It's kind of ludicrous that our government and private financial institutions are locked to the idea of extending credit to high-risk, high-capital businesses while we have low-risk, low-capital and high potential businesses that they can support in the IT sector.

What's more, the market for software never wears out. Practically all companies that use a computer make an upgrade every three to five years -- both hardware and software. Operating systems change every two or three years, software applications also need to be recoded to be able to meet up to these changing requirements. The market for software is so great for as long as people use computers, cellphones, MP3 players and all these electronic devices. We all need software --- kids, teens, yuppies and senior citizens need software one way or another. The market for software is everywhere -- and in the future, many sari-sari stores will definitely need software to record sales and inventories.

We have a gold mine before us. We have the talent, the demand is huge, but look who’s got the most gold? Definitely, we’re not getting much of the gold nor are  we selling them for profit. We are only paid to deliver the gold – that’s all there is. That’s all we can do. We can harness the gold only if we become like them, a task we can easily do. But how much do we really care for these things to happen? It’s about time that we mine and mind our own gold before they are all gone.

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The Cebu Bloggers Society and iNewMedia Online Network is inviting online marketers, social media managers, political leaders and managers, companies, academe, to join in the first Social Media Influencers Summit 2013. It's a whole day event to be held on March 16, 2013, 8am-6pm at the JCentre Convention Center.

It is the first of the planned annual social media event in the Philippines which will discuss best practices in social media, discuss issues and concerns,  promote ethics and standards, and highlight each social media user’s social responsibility.

Participation fee is only P750.00. For information and inquiries, visit socialmediasummit.org.ph.

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