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Afterthoughts from the geek cocktails at m:cafe

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Thanks to the heads up from MIgs as well as an invite from Clair Ching, I was able to attend a geek social at the m:cafe last night. Sponsoring the evening was Exist Software Engineering Chairman Winston Damarillo with friends from the software industry. Aside from meeting great people, I validated my theory on the geek hierarchy. Being among the “geek elite” where most of them were programmers software engineers, I was able to touch base with some of the more prominent names in the software and technology industry.

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I was able to strike conversations with Sacha Chua, and we talked about corporate social networking software as well as her advocacy to turn social networking into a productivity tool (we also briefly discussed the value propositions offered by Plaxo versus LinkedIn over a 2006 South African wine). I also met Jonas Lim of Exist, touched base with fellow Southridge alumnus Paco Sandejas who works with Narra, chatted a bit with Jerome, Philip Dodds, chief technology officer of DevZuz, Amadea Unisa of UP Diliman faculty, and Winston himself.

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I have to agree with Winston that the concept of geek socials isn’t a very sell-able idea for the general public. Either participants are too busy staring at code or are asleep. And I must admit that this is a stereotype way of looking at it. Rare are the times when meet ups like this can happen in the technology industry, outside the confines of a press conference. Winston is an advocate of such socials as well as other organizations in the Philippines such as Geek Chorus, that want to spell a good name for the term “geek” in the mainstream.

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By Jayvee Fernandez

Jayvee Fernandez is a tech enthusiast, EAN certified SCUBA Diver and underwater photographer based in Metro Manila, Philippines. His photos and videos have appeared in various international and local publications including Random House Germany, Discovery Channel Canada, and CNN.

12 replies on “Afterthoughts from the geek cocktails at m:cafe”

Oh! I thought she’s one of us “geeks”. It’s hopeless, I choose the wrong profession :))

Hi Jayvee. Thanks for featuring our event in your blog ๐Ÿ™‚ Hope you (and everyone else who attended) had fun and made new friends. Hey, do you have other pictures during that night that, perhaps, you could share with me? :-” Thanks a bunch!

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