Understanding the Philippines’ Digital Landscape

I wonder how many businesses in the Philippines takes the time to do market research before jumping or investing in something. Of the many businessmen/women I met, I know most of them makes their business decisions on rough estimate on their understanding and point of view of the world. It truly helps if they are well informed – like if they read the newspaper everyday. But in case not, sometimes basing your market research on your personal point of view may cause you a potential costly decision.

Here’s some of the common misconception I encounter when trying to come up with a new idea or innovation, or just my general understanding of business.

1. If a business idea or innovation is meaningful to me, it must be meaningful to a lot of people and is a worthy investment.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a friend who ever claimed to be an upper-class Filipino citizen. It doesn’t even matter if they own more lots/houses or cars than the number of family members they have at home; or even if they drive a different sports car in a month. Everyone will just claim that they are middle class or lower class – period. I think it’s good not to brag or be arrogant, but if you are applying the same mentality in your business decisions – you might be in trouble.

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Information​ Technology​: A galaxy far far away…

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After 14 years of being in the IT industry (including college), I find that many people still feel the IT field is from outer space and IT professionals are like aliens. As computers slowly try to rule the world (yes, including the Philippines), many people still find themselves lost in translation every time they try to deal with their device. With the proliferation of social media and mobile, more and more people are using buzzwords like google, facebook, youtube and email. As more technology becomes available to users, there will be more questions on how to use it, how to abuse it, and how to undo the damage after some abuse is done. Continue Reading “Information​ Technology​: A galaxy far far away…”