This is a good article and I

[Jawge]

know that man like Iman. D1, Sass, Ben (to name a few) would agree to some points. There is something for everyone in this article.

Read on:http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...nology_8350950

[Karl]

Agree with you, Jawge! ...but I encourage you to post

the good articles in FULL TEXT. For some reason these publications tend to kill the links in short order.

The articles will eventually 'drop off out pages'...but let us keep the good ones as long as it is possible.

Respek!

[Karl]

know that man like Iman. D1, Sass, Ben (to name a few) would agree to some points. There is something for everyone in this article.

Read on:http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...nology_8350950

Opportunities through technology
ID: INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE
DAVID MULLINGS
Sunday, February 13, 2011

I was invited to be a guest speaker at the 12th anniversary of the Caribbean Institute of Technology (CIT) in Montego Bay on February 8. This is an institution that provides formal training in areas like software programming, networking and geographic information systems but seems to be severely under-utilised by the Government and private sector. In fact, many Jamaicans don't even know such a place exists.

Below is an edited version of my speech to the high school students who made up most of the attendees. My goal was to give them ideas of ways to leverage technology and contribute to positive development in Jamaica. Next week I will dive into more detail on specific ideas brought up in the speech, and future columns will have guest contributions.


ZUCKERBERG… wasn’t the business genius behind Facebook



ZUCKERBERG… wasn’t the business genius behind Facebook


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Much has been discussed about Jamaica and Information, Communication and Technology (ICT). There is no shortage of suggestions and it is heartening to know that so many people realise the importance of technology and the opportunities it presents. However, recognising an opportunity is only the start, one has to act on it and adapt as technology evolves. I commend the Government of Jamaica for starting CIT back in 1998 and for the continued support of the institute.

Vision 2030 itself lists "a technology-enabled society" as one of the desired national outcomes. The examples of Taiwan, Singapore, India and Costa Rica have been used as prime examples of how a strong focus on ICT can transform a nation in positive ways. Jamaica, however, cannot expect to merely copy what has worked in the past because what worked 10 or 20 years ago happened in a different environment.

Each of you has to deal with a new world in which phones have faster processors than desktop computers had 20 years ago, a world where tablet devices like the iPad have taken root, a world where, according to Amazon.com, eBooks are now outselling hard and soft cover books, a world where your co-worker on a project could be in a completely different country.

The world has changed and will continue to evolve; we must focus on where it is going, not where it has been.

Have you stepped back and really taken the time to research and understand where things are headed? Have you taken the time to figure out how you can contribute to a better Jamaica and a better world?

Too often some of us focus on the stories of what the author Malcolm Gladwell calls "outliers". How much people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and now Mark Zuckerberg are worth, how rich they have got from technology. There is nothing wrong with studying these success stories, but do not do it just because you want to be rich. There has to be more meaning in what you do, and instead of trying to be the next Bill Gates, try to be the first you.

Each of us is unique and we should play to those strengths, in the same way that Jamaica is unique. We should leverage the unique strengths of our environment and identify ways that we improve something or solve a problem.

One of my guiding quotes is by Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google. He says that "Obviously everyone wants to be successful, but I want to be looked back on as being very innovative, very trusted and ethical and ultimately making a big difference in the world".

Thomas Friedman, in his best-selling book The World Is Flat, refers to "globalisation of the local", the concept that the world used to have massive barriers: countries like India and Jamaica mainly used technology to consume content produced by a few large, rich countries, but that has changed.

Content and software can now be produced locally by countries like India and Jamaica and used globally. Technology allows you to be "instantly international" and you have to think big and think smart.

My challenge to you is to try to make a difference using technology somewhere, no matter how small. It can be making a difference in one school, you can aim for making a difference in Jamaica or you can aim for the world, but you must aim to make a difference. How can I say to think big but also tell you that you can do something even with just one school? I can say that because all big ideas start with small implementation.

The problem you solve or the improvement you make in one school or one hospital could be the same problem being faced by a school in another country like Trinidad or Ghana. There are opportunities in other emerging markets and Jamaica can serve as your test bed before you branch out. I would like to share some of my beliefs with you.

Number one: you don't have to be an entrepreneur to make a difference.

Entrepreneurs tend to get more publicity than the employees in the companies, but no entrepreneur gets very far without a team. The programmers at Google certainly feel like they are making a difference because they are contributing to designing software that continues to help change the world. If you were part of the team that programmed Twitter.com, wouldn't you feel good when you see people living in countries where they are oppressed using your software to organise protests?

If you helped to programme the newsfeed that Facebook uses, wouldn't you be proud to see people embracing the feature? Teams accomplish things, not an individual entrepreneur. One of my best friends is Dr Parris Lyew-Ayee who heads the Mona GeoInformatics Institute that is responsible for the JAMNAV mapping software that provides turn-by -turn directions in Jamaica on Garmin navigation units, the first of its kind for the island.

I have met his team many times and the sense of pride and
accomplishment that they show when discussing the role they each play in developing and improving the software is a perfect local example. On your own, it would be much harder to accomplish such a project, but as part of the MonaGIS team, you would be part of something big.

All of us here watch movies. At the end of the movie we always see a long list of people who have each played a part. There is nothing wrong with partnering with someone to work towards a shared vision or working for someone who has a big idea. You can be part of the credits at the end of the film and still be successful.

Number two: You don't need tons of money to get started.

There is no doubt that money helps any project, but there is also such a thing as too much money too early. Jamaica is not like the USA with venture capital firms actively seeking out technology projects to fund and incubators in major cities, but never forget that Hewlett Packard started in a garage with two guys, and so did Apple. They found a way to build a prototype and get interest.

Too often I meet people who fail to move forward even one inch on an idea because they are hung up about the lack of investors. You have to find a way to start, you have to show that you know how to stretch the dollars.

Money is a requirement, don't get me wrong, but you can usually start a project with less money than you think you really need.
Don't make excuses, make a prototype.

Number three: ICT is not only about programming software or dealing with networks.

Apple wouldn't have got very far without lawyers who understand the relevant laws or marketers to communicate the value of products.

Most people think that the only way to be involved in the ICT industry is to have something to do with the technical side of the business when in fact, just like any business, a range of disciplines have to come into play.
Steve Jobs was not the technical genius behind Apple, that was Steve Wozniak. Similarly, Mark Zuckerberg wasn't the business genius behind Facebook, he needed help on the finance and business side from Eduardo Saverin.

Some of you in this audience do not intend to attend this institute but you can partner with students and graduates of the institute to create successful ventures. You can also be involved in ICT in the same way that my brother and I are, running a venture that depends on technology to function. We do not have to write the software that delivers the content we license, we mainly negotiate business deals for content and distribution, then help to manage the marketing and promotion.

You may have a great idea for a videogame and thanks to Android from Google and iOS from Apple, you now have viable platforms to sell that game. How many people know the game Angry Birds? That simple game was developed in Finland for less than US$100,000 and has been downloaded over 42 million times, 12 million of those were paid downloads costing 99 US cents, yes, US$12 million worth of downloads. Angry Birds is an outlier but even a fraction of that success would be great for any venture out of Jamaica.

If you don't know how to programme the game you want, you probably can find someone right here at the institute. You have options and not all of them require you to know how to write code, you just need to understand how you can leverage ICT.

Number four: Jamaica can do much more than just back office processing and call centres.

When Taiwan first started taking ICT seriously, they focused on merely assembling parts designed and manufactured in other countries. They were doing the equivalent of digging up bauxite and shipping it, the low-end work. They however realised that the only factor clients cared about was the cost of labour. If another country popped up that could do the same work cheaper, Taiwan would lose the business and so they quickly moved up the value chain. Today, Taiwanese firms design original parts and have them manufactured or assembled in China. Mexico tried to follow the same strategy but never moved on to the value-added part and so ICT has not been able to contribute to their development in the same way.

Jamaica suffered the same fate when it came to the garment industry, the business moved to cheaper countries and the jobs dried up. You have to focus on ideas that do not compete only in price but in value proposition. When Jamaica is chosen for call centres and back office processing, it should not be primarily about price but more about value, what do we offer that is hard to replicate elsewhere.

Which country is the third largest English-speaking country in the western hemisphere, only behind the USA and Canada? -- Jamaica.

There is certainly money to be made from the fact that Jamaicans speak English as the first language, is in the same time zone as the eastern part of the USA and Internet penetration continues to grow steadily. I was recently on a Caribbean entrepreneurship panel at the University of Miami and after pointing out to the attendees some interesting facts about technical capabilities of Jamaica and suggesting that instead of sending programming work to India or even keeping some of it in the USA, they could do it cheaper in Jamaica with little hassle from a communications standpoint, I was asked to make some introductions to local contacts for some specific projects.

Entertainment and Culture

Jamaica had not been on their radar as a location to outsource work. We must leverage these assets and promote them heavily. But we must also go further than taking over some work from India. How many of you watched Avatar: The Last Airbender on Nickelodeon? That is one of my favourite animated shows, but few people know that the animation for the show is actually done in South Korea.

What about The Simpsons? Again, done in South Korea. Technology is put to use in animation in many ways and Jamaica can and should get started in this area. Start by working on projects for clients and eventually move on to creating original animated content and even original software for use by local animators who cannot afford expensive software from North American companies.

Health care

Jamaican doctors and nurses are world class, hence the reason they are recruited by overseas firms so often. Telemedicine is one area ripe for investment. Health care in the USA is expensive and they could reduce their costs by having routine X-rays looked at by doctors here in Jamaica, thanks to technology. That is just one application of telemedicine and I highly recommend that you research more.

Another friend of mine, Khary Sharpe from Bakari Digital right here in Jamaica, has created software now being used by some of Jamaica's largest companies and can now look to leveraging new developments in technology like the Mac App Store to distribute his programs to a global audience, or focus on software as a service application that charges a monthly subscription. There is room for many more startups.

That brings me to the last belief -- exports are not only physical goods.
If Bakari Digital creates an iPhone, Android or BlackBerry application and sells it globally, that is an export, in digital form. The company is selling globally and bringing new money into Jamaica. In the same way, you could offer IT tech support over the web to people around the world and it would be an export.

'Green' Opportunity

Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world, has said that the next billionaires will come from green technology. Jamaica is an ideal candidate for developments in solar, wind, biofuels and even electric vehicles. There are also opportunities to come in upgrading our energy grid to a smart grid, helping business owners operate more efficiently in terms of power usage and adding more intelligence to our transport system. All of these are areas that are not unique to Jamaica and can be exported to countries with similar problems.

These exports rarely get mentioned in the news but they still benefit the country. Your idea could be one of Jamaica's next big export and foreign exchange earner. However, like physical products, it takes research and development to create. R&D and the importance of science tend to get almost no mention when ICT is discussed. If you want to be Taiwan and not Mexico, it takes real investment in science and R&D. The technology and applications of the technology flow from that.

I hope that you are motivated.

I would also like to use this platform to briefly address the government and the private sector as well.

The Government has a role to play and constantly acknowledges this, but can it do more? On one hand some will say that the Government has no additional money to spend on computers in schools, but on the other hand we must recognise that bauxite will run out and tourism is not guaranteed to do as well once Cuba opens up.

Our illiteracy rate is an issue, but computers may actually help improve reading skills. There is certainly an opportunity for locally developed software to be deployed in some school environments in an attempt to improve our literacy and English CXC pass rates. That would support local jobs, local innovation and improve the education system, a smart way to spend money and garner a good return on investment.

The tourism industry gets major tax breaks and so attracts lots of capital. The government should do the same for local ICT companies so that we can give a boost to the fledgling sector.

Our private sector has a major role to play as well. Too often representatives of companies speak to students at career events and encourage them to get degrees in certain areas or pursue their dreams. That advice is useless if local companies do not consider purchasing services and software from local companies.

Our private sector must try harder to source ICT work locally because that only strengthens the Jamaican economy.

Investing in ICT is investing in a better Jamaica.

I hope that I have given you some solid ideas to follow up and broadened your horizons of the opportunities that exist in ICT.

David Mullings is the Future Leaders Representative for the USA on the Jamaican Diaspora Advisory Board. He is on Twitter at twitter.com/davidmullings and Facebook at facebook.com/InteractiveDialogue


Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...#ixzz1Dx8rySYp

[Don1]

That's on point and exactly the technology capacity building purpose of our Digital Yard Project

[Me]

You woulda proud fi know is a PNP man write that, just like how Ben proud that is a Campion man write it.

LOL

[Don1]

oh the guy is a Young Termite??

[1of1]

did a course at CIT , my teacher an Indian man said that there were schools like this on every other block in India. Most of my batch mates couldn't get a job in the IT field, even though we were supposed to have skills that were in demand.

[Muadib]

Yuh mean him grow up in a PNP Household ?

[Me]

Yes. nuh the same thing Don1 say and you style him. LOL

[Muadib]

Jawge... can you tell me which was the first ICT Company in Jamaica to obtain a Single Entity Freezone License ?

It actually never exist before this company introduce the concept tuh di Govt.

[Don1]

Yes. nuh the same thing Don1 say and you style him. LOL

Household Rules

[Muadib]

Don1 style himself...

mi nuh fallah man 'words'. mi fallah him argument !

[Jawge]

No problem; see what you mean.

[Jawge]

Boss mi nuh too deal wid di party ting (contrary to popular belief). If a man a gwaan good den mi give him credit (take joshua for example). The only thing mi see JLP handle proper was air J, matter of fact if dem did deal wid the current mess so dem would ah arite. So di ting set boss.

[Don1]

ongly Portia and Joshua yuh deal wid... nat PNP??