Pinoy Post

By Melvin G. Calimag

IT rantings from the Philippines

So you're the boring guy

Posted in The Pinoy Post by Melvin G. Calimag on Sunday, June 28 2009 04:20 AM

As I write this, news organizations all over the world are still scrambling to cover the sudden and shocking death of Michael Jackson, a "troubled genius" and "tortured icon", as CNN put it. Certainly, he was no boring guy as he was the master of the entertainment stage.

The person referred to as "boring" in the headline is me. As much as I hate talking about myself in my blog, a fellow IT journalist just called me that during a recent coverage in Singapore. The reporter, a Thai lady, uttered those words in jest, of course, as we exchanged notes on what we were doing as journalists.

We were on our way back to Changi Airport after attending Compuware's Vantage 11 press luncheon at Suntec City when our conversation touched on the types of stories we write. The topic veered in that direction because the Compuware event was what we would call a "hardcore enterprise" story.

When I informed her that I actually enjoy covering IT news events, and that I've stopped making product reviews (I still cover consumer product launches, though), the Thai reporter told me straight in the face, but jokingly, that I'm the "boring guy".

We both laughed at her comment, but I admit that compared to consumer gadgets like mobile phones and laptops, server software, as what Compuware presented to us that day, is utterly boring and not sexy at all.

But, as they say, different strokes for different folks. While it may be very dull, I find the IT enterprise sector quite interesting. While other journalists scoff at the thought of covering boring events organized by enterprise-focused companies such as IBM, EMC and, well, Compuware, I seem to possess that weird appreciation in listening to those technical jargons. This not does mean, however, that I understand all of them.

For some strange reasons, I'm finding myself slowly moving away from consumer products, which I might add, seem to be extraordinarily vibrant these days with bloggers joining the fray. In that sense, my label as a boring guy is likely to become relevant.

Disclaimer:
Views and opinions expressed in this blog are the author's, and do not necessarily represent those of ZDNet Asia.

Talkback 1 comments

So you're the boring guy
Hi Melvin
As you state in your blog, the comment was made in jest--however, it's great to see individuals like you remain committed to reviewing and writing about the Enterprise IT industry. While it doesn't have the sexy image that the consumer IT market portrays, the Enterprise keeps its less substantial sibling moving forward (as you well know). Businesses rely on innovation in Enterprise IT to move things along; and they certainly rely on journalists such as yourself to share your insight and knowledge on new developments. Keep the faith!
Posted by anonymous on Tuesday, June 30 2009 04:20 PM

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About the blogger

Melvin G. Calimag

Melvin G. Calimag currently writes for the infotech section of a popular English broadsheet in the Philippines. Prior to this, Melvin served as an assistant editor at Metropolitan Computer Times (MCT), the first IT publication in the Philippines. He is currently the vice president for internals at the IT Journalists Association of the Philippines (CyberPress), and also serves as a charter member with the Philippine Science Journalists Association.