Siu Lun

As tech people who works for money will never advance themselves the right way and you’d end up with people who doesn’t really care about the production quality to which ‘non’ tech savy people cannot see – until something goes wrong.

This is a very common occurance in the Hong Kong made websites – it is an observation I’ve made in Hong Kong’s ‘digital’ department.

This problem is not unique in Hong Kong as it happens all over the world, as non-tech savvy people usually do not see it happen until it’s too late, meaning management won’t get pressured until the shit hits the fan – so to speak. However it is more pronouced in Hong Kong due to the cultural background and attiude of working for money.

Hong Kong does not promote individual thinking, people are brought up patronised, people are brought up not to question but to accept. So in the end, they’re brought up to work for money, not for pride or interest. Of the very few who does, they cannot exist in this environment.

So any companies in Hong Kong who wants to get, and keep good technical talents. Search for those who does it for interest, keep them well, they’re your best friend, your partner, not a dog that obeys commands, but a human to help you advance.

They may make mistakes, but resolve it in a civil manner, like you would with your partner. Sit down, chat, ensure both of you trust each other. It is a marriage between the technical savvy and the non.

This is always a question from a strategical standpoint on just about everything.

For me, it’s always either a matter of team building or coding.

For coding, I’ve always preferred to code from scratch. With technology advancing by the day, along with a multiude of dependent technology on the web. Coding from scratch has always served a better purpose as it allows me to fully grasp and control the latest technology.

Utilising existing code base is a very rare thing for me, especially when I’m unfamiliar with the code base. Existing code base, such as frameworks, I’ve always been against. This is because such frameworks are built to be as generic as possible, therefore a lot of coding has to cater for all scenarios. Every scenario the code base caters for adds additional logic the server must process in order to execute.

The only framework I’m using in web development so far in my career is jQuery. I’ve also tried the Zend Framework for a couple of projects. jQuery is good as I’m not an expert in javascript programming. So jQuery has enabled me to not be an expert in javascript programming but still able to make fantastic effects and actions.

Zend Framework, well I’ve never been a big fan of any PHP framework, but Zend Framework is the only one that I’ve tried that can be considered ‘acceptable’. Because Zend Framework’s library is optional, and you can include bits and bobs of it in your projects. Rather than a lot of other Frameworks out there tries to be the only 1 stop solution.

I was told Code Igniter is also a good alternative, though haven’t had the chance to try it out.

In any case, if I take my logic over to building a team. I guess I still prefer to start from scratch than to utilise existing resources. I support the idea that training existing resources is better than hiring new ones, but that assumes that the existing resource is working well together, just not up to the standard.

Starting from scratch from a personnel perspective is better in that you can mould people’s mind set into what you require, even if – when they join – they’re not up to the required standard.

The most important thing for personnel in the web development world is the mind set. The mind set that they need to perfect, they need to constantly improve, constantly learn and willing to work in teams, as a team. If current resources do not have that mindset and you are forced to work with current resources, then the only way is to try and shift the mindset.

But if you can shift a mindset so easily, you must be a Jedi.

In a country that thoughts surrounds what to eat, gossips and money almost exclusively. My thinking tells me it’s best to influence the young, than it is to become a Jedi.

I was working on a proposal today, thinking about web 2.0, social networking, collaboration everything that’s coming out of the internet the past few years. It suddenly dawned upon me that all these efficiencies improvement, particularly on the internet, people connecting with other people.

It all seems very familiar.

My other half watches a lot of David Attenborough, with her born in the year of the tiger. It is ‘inevitable’ that I too had to watch what she watches as I’m a mere ox. What dawned upon me was episodic memories of David talking about ants. How ants work by touching their antennas using chemical signals, and all but the one that produces them, have to collaborate and work.

Putting that into the context of our world. The queen ant, would be our society. Whomever controls our society, controls the subjects below (to a degree), and we, as people who do not control the society, we collaborate, we network, we share. In order to better ourselves, better equip ourselves, forming ‘groups’ to become stronger, sharing information to make us wiser, smarter.

I have had this ugly image in my head as I thought to this point of a hive. A swarm of bees, ants, those weird creatures in those sci-fi movies.

I’m not complaining, for I’m in the benefit of such a system. What I’m afraid of I suppose, is our lost of ‘emotions’, ‘characteristics’ and we may even lose our unpredictability one day, when everyone knows what you are, how you think.

Of course, taking a look at the world now. There is no chance that would happen. Though I guess “Tech” people be warned, I think we’re the most likely bunch to convert first.