Ang araw bago sumikat nakikita muna’y banaag. (Early dawn precedes sunrise.)

For the past year, I have been collaborating with two teams in the Philippines, on the medical social network I’ve been working on. It has truly been a pleasure to work with them, as I have often told my friends and colleagues. Professional, friendly, and precise, they have exceeded all my expectations when we first entered into partnership. Despite the 12 hour difference, which actually accelerates development when properly focused, we have had few if any problems coordinating our work.

So it is as the dawn precedes sunrise that after a year of virtual meetings, conference calls, Skype chats, Google Wave updates, Pivotal Tracker and Track tasks, and the like, I am now traveling to the Philippines for the first time to meet them. And I couldn’t look more forward to the trip.

Aanhin mo ang palasyo, kung ang nakatira ay kuwago. Mabuti pa ang bahay kubo, ang nakatira ay tao. (What good is a palace if it’s inhabited by owls. Better a straw hut inhabited by humans.)

From my experience but also from what I’ve researched,

Filipino people are among the most relaxed and fun-loving people you will ever meet with an average of about 10 festivals being celebrated every month across the nation. So much so, in fact, that there has been a distinction made between regular time and “Filipino time”, which is generally delayed by thirty minutes to an hour.

The Filipino possesses a unique ability to maintain a lighthearted mood no matter what the circumstances are. Throughout political strife, economic hardships, and a rough colonial history, the spirit of the Filipino remains unconquered; sharing laughs and smiles with everyone they meet. This is key to understanding the culture and traditions of the Filipino. The Filipino way of life stems from their desire to live in happiness and peace.

As I am half-Brazilian, I can fully relate to this. It sounds like I’ll feel right at home.

Ang tunay na anyaya, sinasamahan ng hila. (A sincere invitation is accompanied by a pull [of the hand].)

This further confirms it:

The Filipino is known across the globe for being very hospitable and pleasing to be around. With currently 11 million Filipinos working overseas, there are many nations that will confirm that they are some of the warmest people you will ever meet. Due to their colonial history, Filipinos can be especially accommodating to Westerners that they come across. They will often turn sheepish around them and try to avoid hiya or shame.

Filipinos possess what’s known as utang ng loob, or debt of gratitude, in which they feel obliged to repay any kindness that you show them to fortify their alliance with you. As well as utang ng loob, Filipinos possess a willingness to engage in cooperative labor for the good of a person, family, or a community; this is what is known as bayanihan.

For the beautiful landscapes and the warm people, this country is blessed.

philippines, travel

One of the advantages of traveling on a major holiday is that no one else does, and so my flight to Rio was empty as my calendar turned its page to 2010 at 30,000 feet.

Corcovado (the Christ the Redeemer statue) is an inspiration to many for religious reasons. Standing high above the city with arms outstretched, it evokes feelings of protection, benevolence, compassion, charity, and friendship.

Have you seen videos of wingsuit flyers? What if Corcovado was also reminding us to soar in our daily lives?

Chris Brogan just blogged his 3 keywords for 2010. I’ll draw inspiration this year from Corcovado as a visual metaphor for soaring.

“Refuse to be average. Let your heart soar as high as it will.” –A.W. Tozer

Wishing you good fortune in the new year.

• G Kofi Annan — Annansi LLC
• Charles McCathieNevile — Opera Software
• Matt Womer — World Wide Web Consortium
• David Rogers — OMTP Ltd

In many regions, the mobile phone is the primary tool for Web access. As mobile Web connections increase in developing nations the impact will be significant. This panel examines the differences between mobile Web access in developing and developed regions and how the mobile Web can affect social development.

Why is the mobile web interesting in the developing world? More people have access to a mobile phone than to clean, running water. More people have a mobile phone than a computer. About 80% of the world has some sort of mobile coverage, so it’s obvious to say that mobile should be a point of online access. People in the developing don’t use mobile phones just for mobility. They are using it to access the internet with browsers like Opera Mini.

The uniqueness of the emerging economies is that mobile products must be adapted to how these economies are growing, so you need to analyze usage patterns, get feedback, and iterate often. Closed systems will not work because the barrier is too high; you need to be using open source software. Open source is also good because it avoids duplication of efforts.

In developing markets, the top applications are Facebook, MySpace. People are using this for entertainment and for connecting socially. There are many local sites that are big in their respective countries as well. Some examples of leading-edge applications in emerging economies include mobile banking, health care apps, and agriculture.

There’s a tendency to think that what we have in the West is what developing countries should aspire to. But if text is working, then that’s what should be used. There are a lot more options with text at this point and that’s what should be explored. What matters are the design challenges of “being local”, as you attempt to cater to locals and travellers. For example, the mobile capacity inside Australia matches demand (actually, you only really get about 2/3 of what is advertised). Because of the congestion of international lines, you only get about 10% when you travel outside of Australia.

Emerging markets are often in physically hostile environments. There is a unique opportunity now to provide a platform for the government or humanitarian organization to create a network that would constantly monitor the environment and give an early warning of impending natural disasters.

In developing markets, there is demand for either the most expensive smartphones, or the cheapes phones. There is not much demand in the middle: you can either afford the most expensive gear … or you can’t.

Last year flew by and I didn’t get the chance to spend time with family and friends in Brazil during the holidays. Instead, I spent a week in Israel, right as the war started.

I’m in Brazil now, though, and I look forward to meeting a number of people I’ve corresponded with on Twitter. Social media seems to be catching on here and this will be a good opportunity to catch up and build bridges with those making it happen.

I’ll be heading back before Campus Party Brasil, which looks like a great tech event.

My mind is filled with questions as I ponder the history, culture, and current events of the region. I’ve heard so many positives and negatives, and it is with a great sense of curiosity and excitement that I travel to Israel and Jordan next week. In particular, I am anxious to meet some people from the tech community, although the timing is not great since most will be busy for year-end holidays and festivities. Still, I’ve been able to contact some thanks to the serendipity of Twitter, and hopefully this will reinforce bridges across the Atlantic. After all, looking at this picture of Tel Aviv, you’d think you were in Miami!

I’m off to Reboot 7.0 in Copenhagen until Sunday and look forward to seeing the city for the first time with my Danish friends Torben, Laerke, Henrik and Michaela. While at the conference, I’ll try my hand at live blogging if there are enough power outlets for everyone.

If you are interested in contributing articles or being a guest author, please e-mail me and I will get in touch with you by next week with more details.

Snowing in Paris,
originally uploaded by alexdecarvalho.

It snows infrequently in Paris and in 7 years I’ve hardly seen it snow as much as yesterday. Here’s a link to view  the pictures as a slide show.

Technorati Tags: paris

Link: BREAKING NEWS: Opodo back on acquisition trail — 02-Feb-05..

Opodo has bought a leading online French travel company for 60 million euros.

Amadeus-owned Opodo paid the 60 million in cash for Karavel, the owner of Promovacances, an online package holiday retailer that is widely known in France. Karvel [sic] is chaired by Christian Blanc, the former chief executive of Air France.

Isolablu TIM,
originally uploaded by alexdecarvalho.

Angra dos Reis is quite possibly one of the most beautiful spots in Rio, with 365 islands, clear water and countless beaches. This shot is taken from an island TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile) is renting for its promotions. At night, the island turns into a nightclub. If you don’t have your own boat, you can catch the last boat to the island at 1 am and will then have to wait until 5 am for the first return boat. A major event is in the works for April, with a world reknowned DJ.

I’ve posted more pictures at my Flickr Angra dos Reis photoset or on this blog’s commented photoalbum, Angra dos Reis.