i second your thoughts completely. we do need the experts to be the voice of the industry and well, the experts are all here (but do we say) what do u say? i can bring my expertise (much to me, little to others...maybe...whatever) SOLIDARITY FOREVER! :) On Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 9:41 AM, wesley kiriinya <kiriinya2000@yahoo.com>wrote:
O_O
When I first joined the skunkworks mail list, I suggested that we have a website where skunk(ette)s can post a professional profile, post articles, have forums, ... The idea did not get big attention so I left it thinking I was too new to push the idea.
Three years down the line, I really really think we need this plus more.
We can have an association or society. There was a debate about this some months back and some people righfully said the spirit of skunkworks will be lost if skunkworks becomes formalized. Well the society can be independent but have close ties to skunkworks. I believe there have been some efforts to start similar societies but the problem (AFAIK) has been mis-trust between potential members and founders. A society has a voice in the industry. We can even have a mini-library with relevant books, manuals and other materials that are truly beneficial, and we can stop bashing some education institutions for the stuff they teach.
So this is a call for people who are interested in something that has a voice in society and Government and can add value to ordinary people and businesses. Imagine if the ICT bill had issues that affect you as an IT professional. Wouldn't it be great for our society to throw in it's weight towards a change? As an IT professional wouldn't you like a body that can influence budget allocations for ICT projects? Vision 2030 has IT as an important component. Who is helping/advicing Government (or the relevant Government bodies)? When software outsourcing becomes a big industry (probably soon after the fibre lands) who will set up the ground work regarding this outsourcing? Skunkworks is not recognized to do any of this. If we don't step up to the plate, someone else will, and we in skunkworks shouldn't complain. Some of us complain about M$ products in Government, well M$ knows how to influence to get it's product sold, and that's the nature of business.
In any case if no one thinks this is worthwhile then it's OK. Some time in the future, such a society will be formed. I don't see who would better form it than the skunk(ette)s. One time a lawyer told me that we need such a society because there are some guys coming up claiming to be the voice of software developers, and the lawyer didn't think they really represent the Kenyan software industry.
O_O
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