MrMentor
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Ian,
You are welcome tonight in Soi 8, Soi 8 in Bangkok - http://www.thaivisa....ntu-it-meeting/
Cheers,
M.
Cloggie,
Computer enthusiast groups are definitely what is needed as part of the overall international IT community. These forums are great to get the message out to a few people but I think a lot of people are not getting the message. There is too much informational noise here.
Just do a search for 'Bangkok Computer Clubs' and you get almost nothing (except maybe some marketer has parked on the name). We definitely need more organization amongst the international community here. I am not talking about having more organized meetings as informal computer club meetings are what I grew up participating in. We just need more organization in so that we can know about each other and get together.
If you guys are having regular meetings and can decide on a name then I suggest you get a website (less than $10/year for the name registration) and park it somewhere (lots of free hosting is available). Then we can work on creating an overall site for the Thailand IT Community for the benefit of everyone.
Regards,
Ian
P.S. Just a good agreed upon place where the international IT community 'meets up' or 'hangs out' would be great. Maybe some free wifi and power outlets would be nice. I usually use this guide if I want free WiFi:
http://www.stickmanweekly.com/WiFi/BangkokFreeWirelessInternetWiFi.htm
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Any chance of a similar meeting in Pattaya?
Our community building effort is definitely all inclusive and needs to be not only in Bangkok.
Right now we are trying to build off the momentum of BarCamp Bangkok. I think the last one was definitely strong and drew in a lot of people involved in IT from all across Thailand and SEA.
I have seen some international IT community activity in Chang Mai, Phuket and Pattaya. They are definitely on the radar. I am not sure about the number of people willing and able to get involved there. Heck, I am not quite sure even about Bangkok.
What is going to be created is up to the members of the group when it is formed. However, I would love to see a Thailand organization with 'chapter' groups all around Thailand.
Please explore the links on the contact site. Look at what Techstars is doing. It might not be a quick process. It has taken them 4 years to set up something in one city and then branch out. Our organization is lucky in that we can use their groundwork to reach higher. Also, I am a big advocate of leveraging technology. With some tools, like group Skype chats, maybe we can include more people into meetings in Bangkok. We might even be able to get some kind of support here to use the telelearning infrastructure.
Once we do things more formally we will create a more detailed database of mentors. Then we can connect members outside of Bangkok with each other and coordinate things with them. Maybe we can end up doing a road-show to host meetings in the other areas once we are organized.
Regards,
Ian
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Fellow Nerds and Geeks,
I have been here in Thailand for almost 2 years now. I was previously living in South Korea for 5 years.
I have met many expats here that have experience in the IT field back in their home countries. For various reasons, they want to live in Asia. They would REALLY like to do work in IT here in Thailand/Asia but there aren't really a lot of opportunities. So, you end up teaching English (which is not all that bad) but it is not your first choice.
After living in Asia all of these years, I am going to tell you for certain, that an international/global IT community with decent opportunities for everyone isn't going to materialize without the involvement of both Asians and non-Asians. The IT community also needs to have a mix of all kinds of people. With a good mix of people, things resonate and result in successful actions needed for further growth.
A lot of us are pretty sure that there are enough of people in Thailand for the basis of a strong IT community. The problem seems to be partly about organization.
A group of both Thais and non-Thais have gotten together to start working on building up the community by adding some organization. We want to build on the success of other organized activities like BarCamp.
We want to organize two key groups of people here in Thailand: those experienced in the IT business and those with less/little/no experience wanting to start an IT business (or join an IT startup).
Both groups can be organized simultaneously, however, we feel that the more critical group to organize is a group of experienced IT professionals that can work with the other group as mentors and advisors (or otherwise support these generally younger and less experienced members of the community).
So, we have started our effort to organize an IT startup mentor group here in Thailand. If you or someone you know here in Thailand might be interested in joining such a group, please visit our initial website at:
http://sites.google.com/site/thailanditmentors
Regards,
Ian
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There are quite a few individuals in Thailand, both Thai and non-Thai, that would really like to see a much more successful IT startup community start here in Thailand. Some components of this community are definitely missing.
Some of us have discussed what things are missing. From our involvement with successful IT startup companies and communities, we feel that one important thing that is needed to help support and grow new IT ventures here in Thailand are mentors that are experienced in the various technical and business areas important to creating a successful IT organization.
If you are interested in helping to nurture an IT startup community here in Thailand and have the desire to share your wisdom and experiences gained from working in IT with young, creative IT entrepreneurs then you are the who this post was intended for. If you know someone elsewho this post might be intended for we hope you will help make sure ourcall reaches them as well.
Currently there is no set framework or specific agenda for a mentoring program. If you have sufficient experience working in a modern IT business environment, have an interest in sharing your experiences with others, have reasonable conversational English skills and are able to attend an initial meeting in the Bangkok area then you are someone we would like to hear from. Please visit our initial contact website at the link below to get more information and let us know how we can contact you:
http://sites.google.com/site/thailanditmentors/
P.S.I am new to this forum. I am not a spammer. I am not phishing for business. I am a professional living and working in Thailand for a major Thai institution (although this message is unrelated directly to work I do there). I used to work for ANS/AOL/UUNET/MCI/WorldCom in the US (all the names due to M&A's). I have periodically read the postings in these forums for many years but I have not found the time to participate. However, I really respect those regular meaningful contributors that make these forums so useful to so many people. I hope you will help me pass along this message to anyone involved or not involved in these forums.
It Startup Community In Thailand
in IT and Computers
Posted
For expats living in Asia, living expenses could definitely be an issue. In our own country, we have support networks for volunteers or our own friends and families. The additional problem is receiving and maintaining a VISA.
Thailand is making this extremely difficult for expats here. The VISA itself isn't so expensive (1,900 baht plus some other small fees) and paying for a work permit is only 3,000 baht. Meeting the requirements for a work permit is where we come into a huge problem.
This is why any IT startup mentoring organization needs to be organized and also might need funding. This is what we need to discuss. However, if we are organized (and operational) I have a strong feeling we can get some funding. I am even an optimistic guy and think some of the governmental organizations might even help us get visas.