What was your first job as a journalist?
UK tech publication ...
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yep ... learnt on mum's old fashioned beast as kid ... the springs were so stiff that two-finger typing was needed on some letters.
How is social media changing news?
Good in diversification of sources and bad in reinforcing pre-existing biases fostering polarisation rather than constructive communications.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Lois McMaster Bujold ... she's an amazing SciFi writer with sociological insights on technologies (uterine replication device)
What does it mean to be a journalist?
How we interpret events is filtered through prior biases. Give comfort to afflicted and afflict the comfortable by changing worldviews.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
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How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Send link to background/white papers. I'm more interested in the pedigree of the underlying technology than specific market applications.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Simple text editor ...
What's your favorite social network?
LinkedIn
Who do you wish followed you?
Rich philanthropist sponsors ... seriously I see a lot of socio-economic problems and would like to bring attention to solving the big ones
Why did you become a journalist?
Blogged a lot for Asia Pacific Technology Network and do it as a sideline to background research in crafting professional investment thesis.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No ... my interest as writer stems from being ex-academic when I tried to explain the world ... still like to mentor.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Still striving for the next better one ...
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Become a domain specialist ... too many people offer opinions without understanding history, socioeconomics or the wider info-context.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Technology meetup events best since I'm actively looking for ideas and trends.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Impressed by a 60+ founder at Malaysia startup event ... passionate and dedication came through showing age is no barrier to entreprenenrship
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Random email solicitations.
What's your favorite drink?
Bowl-sized hot triple chocolate with half milk ... used to be chocoholic until couldn't fit into jeans.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
What!?! and cut my electronic umbilical cord ... admittedly a tech library with dead-trees is a good alternative.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
MIT Technology Review, O'Reilly Media 4 short links
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
Innovation is not the same as novelty ... true innovation changes behviour, lives, even society. I look for significance, not technopillacy.
