They say that each one of us has that need to belong. That's right. You -- as a human being -- have a natural tendency to want to become a part of something. Thus the saying, "no man is an island." Outside of our families and loved ones, we have our friends as our next circle. As for the third one ... I'd probably choose the volley folks I play hard volley with every Tuesdays and Saturdays (no pitch here!). As a community, we share the same passion for the sport; we're out to elevate our skills; we're excited to get to know new players; we're bent on playing even if it's 12 midnight already.

I was at La Salle last Friday -- to learn about a different kind of community. The Open Source community, or let's just generalize it, Open Source communities. In the session, first-ever Filipina Vice President / Project Management Committee Chairperson of the Apache Archiva project Ms. Deng Ching talked about the Apache Software Foundation as an example of a noteworthy community in OS. She claims that a community, "is much similar to the relationship between a guy and a girl," where squabbles transpire and compromises prevail.

Interesting.

Another interesting characteristic of OS communities is that they're built on the concept of meritocracy. Imagine that! Now, maybe that's why some of the students flinched. Maybe, but Deng immediately expressed how inhibited she was when she first started to reach out to these acclaimed geek gods and goddesses. She mentions, "Don't be intimated by us, because I started out just like you."

Here are some pictures of the talk last Friday.

Incidentally, you can view the presentation at SlideShare. We have been going to DLSU and speaking in front of Mr. Paul Inventado's Open Source class for a few weeks now. It's been a really engaging endeavor and we're honored to be part of such program.

At G2iX, we take great pride in working with communities, especially the academe. I mean, where else will we turn to for new hires, right? That's the selfish reason but of course, it's more than just that. We remain very resolute to make a big contribution to the academe community.

And speaking of communities -- let me just end this post with the mention of this week's Halo Halo Halloween Mix Mix sa G2iX get-together (for team Manila) taking place on Friday at the G2VC Tech Bar. Minsan lang talaga ang halloween. Pero ang G2iX family -- palagi andyan. Kasama mo sa araw-araw. Kasama mo sa hirap, sa ginhawa; sa sakit at sigla :)

Makisalo na sa saya sa Byernes!