About

The Armchair Theorist's only quasi-photogenic photo

My name is Jonathan Wong, and this is my little corner of the Internet.

I am…

… a technology evangelist working for the biggest software company in the world [*]. And what exactly is a technology evangelist? Heck, I don’t know. I just know I get to talk to a lot of people and eat free food at events.
… an amateur economist who nowadays is obsessive in trying to find alternative explanations to everything that is happening around him. Damn you, Freakonomics!
… a social media aficionado who loves to use social media tools to ~~procrastinate~~ optimize his own personal information stream.
… a person who pretends to be smart by making up stupid theories that have little basis in fact or reality. Most of my theories are useless, but who knows, I may get lucky one of these days.
… previously a dancer, believe it or not.
… anal retentive when it comes to organizing and categorizing my stuff. I think I picked this trait up from my mom.
… an otaku, and proud to be one. Both for Japanese anime and idol culture. Otaku is the new black!
… someone who loves to eat. And I *always* finish my food.
… an overall nice guy… or at least I hope so.

[*] According to Software Top 100

Ten More Random Facts About Me

I feverishly support Cleveland sports teams (Cavaliers, Indians, and Browns). If Lebron James leaves the Cavaliers in the next few years, there is a seriously good chance I won’t be able to witness a Cleveland sports championship until I have grandchildren.
I hate watching soccer and I find the sport extremely boring. However, my favorite English soccer team is Crystal Palace, since I needed to come up with an answer to a question I get asked way too often here in Singapore. Crystal Palace just sounds cool, and I enjoy the strange look on people’s faces when they realize that my favorite English soccer team is not even in the English Premiere League.
I was awesome in 6th grade. I cleaned up during our year-end awards ceremony, making the honor roll and winning “Best Student in History”, “Best Student in Art”, “Best Student in Computer Studies”, and almost winning “Best Student in Math” until someone realized that I have won too much.
I haven’t won a single thing since 6th grade.
I used to own a Japanese IBM PCjr, Apple IIGS, and a PC-compatible with an EISA bus. Yes, when it comes to computers I always had a knack of choosing the most obscure and inferior option when superior options are available at the time.
My life in a nutshell: I was born in Singapore, grew up in Taipei for 17 years, survived through three-and-a-half years of snowstorms in Cleveland getting my degree, stayed in Tokyo for six months to enjoy Japanese pop culture for an internship, came back to Singapore to serve my country and have been staying here ever since. I consider myself an Americanized Singaporean-Taiwanese with Japanese biases.
I wasted four years of my life learning French and all I have to show for it today is, “Je m’appelle Jon“, “Qu’est-ce que c’est” and “J’aime la pomme de terre“.
I have taken ballet classes before – during my mid-twenties.
If you Google for “Jonathan Wong” in Mar 2009, within the first couple pages of results you will get an Irish graphic designer, fitness coach, lawyer, and a whole lot of other people who are not me. First mention of this blog (Armchair Theorist) is on page two. So is my Twitter page. That is a remarkable improvement since Aug last year, when Armchair Theorist didn’t even appear until page seven. Must of been because of that NSFW post last year…
I hate to be average. If given a choice, I would want to either excel at something or totally suck at it. And thanks to my diligence in adhering to this principle over the years, I can proudly say that I suck at more things in life than I excel in. Well done, Jonathan!

The Obligatory “Donate” Button

If you feel an urge to give me money, go ahead and click on the button below.

If you don’t have a good reason to give me money, here are seven reasons that you may consider:

You think I am an awesome writer and you want to encourage me to continue writing.
You think I am a terrible writer and you want to pay me to go away.
You found some of my projects useful, and would like to buy me a coffee or beer.
You just signed up for PayPal and you need a volunteer to test whether the money transfer function actually works or not.
You did something unspeakably bad, and need to atone for it by giving an obscene amount of money to some stranger you found online today.
You are Bill Gates, and you need to donate an obscene amount of money away for tax reasons.
You are either my mom or dad.

Professional Affiliations

Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) – Digital Media Chapter
Singapore Computer Society (SCS) – Web 2.0 Special Interest Group (SIG)

Media Interviews

Jun 10, 2008 – Digital Life, The Straits Times – Map your world
May 27, 2008 – Digital Life, The Straits Times – Web 2.0 myths debunked

Events and Speaking Engagements

Jul 14, 2009 – SingTel Innovation Exchange (organized by SingTel) – Speaker: “Jumpstart your software business (and get free stuff) with Microsoft”
Jun 10, 2009 – ad:tech Singapore (produced by dmg world media) – Panel Speaker: “Budgeting for Innovation/Experimental Marketing”
Apr 17, 2009 – GridAsia 2009 (organized by IDA and National Grid Singapore) – Panel Speaker: “Is SaaS Secure Enough?”
Feb 26, 2009 – RIAction (organized by Singapore Flex User Group) – Co-Organizer and Keynote Speaker: “Microsoft’s RIA Vision” (Presentation available here)
Oct 31, 2008 – Singapore Digital Media Festival 2008 (organized by SiTF) – Panel Speaker: “Web 2.0 and Building Online Communities” (Recording available here)
Oct 17, 2008 – Wine for Asia 2008 (organized by MP Asia and Wine Resources) – Speaker: “Wine 2.0: Leverage the Social Web to Revolutionize your Wine Business” (Presentation available here)
Aug 14, 2008 – 12th Infocomm Commerce Conference (organized by SCCCI/IDA) – Speaker: “Social Networks: Making Business $ense Out of It”
… and too many other Microsoft and IBM events to list

The All-Important Disclaimer

This is my personal blog. The views expressed on these pages are mine alone and not those of my employer. My employer does not (and will never) pay me or coerce me into writing this blog. I willingly maintain this blog because of the following reasons: