It’s hard for me to see how this page can be useful for anyone. But I guess when one day this site will be all that’s left of me in life, I might as well leave something a bit meaningful about me here.
Me in 5 secs #
Tech enthusiast. Marketing professional. Slow thinker. Saigon native. Australian.
More about me #
I light up up when it comes to anything IT-related #
I’m continuously amazed by information technology and how fast it’s been growing since I got my hands on a Pentium 586 desktop running Windows 3.11.
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1995-1999
- Got my first PC at age 7. Learn MS DOS.
- Started tinkering with, breaking and fixing Windows issues from the age of 10. I was lucky my parents had a lot of patience.
- Subscribed to PCWorld magazine at the age of 12. Again, thanks, dad.
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2001-2005
- Started participating on the Internet. Got my first email address from Yahoo!. 2001 was not cool so I suffix my name with 2002. Username sticked across providers.
- Learned the ins and outs of computer hardwares enough to fix, upgrade or build a PC from scratch at the age of 14.
- Built my first website with HTML and CSS at the age of 15
- At 16: built a relational database in MS Access for a car dealership. Learned basic SQL. Learned Excel (VLOOKUP,IF...). Built my first vBulletin forum.
- Built first Wordpress site at the age of 18
Looking back, I always seems to have an innate understanding of how information system and hardware work or why they breaks.
So it’s not unusual to see me playing the role of IT support (or even doing some small sysadmin jobs) at work as my cowokers often reach out to me to quickly fix their computer problems instead of going through the ticketing system.
I work in digital marketing #
Despite my passion for IT, I found myself pursuing a career in marketing in university. I discovered a knack for strategic thinking and creative flair. With experience in marketing and my passion for technology, I always aimed to infuse IT solutions into how businesses did marketing, naturally participating in the rise of digital marketing. Since then I’ve contributed to the success of several digital campaigns across different industries.
As I don’t simply work on the last “P” of marketing, I found myself increasingly participating in optimising different operational aspects and processes of the business that contribute to a good marketing mix. This often means I always get involved in the digital transformation initiatives where I work. Those could be implementing CRM systems, revamping legacy websites, or buiding customer loyalty platform etc.
Nowadays, I have embarked on certifications and courses to build up my technical skills in business systems, cloud computing, and data analytics. After more than a decade working in marketing, I found myself no longer in the forefront of technology. It’s time to catch up.
I’m drawn towards deep work and mastery #
The concept of “deep work”, as championed by Cal Newport, resonates with me deeply. Cal’s insights on cultivating focus have guided me in navigating modern work demands, which often requires me to multitask or allocate my attention for different team members. I find creating blocks of time to immerse myself without distractions allows for creativity, productivity, and, most importantly, paves the way to mastery.
While deep work yields tangible results for the company I’m working at, for me, the intrinsic enjoyment of engaged focus is its own reward. I relish delving deeply into my work as I progress along the satisfying path to mastery. One of my biggest inspiration is probably Jiro Ono, the sushi master. His relentless pursuit of perfection, exemplifies a commitment to craftsmanship.
I’m allergic to bullshit #
I have a strong aversion to fluff and bullshitery, which, unfortunately, tend to flourish in the marketing world. My focus has always been on tangible results, skills, and avoiding reliance on luck or unquantifiable factors. This has led me towards areas like performance marketing, data analysis, and marketing operations.
Now, I’m eager to pivot towards IT, my lifelong passion. I bring a solid understanding of business dynamics and, most importantly, empathy to the table. With newfound knowledge in IT, particularly in the cloud space, I believe I can effectively communicate well with stakeholders and make a smooth transition of any IT project.
Me according to the Big 5 Aspects Scale #
