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PHL tech pioneer Jim Ayson, 53
Jim Ayson, one of the Philippines' Internet pioneers, passed away early Tuesday, November 10. He was 53 years old.
Renaissance man
Ayson's interests spanned numerous fields, and he was particularly well-known in music and technology circles. His passion for both came to the fore in 1997 when he founded Philmusic.com, an online community that continues to help grow the Original Pinoy Music scene.
"Jim was the first Renaissance man I ever met," said GMA News' Howie Severino, who was Ayson's classmate at Ateneo de Manila High School. "He wrote and drew extremely well even as a 13-year-old. He was also the best drummer in the school."
"So I wasn't at all surprised that he was one of the first to explain to me this new thing called the Internet back in the early 1990s. He just knew so much about so many things. Gosh, I'm going to miss him," Severino added.
His sudden loss was keenly felt across Philippine cyberspace:
Like everyone else am shocked over sudden passing of @JimAyson. Deepest sympathies to his family, he was so widely respected.
— Manuel L. Quezon III (@mlq3) November 10, 2015 Rest in peace @JimAyson. We will miss your funny, pointed, and informative tweets. Thank you for everything that you gave the industry.
— Yves Gonzalez (@doblezeta) November 10, 2015 80-90% of my music gear was acquired via the forums on @JimAyson's brainchild Philmusic. Without him, I would not have had these tools.
— Marco Harder (@themarcoharder) November 10, 2015 Ayson was widely regarded as a tech visionary, actively advocating the Philippines' adoption of emerging information and communications technologies (ICTs). His personal narration of how the country first connected to the Internet in 1994 remains one of the most definitive and riveting accounts of that historic event.
"I knew Jim since the mid-1980s, when we were exploring the possibilities of online communications through bulletin board systems," recalls Roberto "Obet" Verzola, one of the country's earliest ICT pioneers and reputed "Father of Philippine Email".
Ayson also set up the now decade-old Philippine Cyberspace Review (PH-Cyberview) mailing list, whose members include other local tech luminaries.
Since 2012, he was the senior manager of local mobile giant Smart Communication's Partnerships and Developer Relations arm, where he fostered ties with the country's emerging technology innovators.
More recently, Ayson was also instrumental in having Alden Richard’s and Maine Mendoza’s Twitter accounts verified, having to explain the then-growing AlDub phenomenon to Singaporean Twitter officials.
Ayson was working at his laptop around Monday midnight when he suddenly collapsed, according to Newsbytes. He was rushed to St. Lukes Global City, but doctors were reportedly unable to revive him.
He is survived by his wife, Chette Soriano-Ayson, and his infant daughter, Gabby.
Jim's brother, Jojo Ayson, told Newsbytes that he had wished to be cremated. — With Bea Montenegro, GMA News
