As of this writing I have around 16 gadgets, a mix of smartphones, tablets, laptops, and headphones, still in their boxes here at home. They’re all in line for unboxing and review articles here in Unbox. However each time I pick one up and bring out my camera to start doing the usual pictures I find myself totally out of energy or enthusiasm. It’s as if I saw a delectable piece of Salmon sashimi but had to spit it out after eating it because it was spoiled. Which brings me to the question — what does a tech blogger write about during these times? What does a tech blogger like me share with our readers when millions of Filipinos are suffering in the wake of super typhoon Yolanda’s path of destruction? I tried doing an unboxing article of the iPad Air but it just felt so wrong publishing it and sharing it on our social networking sites.

Then something started to happen.

The companies that we’ve been covering for the last few years responded to the call for help. We saw Samsung donate $1M. Shortly after that both telcos, Smart and Globe, set aside their fierce competition to come up with a joint offer for subscribers affected by Yolanda. Then Sony announced they were giving $150,000 and radios. Nokia then gave 50,000 euros followed by LG giving $500,000 and solar panels. Even two of the biggest tech companies in the world, Apple and Facebook, helped by pushing a donate button on their respective properties.

So what does a tech blogger do in calamities like this? On top of being a decent human by donating and helping in relief operations in our personal capacities, the only thing we can do is to try to spread some sort of feeling of hope. Social media today is just filled with intense negativity and hate. People are blaming the government. Traditional media isn’t reporting anything good and they keep feeding the public with messages of an incompetent and useless government. The fire just keeps getting bigger and it’s reached a point that it’s actually a form of sadism to open one’s Facebook feed.

It’s understandable though since we are a nation that’s hurting. Hurting badly.

Despite everything that’s happened, there is still hope and I feel that we should also spread it online. It’s amazing to see these global giants reach out and do whatever they can to help us rise up as a nation. More than these tech companies we’re also seeing other countries sending aid in the form of people, ships, goods, and money. Let’s not turn a blind eye on what the government is doing wrong but let’s also make it a point to celebrate and share the little successes that come our way.

I remember something that a teacher in Ateneo once told me when I was at a very low point in my life.

Rage against despair and sadness. These emotions will drain and sap you of joy and hope until you become jaded, pessimistic, and cruel.

Let’s all do our share and help the country move forward. Donate, pack goods, and be agents of hope. Resist the natural feeling to be cynical and hateful. Let’s move, act, and speak in wisdom and charity.

Peace!