At Lift Conference, I had the chance to meet Trista Bridges, the co-editor of the English-written (!) French blog Rude Baguette.With the slogan “Pardon my French”(you know, it’s very uncommon to write in English in Paris), they cover the Internet and technology sector in France, combining breaking news with in-depth analysis. If you’ve never heard about it before, give them a read, really worthful! I’ve asked her if she could jump into our startup serie topic and publish her thoughts on the Swiss local scene. Although this post has already been published on Thursday (with the title What I learned at Lift13 about the Swiss Startup Scene), I think it’s a pretty good match with this serie! Last week I attended Lift13 in Geneva, which was a great experience, offering all kinds of interesting insights, debates and experiences around technological innovation. Although innovation …
Does Switzerland exist on the European tech startup scene? (Part III)
After one week interruption (sorry for that), I have the pleasure to publish the third post of the serie (you can read Part I and Part II). Dimitris Kalogeropoulos, an engaged Greek blogger that I’ve met last year at Next Berlin, is sharing his thoughts today about Swiss startups. I have to be honest here; when Sebastien asked me to write a blog post about Swiss startups and if Switzerland exists on the European startup scene, I was a bit puzzled: I didn’t have any Swiss startups in the top of my mind. I made a research and I came across some very interesting results. First and foremost: there ARE Swiss startups. The two most popular of them are paper.li and Doodle. Paper.li is a service that goes through all your social network accounts and creates an online & interactive …
NEXT top 100 digital influencers – time to vote!
Last year, I had the chance to be invited to NEXT Berlin 2012 (I’ve posted about it). I’ll attend again in 2013… What a lucky guy I am! Berlin is one of the top startup hub in Europe (the only real rival is London I think) and beeing there is an opportunity to meet prominent actors of the European startup scene. As you maybe remember, Next Berlin is looking for the NEXT 100 top influencers of the digital industry in 2013. As not many Swiss people were nominated (you can nominate who ever you want: the crowd decides! If you happen to suggest a Swiss entrepreneur or investor, please add him in the comments below!), Marina asked me to suggest people who are major actors of the Swiss (and European) tech scene. Here are the entrepreneurs I’ve nominated: Mehdi Aminian, …
HOW TO win over your co-workers
I’ve read an interesting and funny printed article sometimes ago about how to win over your co-workers (unfortunately, I’ve not found who has written this). Here is what was in this excellent piece (I’ve not credit for this!): Make sure your desk is as messy as possible (others will read it as a sign of productivity) Always send emails at random times (22:45, 07:00) and on important public holidays Nothing good ever came from hitting “reply all” Sighing loudly and often can be used as a way to express just how much work you have The printer will work both faster and better if you yell at it Use as much jargon as possible. Phrases like “think outside of the box” and text speak can be an exceptionally effective way to communicate: at the end of the day it all boils …
Does Switzerland exist on the European tech startup scene? (Part II)
Last week I’ve started a blog post serie from international bloggers to get their view on Swiss startup scene (see Part I). You’ll find in this second post the impression of Fred Zimny, a Dutch blogger specialized in services design and management. The Next Berlin 2013 event was the trigger for an Internet encounter with Sébastien. He wonders if Switzerland really exists on the European tech start-up scene. He is investigating how Switzerland is seen from an outside, neutral perspective. As a blogger I am not that neutral. I do have my believes and these beliefs will be shared with you in this post. Yes, it is true, the Global Innovation ranking index puts Switzerland at the first place worldwide, but how relevant is this index? I always appreciate these kind of reports and outcomes. However, often one may notice that there is a preference for institutional characteristics. …
Does Switzerland exist on the European tech startup scene? (Part I)
National media and politics often congratulate themselves about the success of Swiss innovation. For instance, the Global Innovation ranking index puts Switzerland at the first place worldwide, but how relevant is this index? You have to know that it is based on the number of patents regarding to the country population. Maybe it’s a good indicator of patentable innovation like in pharma, mechanics, etc. But what’s about the ICT sector? By definition, ICT code is really difficult to protect. And if yes, will cost millions to defend with not much certainty of winning, even if you were copied. But does Switzerland really exist on the European tech startup scene? To have objective opinions, I’ve asked some of my fellow international bloggers on how they see Switzerland from an outside, neutral perspective. I hope to have a serie of post coming …
The internet of energy
A current hot topic in the innovation world is the Internet of Things, which was in the center of LeWeb last December in Paris. Every object will be (is already) able to connect with other objects, and simplify your life! The apparition and the rapid penetration of smartphones have definitely changed how we behave. Information is now ubiquitous and we can consume everywhere, anytime. Some of you have maybe already heard about smart grids, which is according to Wikipedia, an electrical grid that uses information and communications technology to gather and act on information, such as information about the behaviors of suppliers and consumers, in an automated fashion to improve the efficiency, reliability, economics, and sustainability of the production and distribution of electricity. Innovation in cleantech has been discussed so much these last years, but without really showcasing how ICT can help …
What is the influence of social media on the music industry?
This interesting topic will be discussed on 21st of January in Lausanne. The young Swiss Community Managers Association (SCMA), started in May 2010, is gathering social media enthousiasts around every 2 months around a specific area of interest. Representative of the famous Paléo festival and musicians will discuss how social network dynamics have changed their way of doing business and what they could or should do to efficiently use them. Online music platforms like MX3 (powered by the Swiss French public radio-television RTS) and repreZent (focused on Suisse Romande and specialized in the hip hop music segment) will also bring their knowledge and share their experience. I’m really looking forward to this event as it couldn’t better match with what I’m working on currently: social networks and music. As community management is still a new term for many people, I’m …