The HTML5 rush, Too Many Pick and Shovel vendors
When the Californian Hills called, many gold rush prospectors put aside their savings to head west and try their luck. Some were able to afford claims while others joined consortiums to mine a specific area with a varying level of success. A few other entrepreneurs focused on servicing the miners and selling them tools. From […]
Doubling its market share in just one year, Free continues to shake up France’s telco market
Last week, Iliad, Free’s parent company, announced some very big results, proving that despite Orange’s, SFR’s and Bouygues‘ fairly effective response to Free’s entry into mobile, Free’s momentum isn’t slowing. If anything, it looks to be picking up steam. Some of the big highlights were – a doubling of its market share to 10% in […]
Calling it Quits: Post-Mortem of a Seedcamp company
When I first met Stan, co-founder of tl;dr.io, he pitched me the ‘summary layer’ that he wanted to build on top of the internet, and, frankly, I just didn’t buy it. As a content company, I knew how tough it is to maintain that level of content, a certain level of quality, and get the […]
The Yin and Yang of Gamification
“I completed my expedition in two months. I brought away the fixed amount which he had ordered me.” You would think this sentence was taken out of a recent online game but you’d be wrong. It actually is one of the earliest recorded examples of gamification. It was carved on an Egyptian stela around 1860bc. […]
It’s not just Parisian Ghost Towns: China signs deal with Paris Metro RATP for Shenyang
Earlier this month, the city of Shenyang launched 3 new tram lines, according to LesEchos, having signed a contract with RATP and Transdev joint venture RATP dev. With another three lines set to launch soon, the new metro system is set to 65 metro stations, which will cover 70 Km and the transportation of 7.2 […]
This Stanford Knight talk gives a preview into the future of digital media
Digital media is the next big frontier – don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Traditional business models and distribution are disappearing, and consumer content consumption habits & expectations are changing. In a recent talk about her year as a Fellow in Stanford’s John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship, Marie-Catherine Beuth (@M_C_B) discussed a project she has been […]
France’s latest social network reveals just how much trouble print media is in today
The past few years have been quite rough for print media around the world. Traditional print newspapers like New York Times have become the exception to the rule in their successful transfer to digital (even though it’s still losing revenue each year), while Newsweek has stopped publishing print altogether. France has had its own set […]
All aboard! European train eTicketer Capitaine Train now available in English
Capitaine Train, an online train ticket vendor which recently raised €2,5M from investors Index Ventures in order to continue its growth, announced today that its slick UX and aggregated ticket prices are now available in English (in addition to German & French). Launched last year with the intention of disrupting the gigantic train travel industry in […]
After selling the bulk of its stake in Activision, is SFR the next to go for Vivendi?
After selling 85% of their stake in Activision last week, Les Echos reported that Vivendi is studying the possibility of selling SFR, its largest telecoms operation. Given their debt challenges and shaky performance of late, they’re particularly looking at how to divest the French telco without disrupting their stock price or negatively affecting their (already […]
35 hour work week fading as the average full-time work week in France nears 40 hours
After years of debates over the 35-hr work week which became law in 1998, it turns out that the infamous law is fading into obscurity. A survey which was conducted and recently published by the employment ministry’s research group Dares and covered by La Tribune proves that the “normal” French work week (i.e. outside of vacations, […]