Go back to Childhood, and think different !
Watch more on TED here
Go back to Childhood, and think different !
Watch more on TED herePosted by Marc Duchesne on December 02, 2009 in Change The World, ParadigmShift, TED | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The FTTH Forum organized earlier this week in Lisbon by HanseCom has been quite a nice success, with a large audience, mostly coming from Portugal of course.
I was the only French, together with Roland Montagne of IDATE, to speak at the conference, which was pretty much held by the "Dutch Connection" ! A piece of evidence that the Open Neutral Access approach is still not a standard thinking here in France...
Actually, I was supposed to be part of two panels : the one on Muni Fiber, and the one on new cabling techniques. I must admit : due to my hectic agenda over the last few weeks and my current focus on Rural Broadband, I totally forgot the second point and did only prepare the first. I realized my mistake... the morning before the panels, scheduled in late afternoon !
By chance, Hassan Clausen, Managing Director of HanseCom and organizer of the event understood pretty well the situation, and let me withdraw from the New Cabling stuff, which gave him the opportunity to get 3 speakers at each panel. I'm glad my mistake finally allowed Uffe Mogensen, CEO of GM Plast, to deliver a fantastic presentation on micro-trenching techniques.
So, as planned, I did present the Bottom-Up approach for deploying Fiber in Rural areas. To start with, I explained why the usual way of deploying municipal Fiber-To-The-Home networks in France is never satisfying for the citizens - see Pau Broadband Country or Gonfreville-l'Orcher : as the people were not involved in the project at the very beginning, they are to reject it quickly as soon as something goes wrong.
That's where the "Top-Down" strategy fails. Enters the "Bottom-Up" approach : help the people solve a real problem in their daily life - what we B2B marketeers call "the customer' s pain", and go a step beyond by offering them something else on top of the solution used to fix this problem. Work with them to define the solution, work with them to test and implement it. Doing so, you will get the citizens adopt the solution, as they are part of its design' process.
The first question is: is there an Open Neutral Access Fiber nearby ? If the answer is "No", then... well, look for alternatives (which are not part of this discussion, sorry !). If the answer is "Yes", then the next question is: can Fiber help solving the problem ?. If the answer is "No", bad luck for me (and you, BTW ;-). If the answer is "Yes", then let's work it out with the customer, er., the Citizens.
That's the Bottom-Up approach for deploying FTTH Fiber-To-The-Home, starting by the Church. Why the church ? Simply because in each and every small city or village out there, there's a church - or a synagog, or a mosque, or a temple, whatever religious construction that is (or was...) the heart of your town, with active social life around, e.g. a pub, a grocery store, a book store... The idea is that simple : get the Fiber to the very heart of your village, and get the people build a community around it. They will adopt the project, because they will be part of it, playing an active role.
Actually, that's nothing new. Think of the Web 2.0 stuff: how did all those famous startups which we all know today, the Facebooks, the Twitters, the YouTubes, proceed at the beginning ? Got an idea, test it among a bunch of buddies, then once the idea went polished enough, extend the testing phase to a larger audience, who will help fixing the bugs and adding new features, then launch the product publicly. And still keep their users onboard by creating a true community spirit. There's no difference with what Seth Godin, the iconic Marketing guru of the Blogosphere, calls the Tribe.
In the business, how do you get customers to use your product ? You do evangelize them, right ? Here, with Municipal Fiber-To-The-Home networks, all we need to do is the same. Hence the Church.
Let me evangelize you. Here is the presentation, available for download on Slideshare. I give three examples of actual projects based on this bottom-up approach.
Disclaimer : I'm currently working as a consultant for two of those municipalities: Montmirail and La Grande Paroisse. The two projects are ongoing, both in the preliminary phase of network design and definition of the first targets (low-investments, boot-strapping...). The project concerning Val d'Isere has not been approved yet - we just started the discussions a couple of weeks ago.
View more documents from Marc Duchesne.
Post-scriptum : this idea of bringing Fiber Broadband to a community is pretty well spread in the Anglo-Saxon part of Europe, not speaking of the US of course. See what fellow Guy Jarvis is doing in the UK with his FibreStream organization, or Frans-Anton Vermast of i-NEC in the Netherlands and elsewhere (interview by Costas Troulos of Broadband Prime here). Although this kind of spirit is not that common here in France, I'm convinced that involving the people right from the beginning of a project as big as bringing fiber to their home is the only way to go when public money (means your taxes and mine) is at stake. Frans Anton has found a nice tweak to the FTTH acronym in the Municipalities environment : FFTH, Fiber FROM The Home...Amen, and Carpe Diem ;-)
Posted by Marc Duchesne on November 07, 2009 in Broadband, Change The World, Communications, Current Affairs, Disruption, Entrepreneurship, Events, FiberToTheHome, FTTH Council, ParadigmShift, Social Networking, User Experience | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Borders, Union Square, San Franciso CA, February 2008.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on September 11, 2009 in Carpe Diem, Change The World | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
After watching the Swiss comedian Ursus Wehrli deconstructing the work of some well known artists to build its own vision, you will never see the World the same way. Enjoy.
ps: if you don't understand swiss-german, here's the transcript of Wehrli's show.Posted by Marc Duchesne on August 22, 2009 in Change The World, Disruption, Fun, TED | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
This post if the first of a series which is about the changes that are currently affecting the World, modifying it at an unprecedented speed yet with a mostly invisible manner.
With this series, I'll share with you some of the most stunning talks at the TED conferences.
As a starter, I'd like you to watch Clay Shirky, consultant, author of "Here Comes Everybody", and professor at the New York University, demonstrating how Facebook, Twitter and SMS help citizens in repressive regimes to report on real news, bypassing governmental 's censorship. Feared by most of the politicians all around the Planet, including here in the Land Of Democracy, aka France, the end of top-down control of news is changing the nature of politics.
One out of many interesting stuff with Shirky 's speech: it has been recorded at the US State Department, Washington, DC., during the TED@State event last June. I don't know of an equivalent here in France: we're too much scarred by changes...
Allow yourself a nice coffee break to enjoy the video: it's 17' long, but it's worth the
watch.
More by Clay Shirky at TED here.
By the way: I've entitled this series "TED on the fly" because when I'm traveling by air, I'm used to load my iPhone with 15 to 20 new TED videos, which I watch during the flight. That means I've plenty to share with you ;-)
Posted by Marc Duchesne on July 14, 2009 in Change The World, TED | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Marc Duchesne on June 24, 2009 in Change The World, Current Affairs, Disruption, Economy, Energy, Enterprise, Entrepreneurship, GreenTech, In The Air Today, Investors, People, Presentation, Puzzle | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Marc Duchesne on June 24, 2009 in Change The World, Climate Crisis, Disruption, Energy, Enterprise, Entrepreneurship, GreenTech, In The Air Today, ParadigmShift, People, Presentation, Stakeholders | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I've been quite silent here over the last months, although I've been quite active on the FTTH front: training an installation & maintenance contractor, visiting key vendors, working on Muni Broadband projects, attending seminars and conferences.
Living "Fiber Broadband" since two years, especially with the lovely Pau Broadband Country, I'm now convinced of a few things. Here are my points:
Posted by Marc Duchesne on June 19, 2009 in Broadband, Business, Change The World, Disruption, Economy, Entrepreneurship, FiberToTheHome | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
It's new, it's still in alpha stage, and it's made by Google. It's going to change the World. Granted *.
It's called "Wave", and you're going to surf on it a lot soon.
* Think Net Neutrality, Open Neutral Access, and Open Mind.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on May 29, 2009 in Change The World, Communications, Disruption, Google, People | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Evan Carmichael of EvanCarmichael.com has recently published an impressive list of blogs to follow (Twitter, Twitter...) this year 2009. Guess what : everything Sustainability is at the top of this list.
Forget Web 2.0, WebTV, and all the geek stuff. This year, Green is the motto. Let's hope it will stay so for the hundred years to come.
To start with, you may subscribe to TreeHugger right now.
However, the key question is: when will Guy Kawasaki launch his own new venture in the Green field ? ;-)
Posted by Marc Duchesne on March 06, 2009 in Change The World, Entrepreneurship, People | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
France, my home country, is in bad shape, as the rest of the World. Since beginning of this year, you may have noticed that I've started a new series of posts, titled "That's Why I'd Better Move To The US". The reason is that I love my country so much that I'm desperate seeing how bad things are here.
Of course, as hundreds of thousands of other Frenchies, I do wake up each and every morning asking myself: what can I do for my country today. J.F. Kennedy is still alive out there... However, doing something for the country is not an easy one. More than often, you hit the wall hard. In this case, my strategy is simple: RASPSA, "Reset, And Same Player Shoot Again".
French singer Michel Polnareff wrote a beautiful song back in 1977 when he was banished from residence because of some conflict with the french Tax Administration. There's no better text to tell how I feel this morning about France.
Music by Michel Polnareff, Lyrics by Jean-Loup Dabadie
Posted by Marc Duchesne on February 12, 2009 in Carpe Diem, Change The World, People | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Good news of the day: the folks in Louisiana have made their dream real. Read here.
Truly innovative applications still to come (as anywhere else, it seems). Or, maybe Americans think that HDTV is the Future (no pun intented).
Posted by Marc Duchesne on February 07, 2009 in Broadband, Change The World, Current Affairs, FiberToTheHome, Lafayette, LUS Fiber | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
"And now is the time to create the jobs that remake America for the 21st century by rebuilding aging roads, bridges and levees; designing a smart electrical grid; and connecting every corner of the country to the information superhighway."
President Barack Obama, "The Action Americans Need", Washington Post, Feb. 5, 2009.
Note : in the meantime, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announces the suppression of the business tax in 2010, in order to protect jobs. Two radically different approaches to overcome the crisis. I have to say, I do prefer the first one: CREATE jobs. And you, which one do YOU prefer ?
Posted by Marc Duchesne on February 06, 2009 in Change The World | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
I have been invited by Cisco to attend the EUSEW 09 next week in Brussels, Belgium.
I've got my badge this morning : in a EC' stamped envelop. I'm proud to be European ;-)
More on the Sustainable Energy Week here.
Program there.
post-scriptum: I will attend on Wednesday 11/02. Feel free to drop me a tweet if you're there too.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on February 04, 2009 in Change The World, Cisco CUD, Current Affairs, Economy, Enterprise, EUSEW, Events, Global Warning | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Reuters, Thu Jan 29, 2009: "EDF, GDF Suez get OK for French EPR nuclear site"
This new EPR nuclear plant is said to cost 4 billion euros, which we French citizens know it will turn to be at least 6 billion by the completion of the project.
4 billion euros, 2,000 jobs during the construction, 300 "stable" jobs after : what a waste of money, whilst Green Tech and Renewable Energies are known to create 10 to 15 times more jobs for the same amount of investment... Jobs that are local and long-term, by the way. See Navarra, for one.
The best with this sad news: A member of the French Communist Party, the mayor of the largest city next to the village which will host the new nuclear plant says the decision is a good thing for the region, as it will compensate the losses in the Automotive industry - read here (link in french).
That is typical french: most of the people here, from bottom to top, don't think further than the tip of their own nose. I wish I were born American.
post-scriptum: 4 billions euros represents 100,000 kilometers of 72-fibers aerial cables which could be deployed along Mid/Low-Voltage power lines in the country, to deliver Ultra-Broadband Everywhere to Everyone. Chose your camp, Buddy...
---------------------------
Photo credit: Alfredo-9
Posted by Marc Duchesne on January 31, 2009 in Change The World | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
"We don't need help. We are not invalids. We don't have limited mental capacity."
Russian Prime Minister and former President Vladimir Putin, to Michael Dell offering his help to expand IT in Russia (at the official opening ceremony of the WEF World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland).
Posted by Marc Duchesne on January 29, 2009 in Change The World | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Read this. Ethan Nicolas, Rock star at Sun Microsystems, is to quit his job to become full-time developer of applications for the iPhone/iPod Touch. Simply because the first app he ever developed for the Apple' platform is now #1 Top Paid Application in the App Store. At $2.99 the download.
Changing the World, you said ?...
Posted by Marc Duchesne on January 14, 2009 in Business, Change The World, Disruption, Entrepreneurship, In The Air Today, iPhone, ParadigmShift, People | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
French incumbent France Telecom-Orange is entering the age of Smart Moves, thanks to its CEO Didier Lombard. See this announcement.
Remember the late 90s ? France Telecom was leading the Global One consortium. Now they're going global, as one.
Thanks to Jean-Michel Planche for the heads-up. You can follow Jean-Michel on Twitter here.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on January 14, 2009 in Broadband, Change The World, Communications, Economy, Entrepreneurship, FiberOptics, France Telecom, Orange, Stakeholders | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
This guy is supposed to become the next Secretary of State at the French Government, in charge of Broadband, Internet, and all that stupid stuff that makes our daily lives, us of the "bottom layer". See by yourself what we, entrepreneurs and developers of all kind, will face. Scary, huh ?...
Posted by Marc Duchesne on January 13, 2009 in Change The World, Current Affairs, Entrepreneurship, Internet, Not Fun | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Brian Solis of TechCrunch just published an outstanding article on entrepreneurship during a downturn time such as the one we are encountering today.
"Fear Kills Businesses, Dead" is a must-read for all of us who are in the Business.
We surely know it already, for most of us have been through the last crisis just a few years ago - remember the Dotcom ? However, some of us may be overhelmed by negative thoughts at the moment, generated by all the bad news we hear of all day long.
Therefore, here's our cure, folks:
"Building Your Business in a Recession
Obviously, capital preservation and cost cutting do not equate to sustenance or growth. The driving factors are poles apart when striving to merely stay alive vs. building a business.
If you’re sheltering cash to focus on development, then cut the services and expenses that will not impede your ability to cross the threshold to market success. If you’re conserving funds to prolong life, then realize that the only fountain of youth is cash itself. Focusing energies on generating revenue, increasing visibility, and enhancing customer loyalty are the most effective strategies for underwriting longevity, and hopefully growth, especially during an economic downturn.
The real question you have to ask yourself is, “How will my customers find me today and tomorrow?”
I’m not sure if this is a newsflash or not, but customers do not typically go out of their way to “discover” your products and companies. They have choices and it’s the job of any marketing and sales-centric business to reach their customers where they go for information—otherwise, they’re out of the decision making process by default. Marketing and sales are the conduits for connecting prospects to your business.
In a down economy, tomorrow’s leaders are born today. It takes vision, focus, and a hyper-connected sense of what customers are seeking, why, and where.
The reality is that there are hard costs tied to customer acquisition and retention. The key is to observe and listen to your customers to ascertain the most active and direct channels to reach and engage them.
Here are several, targeted and affordable suggestions:
1. SEO – Customers actively use search engines to find relevant solutions. Keyword and organic search optimization is an inexpensive and effective means for gaining strategic presence.
2. Blog Relations – It’s not just about news and pitching the A-List, creating a consistent and visible brand requires the inclusion of the authoritative, peer-to-peer blogs that your customers and influencers read for information, help and perspective. Oh, and be wise about using embargoes.
3. Media/Analysts – Reporters and analysts cover your space and by simply writing about your company or product, they can position you as an option among your customers; especially when they’re researching options to validate decisions.
4. Direct Sales – Some of the most successful companies right now are concentrating on direct outreach to the decision makers instead of hoping to influence them from the sidelines.
5. CRM – Building a customer-focused business saves money and increases revenue. Focusing on customers and empowering them improves business processes, product development, and also offsets marketing expenses as “involved and participatory” customers transform from a cost-center into an active surrogate sales force.
6. Participate – Social networks are much more than mere time killers. Participating across the social communities where you’re customers and prospects are active and vocal provides a looking glass into their thoughts, requests, opinions, dislikes, and recommendations. It also provides you with priceless opportunities to combat negative perceptions while also positioning your company as a resource.
7. Thought Leadership – One of the best ways to demonstrate thought leadership is to actively share your thoughts where they count. Contributing articles and posts to industry publications, forums, and blogs increases visibility and unobtrusively contributes to your sales strategy by helping customers find you.
8. Blog and Blog Comments – It may seem trite or perhaps even worthless, but I can guarantee that finding the time to host and contribute to a blog that demonstrates the expertise of you and your team is priceless. People are looking for information and direction, not just from your blog but others as well. Go where they are and offer counsel, contribute to the dialogue and establish trust and authority in the process. Why wouldn’t you position yourself as a resource for your customers or prospects? Too busy you say? Empower your staff. Contract outside experts to contribute to creating a one-stop-shop for insight and direction—just be transparent about their involvement. It costs less than you think to build a community around your product, or at least what it stands for.
9. Network in the real world – Participation isn’t solely relegated to online networks. Opportunities to meet and cultivate relationships in the real world are abundant. Meetups, industry events, groups, unofficial lobbycons associated with your favorite events are continuous and more valuable with your involvement.
10. Involve Your Community – Save money and time by involving your customers in the development process of your new and iterative products as well as your go to market strategy. Alpha customers are often ready to assist with the validation of your business model and also the honest feedback associated with your product benefits and features.
11. Websites are not Just Web Pages – Your Website must make an emotional connection with visitors, while also conveying stories and value propositions that specifically capture the attention of your customers – otherwise, all of your hard work and investment of time and money in sales and marketing campaigns will generate traffic, but lead to a dramatically reduced conversation ratios.
12. Innovate – Always learn and improve everything in order to stay relevant."
This and much more in Solis's post here.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on December 21, 2008 in Carpe Diem, Change The World, Disruption, Economy, Enterprise, Entrepreneurship, Global Warning, In The Air Today, Investors, Marketing, Stakeholders | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
This week in Poznan, Poland, the UN Climate Change Conference was kind of a disaster for EU. Unable to find a common agreement on the war against Global Warming but one: continue to do business as usual. That's frightening: either we "Green-focused" citizen are dumb, either our governments are just... you name it.
By chance, Mr. Former Next President Al Gore went on stage today, to once again share his fear, anger, and vision with the developed countries.
Says Mr. Gore : "The political systems of the developed world have become sclerotic. We
have to overcome the paralysis that has prevented us from acting and focus
clearly and unblinkingly on this crisis rather than spending so much time on
OJ Simpson, Paris Hilton and Anna Nicole Smith."
You can read more on Al Gore' s speech here by Louise Gray and Bruno Waterfield of The Telegraph, and here by Eoin O'Caroll of the Bright Green Blog.
Among several statements, there's one made by the Nobel Prize winner that is a true warning to us European, and especially us French :
That's the message, EU folks: once again during a crisis, America will stand up firm and lead the World. We kind of missed the opportunity. "Grenelle de l'Environnement", anyone ?... Think about the leadership on technologies, the potential for new jobs creations, etc. Now, instead of developing new concepts, new technologies, new products, we are set to become simple "consumers", as usual.
Anyway, the World needs a true leader, and the United States of America have proven to be the one. Today is a day where I really would love sporting a US passport. Listen to Al Gore, and get inspiration.
ps: you can sign up at OneClimate.net here.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on December 12, 2008 in Al Gore, Change The World, Climate Crisis, Economy, Global Warning | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Marc Duchesne on December 12, 2008 in Change The World, Disruption, ParadigmShift, People, Puzzle | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
For those of you who still wonder what's this 'Twitter' thing everybody in the Blogosphere is writing about, here's THE pitch, by the folks at Common Craft. Just lovely AND effective, as usual.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on December 05, 2008 in Change The World, Communications, Disruption, Social Networking, Twitter, User Experience | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Evangelism and Marketing guru Guy Kawasaki has posted a 10-points explanation on how to use Twitter for business. That's "Twitter for Dummies", if you wish: a must read for all of you don't have a Twitter account yet.
I often wrote here and there that I wished we Agilent Musketeers had such a tool at our disposal when we were developing our flagship product: there is no better way to reach and keep in touch with the end-users.
That's why I as many other folks out there are putting Twitter at the center of (product) marketing strategies, whatever "marketing" means for you.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on December 03, 2008 in Business, Change The World, Customers, Disruption, Enterprise, Innovation, ParadigmShift, People, Silicon Valley, Social Networking, Twitter, User Experience | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Folks at french consulting firm FaberNovel have released a pretty extensive study on Google' s key success factors.
For all of us who use Google' s stuff all day long at the office, at home, or on the road (iPhone 3G' Maps, anyone ?), this is a must read. As TechCrunch' Ouriel Ohayon stated : "It is hard to realize the real nature of this just 10 years old giant given the number of services it has continuously released, updated (and sometimes shut down) or acquired."
Like millions of others on the Planet, I'm using lots of the products that come out Mountain View. Search, GMail, Docs, Maps, YouTube, Picasa, you name it : all apps everybody working in a pure paperless/collaborative/open environment can't miss.
Like a bit less of other 'Telecoms' folks down there, I'm also convinced that Google is the only company able to massively invest into the Ultra-Broadband industry in order to build the open neutral access networks that are the true foundation of the Information Age. FaberNovel's white paper gives an accurate perspective on that :
"Internet infrastructures are a free provider for Google: the search engine indirectly benefits from Wifi providers, cable and satellite operators or backbone manufacturers who all subsidy the access of users to the Internet. On a macroeconomic scale, Google is becoming dependent on this value chain and must secure its providers.
Google is consequently driving towards infrastructure investing. This trend is aiming
at a multiple goal:
-Ensuring long-lasting existing infrastructures
-Giving access to the Internet for non-connected populations and countries
-Offering high-speed and permanent access to the World Wide Web."
Why ? Simply because the more people on Earth will be connected to the Internet spending their whole life online, the more revenues will flow to Google. That's why we see all those lobbying efforts by the G'Mens on Broadband matters. IMHO, the R&D spendings on new optical communication gear, such as new fibers, new systems, new install methods, etc, are worth the money: as far as the unique rule at Google: "change the rules" is concerned, the ROI return on investment promise to be quite fast anyway.
Is this a good or bad thing, for having such a giant involved in almost every aspect of our online activities ? Maybe Google is the true Evil of the James Bond' franchise. Maybe not. Let's give it a try anyway...
Download the white-paper and/or the slides set here.
Contact FaberNovel here (link in french).
Posted by Marc Duchesne on December 03, 2008 in Change The World, Disruption, Economy, Entrepreneurship, Google, Internet, ParadigmShift, Silicon Valley, Sun Tzu | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
"Darkness Falls Across The Land, The Midnight Hour Is Close At Hand.
Creatures Crawl In Search Of Blood To Terrorize Yours Neighborhood
And Whosoever Shall Be Found Without The Soul For Getting Down
Must Stand And Face The Hounds Of Hell, And Rot Inside A Corpse's Shell." - Thriller, Michael Jackson.
Thrilled by the global economy crisis ? You may think again. Fight like hell the Hell, and prepare a bright sunny future for your children's children.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on November 07, 2008 in Carpe Diem, Change The World | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Thanks to Orange Labs's ePassport tool, everybody with a presence on the Web can get her e-passport. Here's mine. Well, not exactly, as there seem to be quite a handful of "Marc Duchesne" out there in the CyberSpace.
Anyway, once such minor glitch will be fixed (maybe I should find a unique cyber identity ?), I hope someday such an electronic ID will be enough to travel to the US - hey, imagine your e-Passport on the iPhone : seamless/painless security checks, thanks to RFID, voice/eye/fingerprint recognition, etc. Maybe Administration Obama will go for it...
Posted by Marc Duchesne on October 27, 2008 in Change The World, Fun, Innovation, Internet, Social Networking, Travel, User Experience | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Marc Duchesne on October 24, 2008 in Business, Change The World, Entrepreneurship, FiberToTheHome, Pau Broadband Country, Start-Up | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
The famous, long expected, mission-critical strategic plan for the development of the digital economy in France has been presented this morning by Mr. Eric Besson.
The whole document is available here (.pdf, in french). Lots of interesting action items and initiatives to notice, for instance : aerial fiber cabling, Web 2.0, innovative services to the person, etc.
As of now, Monday October 20 at 5:30PM CET, the www.francenumerique2012.fr website is unavailable, for the english version to be downloaded. Unfortunately, the official website in english of the Prime Minister don't mention the document.
I'll post the link to the english version as soon as possible.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on October 20, 2008 in Change The World, Current Affairs, Economy, Enterprise, Events, ParadigmShift | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Read this. Now I have to be worth Guy's choice ;-)
Posted by Marc Duchesne on October 20, 2008 in Change The World, Entrepreneurship, Social Networking, Twitter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
After Telecoms/IT, after Finances, it's China's turn. Time to think again the whole World, folks. And get ready for the boomerang' effect.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on October 18, 2008 in Change The World, Disruption, Economy | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Yesterday, I've spent 3 hours only at the Paris Auto Show. My focus : the "green" cars. No deception : Hybrids, electric, and hydrogen prototypes, pre-production units, and production cars were all over the place. See my Flickr set for a brief overview.
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
Among several really interesting machines and concept cars, the Solo 2008 imagined by the Hungarian Antro Group is the one which kept my attention. Not only because of its exterior and interior designs, which both are eye-catching: the overall concept of the project seems to be drafted from scratch, as true breakthrough innovations always are.
Read the short story here.
That's from Hungary, folks. Not Silicon Valley or France (I have quite some doubts such an initiative would be possible here, for French generally dislike open non-profit ideas).
Antro is going to open its capital to private investors soon, is looking for distribution partners, and is accepting registration for pre-orders.
Of course, I discussed a while with the booth attendants. A young and shy Hungarian guy, who doesn't speak french at all (I imagine his nightmare on the week-ends at the show, when Mr. & Ms. Dupond of Aubervilliers - or any other place in France, no offense folks - stop by his booth), and a pretty nice Hungarian woman, speaking english and french like me. Both smiling and engaging, which is rare in such crazy environment such a crowdy day.
For sure, I didn't get her business card, but Antro' s managing director' s : Zsolt Magyar. Google this name, and you'll find this Zsolt Magyar. Can a "Hungarian born, Los Angeles based Production Sound Mixer with more than 7 years of experience" (imdb.com dixit) be also the lead economist at a green tech startup based in his mother country ? Why not. I'll find out this soon, as I'll get in touch with Antro for some sort of new venture I have in mind for the Pau Broadband Country.
Anyway, the actual team is impressive, although I'm definitely not familiar with Hungary and its ecosystem. At first sight, it proves the project to be really serious.
Now, why this free ad for an unknown startup in an unknown country ? Because of the Antro' s booth at the Paris Auto Show is made of... carton. Carton, wood, rope, linen fabric. Amazing. They've pushed the concept of sustainable development to the overall product marketing process. That's the clever thing. I never saw a exhibit in carton before. That's why I think those guys got it right. They understand the true meaning of being green. For them, "Green" is not just a marketing gimmik to gain customers 's attention. It's their philosophy.
See it by yourselves :
the door of the cabinet
the information panels, right on the floor
even the flat display is made of carton - no, that's a joke
Now you get it too, right ? So, next time you do think about being green, think Solo 2008.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on October 13, 2008 in Change The World, Climate Crisis, Design, Disruption, Energy, Entrepreneurship, Events, In The Air Today, Industrial Design, ParadigmShift, People, transportation, User Experience | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Marc Duchesne on October 11, 2008 in Carpe Diem, Change The World | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Want to relax a bit ? Watch Stephen Colbert explaining how Corporate America f*cked up everything.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on October 08, 2008 in Carpe Diem, Change The World, Economy, Fun, Wall Street | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
For the rest of us who were not born with an embedded calculator and did not graduate to an MBA, here's THE video that explains the reason why the World is going right into deep sh*t. Watch and listen to "Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch [who] gives
a bubbly explanation of the intricacies of collateralized debt
obligations those financial instruments that got us into this financial
mess".
Since a few days, I've got the furious impression that the actual crisis is repeating the very same patterns than the Dotcom' crash *. When I saw the description of the CDO collateralized debt obligations loop, I saw the very same problem than the one we in the Telecoms/IT industry suffered back in 1998-2000, during the first Bubble : the guys who make the big money are totally disconnected from the guys who are supposed to pay. At this time, the whole Telecoms industry was B2B. Remember Telecom'99 in Geneva ? 90% of the exhibitors were there to exhibit their stuff (prototypes, commercial products, booth hostesses) to the other exhibitors. You and me as the real end-user/consumer ? Nowhere to see.
Heck, I've no MBA, but I think I understand the fundamentals of business. Peter Drucker describes the process dead simple (diagram from DeltaNet) :
The fact is, once you insert an intermediate party between you and the customer, you screw up the whole stuff. That's exactly what happened with the Dotcom Bubble, wherein every startup was trying to reach you and me with no clue on how do it, whilst every established firm was selling its products roadmap to other established firms with even-greater products roadmap. Anecdote (may I disappear right away from my captain chair if I lie here) : back in november 2000, I heard of a potential deal of 1 billion USD between Nortel and Agilent Technologies. 1 billion USD. For a company (Agilent Technologies) who did $11B for its first year of existence.
The actual turmoil has been caused by the very same defective link with the customer - read : the house' s owner. Watch the video :
Thanks to Garr Reynolds of PresentationZen for the heads up. By the way, why such a video on a blog which aims at everything "presentation" ? Simply because this explanation of a very complex process is made very simple. Mr Hirsch proves that once you master your topic, you don't need Powerpoint. Give me a paperboard, and I'll explain you Fiber Optics ;-)
*post-scriptum : I'm still looking for any information, link, contact name, whatever, on this french researcher who published a study back in september 2003, on the fractals applied to Economy. Back then, the guy simply announced the crisis we're enjoying (joke) today, saying that the downturn is going to be harder and longer than the one we've seen in 2000.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on October 08, 2008 in Carpe Diem, Change The World, Disruption, Economy, Investors, Not Fun, People, Puzzle | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Whilst the french community is busy preparing the Grenelle du Très Haut Débit, where some members of the French Government will (hopefully) unveil its plans for fibering (hopefully) the country, others are working hard to make things real.
See the folks at Lafayette, who are calling for the very first BarCamp for the Fiber Community : it's called CampFiber, and it will be held in Lafayette, LA, on the 4th of October this year.
Congratulations and all the best to Geoff Daily, the organizer of this fantastic event for all of us evangelists of broadband, open neutral networks.
I've embedded the interview of Terry Huval, director of LUS Lafayette Utility Systems, by Geoff, for you to get a flavor of what's going on in the US those days.
Ed. note : I can't stop thinking about the situation if Napoleon didn't sold Louisiana to the US two hundred years ago. Maybe France would have been the true leader of the Broadband communities movement...
I personally have been calling for a FiberCamp since more than a year or so. Unfortunately, this country doesn't seem ready for the kind of * Community thinking * that's required for such a workshop.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on September 12, 2008 in Broadband, Change The World, Communications, Current Affairs, Disruption, Economy, Enterprise, Entrepreneurship, Events, FiberCamp, FiberToTheHome, Investors, Pau Broadband Country, People, Social Networking, Stakeholders | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Earlier this week, YouTube added Close Caption to its features set. As lots of people around the planet, I've been waiting for it since months- not that I'm deaf myself (at least not according to my last check-up last June), but I like to think from the end-user side.
According to TechCrunch, "[this] will not only allow videos to appeal more directly to foreign audiences, but will give YouTube excellent data for searching videos and targeting ads to them."
Go to the YouTube to read the whole announcement :
Here at YouTube, we're always trying to find new ways to enrich your
viewing experience and to help video creators reach a wider audience.
As part of this goal, we've added a new captioning feature which allows
you to give viewers a deeper understanding of your video. Captions can
help people who would not otherwise understand the audio track to
follow along, especially those who speak other languages or who are
deaf and hard of hearing.
You can add captions to one of your videos
by uploading a closed caption file using the "Captions and Subtitles"
menu on the editing page. To add several captions to a video, simply
upload multiple files. If you want to include foreign subtitles in
multiple languages, upload a separate file for each language. There are
over 120 languages to choose from and you can add any title you want
for each caption. If a video includes captions, you can activate them
by clicking the menu button located on the bottom right of the video
player. Clicking this button will also allow viewers to choose which
captions they want to see.
Some of our partners have already started using captions to
offer you a better understanding of their videos (even with the audio
turned off):
- BBC Worldwide: captions are provided in five different languages on this clip from Top Gear.
- CNET: tech product reviews from CNET's Crave blog.
- UC Berkeley: footage from the Opencast Project Open House.
- MIT: full lectures on subjects like Physics.
- Gonzodoga: English subtitles on this awesome Japanese animation.
We hope captions will serve to tighten the YouTube community by bringing together international users from different cultures.
We're excited to see what kinds of fun and creative uses for captions you'll be coming up with for your videos!
I read the TechCrunch article and the YouTube post twice : I haven't seen any mention of hearing impairment, whilst this Close Captioning system is the perfect tool to give access to videos to the deaf people, right ?
Then I googled "YouTube closed caption" (btw : I used Ubiquity for this : fast & easy): only three out of the ten sites on the first page are citing disabled people as the target users of this new feature. That's Media Bullseyes, CNet' Webware, and - no surprise, provided the name of the site : 4HearingLoss.
IMHO, that's really not much. Lucky Web 2.0 key players : they suffer no disease...
Posted by Marc Duchesne on August 30, 2008 in Change The World, Current Affairs, Innovation, Internet, Not Fun, OnlineVideo, People, Silicon Valley, Social Networking, User Experience, Web/Tech, YouTube | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremonies have been the most stunning/impressive/jaw dropping I and probably billions of other people in the Galaxy today ever saw. The final fireworks said it all : China is ready.
With this absolutely unique event, China just has demonstrated its power to the entire planet. They master the Technology, they know the true means of Innovation, and they know how to execute a Life or Death strategic plan.
Maybe a few (thousands) people outside of Asia knew it already - have you ever dealt with a Chinese businessman ? Good luck, Dude ! Now, starting today 08/08/08, the whole World is aware.
One could not expect something else from the nation who counts Sun Tzu among her children.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on August 08, 2008 in Carpe Diem, Change The World, Disruption, Events, Games, Global Warning, In The Air Today, People, Puzzle, Sun Tzu | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Marc Duchesne on August 07, 2008 in Change The World, Events, In The Air Today, Not Fun | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Marc Duchesne on August 02, 2008 in Change The World, Communications, Disruption, Entrepreneurship, Events, Fun, In The Air Today, Internet, Marketing, People, Puzzle, Social Networking, Stakeholders, User Experience, Web 2.0 thing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Just installed Twittervision on my iPhone. Absolutely stunning app. The potential uses in business are countless. I better hurry up creating my Web 2.0 start-up in Pau ;-)
Posted by Marc Duchesne on July 17, 2008 in Change The World, Communications, Current Affairs, Disruption, Entrepreneurship, Social Networking, Twitter, User Experience | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Since beginning of this year I owe have sent approximately 5 tons of CO2 to into the precious air of Mother Earth to date.
I'd better define my compensation plan quickly, shall I want to stick with the Sustainable Development concept...
Posted by Marc Duchesne on June 24, 2008 in Change The World, Climate Crisis, Current Affairs, Disruption, Dopplr, Economy, Energy, Global Warning, Puzzle, Travel | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Marc Duchesne on May 30, 2008 in Change The World, Climate Crisis, Communications, Current Affairs, FiberOptics, In The Air Today, ParadigmShift, Technology, Telepresence | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Looking for some info to get the most out of FriendFeed, I found this post by Digital Inspiration.
Although a pretty interesting article with lots of useful tips, an ad banner catch my eyes : " Muslima.com, the International Muslim Matrimonial Site." That was kind of a surprise to me, since I always thought Islam religion would forbid such of dating services.
Says the About page :
" Muslima.com is a specialist Muslim dating and matchmaking website that assists Muslim ladies to find their perfect match anywhere in the world. We offer friendly service combined with sophisticated search and messaging facilities that will make your search for true love fun and enjoyable. "
Posted by Marc Duchesne on May 12, 2008 in Carpe Diem, Change The World, Disruption, In The Air Today, People, Social Networking | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

"Based on a rough analysis, we estimate that a doubling of food prices over the last three years could potentially push 100 million people in low-income countries deeper into poverty," World Bank President Robert Zoellick said in a statement at the end of the World Bank Spring Meeting in Washington, DC.
You may want to read the whole AFP article here.
Prices of rice, wheat, corn, cooking oil, milk and other foodstuffs have all risen sharply in recent months, sparking violent protests in many countries, including Egypt, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Madagascar, the Philippines and Indonesia.
I took this photo last saturday, just a few miles away from home. See the cows ? Of the popular Holstein breed, the european dairy cattle. Guess what : the farm just ceased milk production, killed by european regulations and french policies. For years, I've been drinking its natural milk, direct from the cow. Tasty, just enough fat. You could tell the seasons just by looking at the liquid in your bowl : light in winter, more creamy at summertime, thanks to the green grass of the Champagne' hills.
Now, it's over. My kids won't know what's real milk is before long. But this is not the problem. The problem is the kids in Africa and Asia. They even don't know what's industrial milk. Because some guys in Chicago do speculate on food prices.
If I am correct, we're in 2008 - at least that's what the calendar on my iPhone says. 2008 : people are fighting for food, everywhere in the World (don't tell me that we Frenchies are safe : more and more people have to go to the Restos du Coeur and the likes for survival). Something going wrong there, when you seriously think about it.
Now, here's my point : back in 2003, a french scientist published a report on fractals and Economy *. The outcome of his studies : fractal models show that the World is set for planetary crisis until 2020. If this is true, then the one we're entering is just the beginning (because the Subprime stuff is like a little bump on the road, isn't ?).
* I don't remember the name of the guy, since I lost the post-it where I wrote it down during the radio talk show where I heard him first time back in september 2003. I keep googling for "fractals and economy crisis" since then, with no luck but a tremendous list of interesting materials on the subject.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on April 14, 2008 in Change The World, Global Warning | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Marc Duchesne on April 14, 2008 in Change The World, Current Affairs, Disruption, Economy, Global Warning, In The Air Today, Not Fun, ParadigmShift, Stakeholders | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Dan Lyons aka Fake Steve Jobs has the point with Bob Metcalfe' s EnerNet idea. His "one pair of glasses" theory is worth reading. Trust me. Because I'm a proponent of this idea that the Internet, Broadband, and Fiber can help solving the Climate Changes issues.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on April 10, 2008 in Change The World, Disruption, FiberOptics, Fun, GreenTech, In The Air Today, Internet | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Google did it again. A true breakthrough online app, which is set to be the next revolution in the Internet mattress - ooops, sorry, matters. See here for more details.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on April 02, 2008 in Change The World, Disruption, Entrepreneurship, Fun, Google, In The Air Today, ParadigmShift, Silicon Valley, Social Networking, User Experience, Web 2.0 thing, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
To my friend Handy.
Direct link to AlternativeEnergy' Comedy here.
Posted by Marc Duchesne on April 02, 2008 in Change The World, Current Affairs, Fun, In The Air Today, Not Fun, People, Puzzle | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Note to all Fiber Generation Readers : this is a call for help. Help the Tibetans to change their world, to change OUR World, to change THE World.
If you are not part of the 924,138 World' Citizens who signed the petition as of today March 25th, 2008, 5:20PM GMT, please read the following :
"After decades of repression, Tibetans are crying out to the world for change. China's leaders are right now making a crucial choice between escalating brutality or dialogue that could determine the future of Tibet, and China.
We can affect this historic choice -- China does care about its international reputation. But it will take an avalanche of global people power to get the government's attention. The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has called for restraint and dialogue: he needs the world's people to support him. Fill out the form below to sign the petition--and spread the word."
Petition to Chinese President Hu Jintao:"As citizens around the world, we call on you to show restraint and respect for human rights in your response to the protests in Tibet, and to address the concerns of all Tibetans by opening meaningful dialogue with the Dalai Lama. Only dialogue and reform will bring lasting stability. China's brightest future, and its most positive relationship with the world, lies in harmonious development, dialogue and respect."
You can sign the petition on Avaaz.org website here
[http://www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence/]
On behalf of the Tibetans, and on behalf of your children' s children, thank you.
_Marc
Posted by Marc Duchesne on March 25, 2008 in Change The World | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)







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