I don't know if this is real or not but watching this made me feel very good. We need more of this. We need more humanity.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Very cool and free web application for photos
I found this pretty cool webapp. It allows you to upload your own photos and blend them with (some) ultra cool environments.
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Thursday, April 2, 2009
Do first, think after
I'm currently working on a side project: bangkokcrisis.com.
The project started on March 11 2009 and has cost me 194.50U$ so far and around 50 hours of partly-outsourced work.
Here is the concept: In the next 3 months or so, because of the economic crisis, (many) people will have to sell 'urgently 'apartments they bought (often at premium prices) in 2007/2008. Here is an opportunity for people with cash or good credit ratings to buy real bargains.
As a free email alert service, Bangkokcrisis.com sends its subscribers each week a list of urgent sales (5-10 apartments) with seller or agency contact details.
I have a small team (2 people) browsing and analyzing an updated list of urgent sales each week, from listings we gather from a dozen of thai classifieds websites and real estate agents. We only send to our subscribers what we believe are actual bargains.
The project is taking off steadily (250+ people have subscribed to the service so far) and I am thinking to expand the idea to other cities.
If you are interested in the Bangkok market, feel free to go to Bangkokcrisis.com and add yourself in the list - it's free!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Building a "better place"
This project is one of the most exiting project I ever heard of:
When it comes to environment, there are a lot of debates on possible solutions and their their effectiveness. But here, I can say that shai Agassi (founder of 'Better Place") is really revolutionizing the car industry - at least as much as Steve jobs in the mobile phone industry with the iphone.
Imagine this:
Like a mobile phone, you can own an 'almost free' (electrical) car by signing a subscription plan / contract
Like a mobile phone. you pay as you use (instead of minutes, you pay for kilometers - and only that)
Like a mobile phone, you can use your car anywhere with coverage (but instead of antenna, you have battery exchange stations)
I love the idea of:
Driving a car that is 100% carbon emission free.
A car that can be more powerful than a ferrari -but still 100% electric
'Giving' cars to the average joe (so electric cars will be mass market in no-time)
"Switching" batteries faster than filling my tank with oil
And as Seth Godin explains, the car industry would be much healthier with hundreds of car manufacturers (like it was in the early days of the car industry) instead of a few giants: Better for competition, better for innovation, better for local jobs (!!!).
We all can now dream that, in 10 years from now, Apple (yes, Apple!!!) will launch its "iCar" with all the sexiness of an iPhone, the stability/security of its OS (but this time on the road, not on desktop) and the buzz around this on all sort of (online and offline) magazines.
But to comfort my friend Sebastien Cottet (de Simexa.com) - who is an absolute Ferrari car lover - I am sure Ferrari will keep its cars running with oil for several decades before it even starts thinking of going 'electric'. (But I am also sure that some electric cars will have programs/options in their OS to simulate specific engine noises, like you can today choose wallpaper for your desktop - and I know, Sebastien... it's not the same....)
When it comes to environment, there are a lot of debates on possible solutions and their their effectiveness. But here, I can say that shai Agassi (founder of 'Better Place") is really revolutionizing the car industry - at least as much as Steve jobs in the mobile phone industry with the iphone.
Imagine this:
Like a mobile phone, you can own an 'almost free' (electrical) car by signing a subscription plan / contract
Like a mobile phone. you pay as you use (instead of minutes, you pay for kilometers - and only that)
Like a mobile phone, you can use your car anywhere with coverage (but instead of antenna, you have battery exchange stations)
I love the idea of:
Driving a car that is 100% carbon emission free.
A car that can be more powerful than a ferrari -but still 100% electric
'Giving' cars to the average joe (so electric cars will be mass market in no-time)
"Switching" batteries faster than filling my tank with oil
And as Seth Godin explains, the car industry would be much healthier with hundreds of car manufacturers (like it was in the early days of the car industry) instead of a few giants: Better for competition, better for innovation, better for local jobs (!!!).
We all can now dream that, in 10 years from now, Apple (yes, Apple!!!) will launch its "iCar" with all the sexiness of an iPhone, the stability/security of its OS (but this time on the road, not on desktop) and the buzz around this on all sort of (online and offline) magazines.
But to comfort my friend Sebastien Cottet (de Simexa.com) - who is an absolute Ferrari car lover - I am sure Ferrari will keep its cars running with oil for several decades before it even starts thinking of going 'electric'. (But I am also sure that some electric cars will have programs/options in their OS to simulate specific engine noises, like you can today choose wallpaper for your desktop - and I know, Sebastien... it's not the same....)
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Are you a true fan?
I just read this article and found it very interesting.
Basically, Kevin tells us that any music artist could and should focus on gathering 1,000 fans in order to make a living. The reason is that choices are exploding, and it becomes harder and harder to make yourself known in the long tail of the music industry. Thus, people that are actually happy to pay for your music, or drive more than 200kms to see you in concert are the people to interact with, sell music to. And they actually might be your best advertising tool, telling their friends about you and your music.
I think it makes sense, but I do not really believe in it entirely. Here's why:
My definition of "fan" would be someone admiring, following and adoring an artist. But there's a second level to this: "being a fan" implies distance, inaccessibility, dreams... If you get too close to your fans, then the dream evaporates. Actually, there seems to have an optimum distance with your fans. Be too far too early, and they will not hear you. Be too close, and the deam is gone. On the "Be too far" aspect, that might actually work - but you have to make sure that your true fans first saw you and started adoring you. Once you have the fans, you can go as far as you want it seems: The extreme example would be Bob Marley, Jim Morrisson or Elvis Presley. They are, by definition, real icons. BUt they're also not in this world anymore. They did have a huge impact in the music industry (and thus, got their fans on the wagon) but, the day they died, something else happened. They became totally inaccessible. They became gods.
Also, fans usually become fans to express who they are, or to belong to a community. In marketing, we would call that "positioning". You share the values/beliefs/ideas of the artist and therefore, you can identify yourself with a community. You will need a critical mass before you actually want to become part of that community. Is 1,000 people enough? Maybe, maybe not.
Finally, you cannot be a true fan of someone like you - someone who has a life that seems to be quite similar to yours. Think about it: could you really be a fan of a singer, playing in your town, in some bars you go to...and after have a drink with him? Not enough dreams, too much proximity. No way. So for local artists, I think the idea of "gathering" true fans, one by one, is a very difficult if not impossible task.
Don't get me wrong: If you're a music artist and you want to have fans, the solution is not to hide (or at least all the time) from people who might like your music. It's not either to die and hoping you'll become an icon. And it's not either to give up and wait for a record company to call you.
No, the best way to get fans would be to clearly express your style (if possible unique), be viral (give out some of your music for free or on donation basis as Radiohead did), and cultivate mystery. Keep that mystery box between you and your listeners. Do not tell everything. Be like a magician - because, if you start telling your listeners your "tricks", then the magic is gone and so are your fans.
Basically, Kevin tells us that any music artist could and should focus on gathering 1,000 fans in order to make a living. The reason is that choices are exploding, and it becomes harder and harder to make yourself known in the long tail of the music industry. Thus, people that are actually happy to pay for your music, or drive more than 200kms to see you in concert are the people to interact with, sell music to. And they actually might be your best advertising tool, telling their friends about you and your music.
I think it makes sense, but I do not really believe in it entirely. Here's why:
My definition of "fan" would be someone admiring, following and adoring an artist. But there's a second level to this: "being a fan" implies distance, inaccessibility, dreams... If you get too close to your fans, then the dream evaporates. Actually, there seems to have an optimum distance with your fans. Be too far too early, and they will not hear you. Be too close, and the deam is gone. On the "Be too far" aspect, that might actually work - but you have to make sure that your true fans first saw you and started adoring you. Once you have the fans, you can go as far as you want it seems: The extreme example would be Bob Marley, Jim Morrisson or Elvis Presley. They are, by definition, real icons. BUt they're also not in this world anymore. They did have a huge impact in the music industry (and thus, got their fans on the wagon) but, the day they died, something else happened. They became totally inaccessible. They became gods.
Also, fans usually become fans to express who they are, or to belong to a community. In marketing, we would call that "positioning". You share the values/beliefs/ideas of the artist and therefore, you can identify yourself with a community. You will need a critical mass before you actually want to become part of that community. Is 1,000 people enough? Maybe, maybe not.
Finally, you cannot be a true fan of someone like you - someone who has a life that seems to be quite similar to yours. Think about it: could you really be a fan of a singer, playing in your town, in some bars you go to...and after have a drink with him? Not enough dreams, too much proximity. No way. So for local artists, I think the idea of "gathering" true fans, one by one, is a very difficult if not impossible task.
Don't get me wrong: If you're a music artist and you want to have fans, the solution is not to hide (or at least all the time) from people who might like your music. It's not either to die and hoping you'll become an icon. And it's not either to give up and wait for a record company to call you.
No, the best way to get fans would be to clearly express your style (if possible unique), be viral (give out some of your music for free or on donation basis as Radiohead did), and cultivate mystery. Keep that mystery box between you and your listeners. Do not tell everything. Be like a magician - because, if you start telling your listeners your "tricks", then the magic is gone and so are your fans.
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