Archive by Author - David Spark

The cool and not-so-cool of LeWeb

by on December 10, 2009 at 8:53 am

This week I traveled to Paris with a consortium of fellow bloggers, the Traveling Geeks. We’ve been meeting with tech companies and French entrepreneurs all week. The tour ended with attendance at LeWeb, a two day tech conference produced by tech entrepreneur and Seesmic founder, Loic Le Meur. Here’s my summary of the best and the worst of the event, plus I included some other stuff experienced from the Traveling Geeks tour and Paris in general. For a summary, make sure you watch my end of day show reports from LeWeb (day 1, day 2) and my other end of day report from the Traveling Geeks tour.

CoolAccordions, Accordions, Accordions – There are plenty of street performers in Paris. Most of them are carrying accordions. On my first day I saw four sets of performers hop onto a train car, play a few tunes, and jump off. On one train a duo jumped on with an accordion and a stand up bass. My favorite was the karaoke accordionist that would also take a mic for a solo himself to sing “Just a Gigolo”. (more…)

LeWeb day 2: End of day show report

by on December 10, 2009 at 8:52 am

David SparkHere’s my second and last show report from LeWeb. We had been led to believe that LeWeb was going to be about real-time web. After the first day, we were wondering when that discussion would begin. But by day two we finally got some discussion on that topic. Watch the video for a summary of day two, mostly about real-time web and also some of my critiques about how the show was handled. But for a full analysis of the event, make sure you read my report, “The cool and not-so-cool from LeWeb.”

David Spark helps businesses grow by developing thought leadership through storytelling and covering live events at Spark Media Solutions. He blogs at The Spark Minute and can be heard and seen regularly on ABC Radio, Cranky Geeks with John C. Dvorak, and KQED in San Francisco. See his business profile, contact David, or leave a comment in his blog.

Le Web day 1: End of day show report

by on December 9, 2009 at 4:12 pm

David SparkHere’s my end of day show report for Le Web, the Web 2.0 conference in Paris. I’ve been in Paris for the week reporting with the Traveling Geeks (watch video of us on a train). Watch the video for a quick summary of the companies I saw, plus a quick story at the end about an outbreak Robert Scoble had at the expense of the French entrepreneurs.

Companies and links mentioned in the video: (more…)

Dating tech service Wuiper offers a fun way for people to meet

by on December 9, 2009 at 9:31 am

Unless you’re incredibly suave, it can be difficult to impossible to meet someone you want to date. Just walking up to a stranger in a public place and thinking of a way to strike up a conversation and make a connection is not easy. That’s why we have a market for dating technologies, such as online dating sites and devices. All dating technologies have one simple goal: finding a simple, fun, and non-threatening way for people to meet.

Wuiper (pronounced “Whipper”) is a social networking site where people are introduced through physical numbered tags that you can stick on someone’s bag. Geared towards high school students, I can see this being a fun way to leave “secret admirer” messages. Messages can be sent and retrieved via an SMS or via the Wuiper site. All these tags have a code that you use to send a message to initiate a conversation. And then you can continue the conversation through the Wuiper site or take it online or offline.

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Parrot’s new Wi-Fi Picture Frame and Wireless Speakers

by on December 9, 2009 at 9:14 am

(This post is part of the Traveling Geeks tech tour of Paris. David Spark (@dspark) is the founder of Spark Media Solutions and a tech journalist that blogs at Spark Minute and can be heard and seen regularly on ABC Radio and on John C. Dvorak’s “Cranky Geeks.”)

At a visit at phone-accessory and gadget maker Parrot in Paris, I interviewed Parrot’s CEO, Henri Seydoux, about a couple of new products: Grande Specchio, a wi-fi picture frame that just came out a few weeks ago, and some giant wireless speakers. (more…)

How Dell handles customer service and sales through social media

by on December 9, 2009 at 8:46 am

David SparkAt the Le Web conference in Paris, I spoke with Richard Binhammer, better known as @RichardATDell on Twitter. Three years ago Richard, who was and still is working in public affairs, was told by his boss to start getting engaged in blogger relations. It appears that Binhammer’s move into social media was one of the many responses to the 2005 Dell Hell outburst initiated by social media consultant Jeff Jarvis, who wrote an open letter to Dell complaining about Dell’s customer service. At the time, Dell’s response was, “We don’t respond to bloggers.”

(more…)

Touchable movable video

by on December 9, 2009 at 7:45 am

While at LeWeb in Paris, I caught a quick video demo of a cool application by Eeple, a French web development company Eeple. Built in Silverlight, it’s touchable movable video.

Accordionist and Bassist on the Paris Metro

by on December 9, 2009 at 1:52 am

I have seen so many accordions in Paris, especially on street cars on the Paris Metro. I’m still waiting for one of them to play “Lady of Spain.” This was the first time thought I saw a stand up bass on a train. And I complain about having to drag luggage. I must say the music makes Metro travel a lot more pleasant. Thanks Paris.

Related posts:

  1. Karaoke accordionist in Paris
  2. What can you do with a scannable and identifiable model of Paris?
  3. Parisian accordionist sings “Just a Gigolo”

Geeks on a Train

by on December 8, 2009 at 12:18 pm

The Traveling Geeks can’t stop recording their every movement, especially on the Paris Metro

David SparkI am still highly amused by the volume of photography and video that’s going on at the Traveling Geeks event in Paris (explanation, silly video). There is an endless number of photos that have been taken so far (full screen), and we haven’t yet arrived at our key event, Le Web, which starts tomorrow. (more…)

Traveling Geeks in Paris: Day 1 video report

by on December 8, 2009 at 4:54 am

Here’s my day one report for the Traveling Geeks trip in Paris, a week long tech tour that culminates with two days at the Web 2.0 conference Le Web. The whole group was fighting jet lag and minimal sleep, but we got to see lots of great new French tech and to listen to many entrepreneurs at the early stages of their products. Watch the report. Links to items mentioned can be seen below.

Related posts:

  1. What can you do with a scannable and identifiable model of Paris?
  2. I used to just be a geek, but now I’m a Traveling Geek
  3. The cool and not-so-cool of LeWeb