Sunday noon. I have been stuck in front of my blank computer screen for the past four hours. Writer’s block happens, but I can’t help but smile at the bitter irony of the situation: I am trying to write a column on the « Just Fucking Do It » attitude of doing things without waiting. […]
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UN Should Make Cities the Focus of Its Sustainable Development Goals – Francis Pisani
“I personally believe it is critical that the UN make cities a centerpiece of its new sustainable development goals. The reason is simple: It is cities, not nations, that are the fundamental economic, political, and social organizing units of our time. Effective city-building—which includes building new cities and revitalizing older ones—is the grandest of the […]
Posted inCitynnovation, citynnovation, english, Smart Cities, smart cities, Villes
Memo for Los Angeles…and other cities – Francis Pisani
I recently went on a trip to several Asian cities (Songdo, Seoul, Singapore, Hyderabad) as part of a class at the University of Southern California taught with professor François Bar. It was quite an experience: students took part in the trip thanks to Cisco TelePresence centers. On each step of the journey, I brought in […]
Posted inenglish, médias sociaux, mobile
Fear at facebook – Francis Pisani
The 19 billion dollars Facebook paid to buy Whatsapp are as much a sign of power as they are a sign of fear… for good reasons.What we know : young people are tired of open social networks and are more reluctant to appear on them. They are adopting apps designed for smartphones : Instagram (also […]
Posted inenglish, smart cities, Smart Cities, Villes
Citynnovation : searching for innovative cities throughout the world – Francis Pisani
I wrote this column on the plane that took me from Barcelona to Las Vegas, the first stop on my world tour of smart cities – or, to be more specific, my tour of the efforts undertaken by some cities to better use information and communication technologies to improve our lives. I chose cities that […]
Posted inenglish, innovation, smart cities, Smart Cities, Villes
Innovation in the city – Francis Pisani
And now: cities trying to become “smart,” or, better yet, trying to use information and communication technologies in innovative ways to improve our lives. This is what I am going to focus on in the coming months, starting today with a small Asia-heavy world tour. Why?In 1996 I started covering the ICT industry in the […]
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Chapitre 5 – « Scenius » ou le génie collectif – Francis Pisani
Matrices innovationnellesÇa n’est pas un hasard si les startups s’épanouissent dans des incubateurs. La métaphore de la naissance délicate, de la venue assistée au monde rend bien compte de la difficulté du processus, de la fragilité de ce qui en sort… dans le meilleur des cas.Mais tous les soins ne serviraient à rien si la […]
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Chapitre 4 – La tangente et la jungle – Francis Pisani
Une innovation indienne : l’excubateurMahesh Murthy et Vishal Gondal sont des entrepreneurs indiens installés à Mumbai. Ils se connaissent mais ne travaillent pas ensemble. Sortis de l’université avant la fin de leurs études (dropouts comme Steve Jobs et Bill Gates) ils ont tous deux réussi en affaire en vendant bien leur première startup. Ils s’intéressent […]
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Chapitre 3 – Créer deux, trois, d’innombrables Silicon Valleys – Francis Pisani
Dakar : des liens faibles aux liens forts Sénégalais, libanais et français, Karim Sy illustre combien les mélanges de races et de cultures sont fertiles. Informaticien (études à Montréal), il a lancé sa première entreprise à 19 ans.Vingt ans plus tard, il dirigeJokkolabs.net à Dakar, un de ces curieux espaces d’où pourrait fort bien naître […]
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Chapitre 2 – Innover = créer des opportunités – Francis Pisani
Comment poser la question de l’innovation ?Il y a une question à laquelle, après tous ces voyages, j’ai du mal à répondre de façon claire et définitive : pourquoi les gens se mettent-ils à innover ? Pourquoi cela arrive partout dans le monde ? Je constate par contre qu’ils le font et pas nécessairement comme […]