Thinking Cup

YOUR DAILY DOSE OF DIGITAL | The journey of @edc_live @sciencespo students, with a passion for #digital#marketing & #lolcats

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Show your Bar some love

Especially in Paris where our bars are threaten by non-tolerant neighbours, we, as consumers, are unarmed to cope the threats on those places. The question is : how to show your support to your local bar ? (more used with threats than good words usually)

Hopefully, Heineken is offering us the possibility to support our favourite meeting point through a specific digital campaign called “Support your bar” running from 1 to 31 april 2015.

Everywhere in France, everybody is called to participate and support the bar they prefer, the bar which gathers all their friends and which is a place of sociability.

Each person votes and helps for its favourite bar to get it up in the TOP 40 ranking.

But what is the point ?

It is a reward for the forty bars winners : they will get connected jukebox, HDTV last gen screens, photo processing machines, “touch bar”, interactive tables... A range of equipment that will transform your favourite bar in a place even better for hanging out with your friends than before.

You, as a participant, can also win some gifts from Heineken : beers obviously but some other things.The purpose is to gather people around their favourite bar and to improve / accurate the social link consumers create with it. Heineken wants to be a bar partner and the first consumer's choice in the best parties.  

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A start-up...to get back to barter

Empruntez-le is a French start-up launched in October 2014...and maybe not so innovative : the principle is to get back to barter through digital opportunities, surfing on the trends of community sharing and geolocalization. The service is based on a digital platform which geolocalizes objects and services offered by people, and allow them to put a price on it. Anyone can offer to lend his camera, his mixer and or whatever one has in his attic in order to get points, and be able to use them for borrowing things or services, such as house-cleanings, preparation for job interviews or cooking lessons. The video-trailer insists on how Empruntez-le put people together and allow them to meet. It is very representative of these new applications, halfway between social network and service’s platform.

It is also innovative by its generality : on this platform, you can find DIY tools, cooking ustensils, helping hands for sport, hiring or tourism, equipment for photgraphy or musculation and so on. Empruntez-le finally tells a lot about the trends of the connected society : there is both a nostalgia for a collaborative economy of simpler things, of exchanging with real people and not wasting what you have when others can benefit from it, and a desire for digital efficiency, through geolocalization and research algorithms.

http://www.maddyness.com/startup/2015/03/31/empruntez-le/

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Time changers

Tired of all the invitations bumping up on Facebook? Can not remember what you have already signed up for? A brand new App Cronomio will take care of it. This week Thinking Cup shared a cup of coffee with its founder, twenty-four year old Sciences Po Master student, Iurie Cordunean who explained to us how a simple App on your mobile phone can change your social life for better.

 Iurie, tell us how it all started

Starting from my student life at Dijon campus where there is a very rich student life I always had an issue with the time planning. It’s a key element of our daily routine, but it’s very time-consuming. During my Masters at Sciences Po Paris Economics and Business school it became even worse: I searched for years a way to optimise the process, blaming for the failure the clunky tools and myself. With the boom of the user-friendly mobiles in the recent years, both my phone and my life got filled with super-optimized ways to waste my time. So my social life indeed got better. However, even with all the fancy Apps organizing your free time is still a challenge.

That is how I realized that the problem lays not in our ability to organise ourselves, but the fact that we have no control over the events we try to fit in. Moreover, we don’t want to. We want to be spontaneous. We will always find time for the events we love, but the future is unpredictable and following all the updates about those events it tiring and time-consuming. The self organisation issue turned into an opportunity to create an App that will help everybody discover and interact with the events they really care about. That’s how Cronomio was born. When I realized its potential I decided to take my Gap year to give it a try and it worked out. So that is our story.

How does your App work?

Cronomio allows you to discover events tailored to your interests, at the right moment, and gives you an easy way to do the best of your time. You can discover future events you like and keep track of them in an intuitive way, or decide what to do at the last moment.

Practically the app is very easy to use, focusing on three tabs. A “Calendar” tab with all the planned events from your calendars and those discovered in Cronomio. A “Trending” tab which offer information on the most popular events and a “Now” tab, with last-minute suggestions for what’s most important at the moment. The suggestions are based on user’s preferences, past activity, friends’ activity and geographical location. Overall the app mimics a personal guide to events (or this one friend who always knows about all cool stuff). So basically we strive to offer the most personalised and smartest way to discover best events that are tailored specifically to passions, interests and social aspirations of every user.

Is it free?

As a popular saying goes – time is money, so we decided that our App will be free of charge for our users and we will focus on the advertising revenues.

Your App is very innovative and it is certainly a 21st century necessity. Why did you choose this name Cronomio that reminds us of the Ancient Greece?

The trend today is for short, catchy names but we think that the time is a transcendent concept, with a deep meaning. Cronomio means “My Time”, a subconscious fusion of time, with the reference to “Chronos” and space with the sweet Italian ending.

On what platforms do you actually work and in your opinion what are the platforms of the future?

We are in Beta Testing now and iterating continuously. For this reason Cronomio is available only on Android. The work required to develop in parallel on multiple platforms grows exponentially and we will release an iOS version of our App only when we will find an equilibrated product-market fit. We decided to start the development on Android because this platform has a bigger market penetration, and also because remodeling the structure of a calendar is easier on an open-source platform. However, both of those platforms as equally important for us in the long term as they are complementing each-other on the market and there is no sign that this status quo will change in the near future.

Cronomio intents however to change the rules of the game for social platforms. Today there are platforms regrouping the information about our present and past. They offer easy access to the photos, videos, and event thoughts. However, we believe that the next Big Thing is a platform, which will regroup our intentions, will break the time wall and offer a comprehensive view on who we are not only in the past but also who we will be in the future. And at Cronomio we are already making the first steps to build this platform.

It is expensive to launch your own startup? What are the essentials for you?

“The need is mother of invention” - this saying applies to many aspects of starting your own project and financing is not very different. In general software-based startups, like Cronomio, require early-stage financing for MVP (Minimal Viable Product) development. In Cronomio we have got very lucky with our team members who have shown a great degree of flexibility. This allows us to overcome the financing gap between product creation and reaching product maturity sufficient to raise seed-round of investment.

In principle, when you launch a startup you should be aware from the beginning that you will always be short in finances, but this should only boost your creativity. So being original to find the easiest and cheapest ways to do expensive and complicated things should be in the DNA of every startup.

What has been your greatest achievement so far?

So far the greatest achievement is putting together our team, which managed to find the core of the problem and build a MVP in record time.

How big is your team and how did you find them?

Currently there are 4 people working full time on Cronomio - two business developers, a front-end engineer and a back-end engineer. We got also the help of a web designer, a tester and a Marketing Ninja. Most of team members have known each other before Cronomio project got started either from classes and social gatherings linked to Sciences Po community or through common friends. We were also very lucky with technical members of the team whom we met through an entrepreneur that we regularly keep in touch. We simply explained to them our idea, showed work that we have done already and got them on-board. But don’t be tricked by how easy it sounds (smiles). Frankly hearing their “yes” to our project has been one of the best moments in our history so far.

From the very beginning I focused on recruiting motivated, ambitious, skilled and frankly a little crazy people. At the end of the day it is the team members who come up with new insights and inspirations that are crucial for the development of any project. It is also good to know that there is someone there to give you a little kick at the time when you need it the most.

Why are there no girls in the team?

In our recruitment efforts we are focused on finding motivated people with high development potential. These are our only criteria and it just happened that we ended up with males-only team. We do however work with a great app tester whom we would love to recruit full time once such need arises.

Having said that we already identified and widely discussed that issue and are determined to add gender diversity to other kinds of “diversities” present in our team. In fact we are now looking for a marketing director and I have a feeling that this time it may be a woman- so ladies you are very welcome to send us your CVs if you are interested a startup world.

How do you communicate? Do you have an office?

As we are in the early stage of development we thought that investing in office space was not the best use of our resources. Instead we use whole bunch of online communication tools on daily basis - Slack, Asana, Jira, Skype, Viber are only a couple of examples. We supplement this daily communication with frequent meetings in various corners of France. They allow us to discuss critical issues, check our progress on multiple fronts and amend long term plans.

However, as our project expands and the team sees new additions we undertook necessary steps to get office space. In fact we have just been admitted to Pépinière 27 and are in the process of negotiating final details.

What education is necessary if you want to launch a startup? Does one actually need to finish a university to start his own business?

There is no need to finish a university to start your own business, but it certainly helps. At the beginning you will be multitasking and even if nothing you studied directly applies you will realize that the presentation skills you acquired are essential. If having learned a lot is not a prerequisite, being able to learn fast and efficiently is crucial. Moreover, the university is very likely to provide you a network of people who can become co-founders. More generally, it is a rich environment in which new ideas appear on regular basis – and that is exactly what you will be looking for!

What are your plans for the nearest future?

Cronomio launched the Private Beta at Sciences Po in February 2015. We are planning now an expansion to other selected universities in Paris by the end of the month. Our objective is to have a completely functional public product by September.  

Which advice can you give to the young people who want to launch their start-up? 

Launching a startup will be probably the best experience of your life and the moment when you will learn the most. There are no tangible reasons to be afraid to launch yourself. However, I would recommend to do it on an idea that you deeply care about. You will be challenged at every moment of the existence and you will be able to pursue your experience only as long you will TOTALLY & UNCONDITIONALLY believe in your idea. And right before you start this crazy adventure take a pill against the risk aversion and a spoon of craziness.

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Brands : our new best friends ?

At least some of them are trying. As brands are more and more concerned with engaging their audience, we have seen some pretty good tweets about major events that have shaken people’s lives, such as last week. Indeed, many youngster’s existences have been shattered to pieces when they learned singer Zayn Malik was leaving the boy band One Direction

While One Direction fans expressed their shock and grief on social media, several brands have taken the opportunity to prove entertaining to their consumers. This reminds us of Oreo’s famous tweet during the SuperBowl blackout. Now brands have to react quick and stay relevant, to show their audience they are understanding them.

Read some of the best tweets below :

Sources

http://www.meltybuzz.fr/zayn-malik-quitte-one-direction-le-cm-de-disney-fait-encore-des-merveilles-a394812.html

http://www.meltybuzz.fr/zayn-malik-quitte-one-direction-le-cm-de-disney-fait-encore-des-merveilles-a394812.html

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Transavia’s “Bye Bye” : Towards a new way of buying and consuming ?

Last week, the “Grand Prix Stratégies” 2015 took place. As a major competition for digital marketing and communications, we could just not ignore it and as a matter of fact, there were lots of great campaigns that were awarded… But not only. Indeed, the project that got the “Grand Prix” (the most important award of the competition), is Transavia’s “Bye Bye”. More than a classic campaign: it’s a digital service brought by Transavia to the consumers.

What’s Transavia’s “Bye Bye” campaign ?

Transavia is a low-cost airline company that belongs to the AirFrance-KLM Group. As you may know, on the business side, the competition between low-cost airlines is very harsh and intense. Thus, Transavia has decided to leverage communication and marketing as a powerful tool to make stand out from competitors (mainly Ryanair and EasyJet). In this perspective, it hired the French ad agency Les Gaulois and launched a new campaign, called “Bye Bye”, in January 2014.

In short, the idea is this: “With the economic crisis, we don’t have much money, but still want to travel… However, we have plenty of stuff that we don’t use, but don’t want to throw away. So what if you could turn your old stuff into plane tickets ?”

To answer this, Transavia collaborated with eBay and PayPal and created a tool that could convert your trip-desires into eBay selling suggestions. For instance, let’s say you want to go to Berlin from June 14th to June 21st: the roundtrip costs 40 euros, and eBay will check what kind of objects (ex: a lamp, a jacket, an old playstation) you could sell to get the 40euros you need to buy your plane ticket ! Then, you just put your objects for sale and once the amount of money is reached, you can directly book your ticket.

Youtube

Utility + Innovation + Promotion = A HIT ! BUT… A buzz rather than an actual service

As you may have guessed, the campaign wouldn’t have got the Grand Prix if it hadn’t turned into a hit for Transavia. The results ? Google searching for “transavia” increased by 54%, while bookings made a 45% increase.

To explain this, we can say that there are three main reasons. First, it’s USEFUL. The two key insights (we want to travel + we don’t know what to do with our old stuff) work really well altogether, and give birth to a real service given to consumers: a way to turn their old belongings into great experiences. Second, it’s INNOVATIVE. Nowadays, there are lots of new ways to buy things online, but it’s still about paying through money… And sometimes you just don’t have enough money. But now, you’re given a new way to pay: by recycling your old stuff. Third, this service wasn’t simply put like this on the eBay landing page: it got promotion, especially through out-of-home billboards. That’s a key point, since when advertisers and agencies come up with a nice digital brand service, they think their service is so awesome that people will use it on their own: that’s a mistake. Like any other product/service, it needs to be marketed and promoted through communication and advertising campaigns: it needs to be though as an ecosystem.

However, we still have to acknowledge that, even if it was a great idea, the service itself wasn’t very efficient. Even if it increased Transavia’s brand awareness and online bookings, we don’t know how many bookings were made through the object-plane ticket converter. In this sense, it was more a tool to create the buzz than an actual new canal to boost buyer acquisition.

Sources:

http://www.strategies.fr/etudes-tendances/dossiers/1010152/transavia-convertit-le-low-cost-en-grand-prix.html

http://www.lesgaulois.com/creations/bye-bye

http://frenchweb.fr/e-publicite-les-infos-a-ne-pas-rater-transavia-et-les-gaulois-recompenses-aux-cannes-lions-2014-53-des-annonceurs-manquent-de-visibilite/159131

http://frenchweb.fr/e-publicite-les-infos-a-ne-pas-rater-turn-leve-80-millions-de-dollars-partenariat-entre-transavia-et-ebay/138108

http://www.advertolog.com/transavia-com/online/bye-bye-19269255/

http://www.cbnews.fr/marques/transavia-surencherit-sur-ebay-avec-les-gaulois-a1010061

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Frederique Constant’s watches : connected & classy

Elegant. Smart. And very digital. A Swiss based manufacture of luxury watches Frédérique Constant showed last week during the latest jewelery and watch art fair Baserworld their new model - the Horlogical Smartwatch that can track your movements and count how many hours you have slept. Afterwards the information can be seen on a smaller dial just on the main face as well as on the display of your smart phone, where it is directly sent. The technology that is inside is called MotionX. It is produced by one of the leaders in activity and sleeptracking technologies Fullpower, this company is famous for producing best-seller technologies for Nike and Jawbone.

The model comes in steel- or rosegold-plated case and there is a classy edition with a leather black or brown strap and a more modern one on a steel bracelet.

Connected watches have been a big thing lately thanks to the latest invention by Apple the iWatch. But nobody has ever tried to make them in a classical way – with no digital display but a dial with clock hands. Apple iWatch seems to be facing a serious rival. On sale – in june.

SOURCES

http://www.connect-object.com/bien-etre/2015/03/11/frederic-constant-lance-sa-montre-connectee/

http://www.letemps.ch/Page/Uuid/649addb4-d4b3-11e4-9f2b-2a6998eb792a/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9rique_Constant_conserve_son_classicisme

http://www.stuffi.fr/frederique-constant-excelle-dans-la-smartwatch/

http://www.stuff.tv/news/frederique-constants-horological-smartwatch-clever-it-classy

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/133269-frederique-constant-smartwatch-combines-luxury-with-analogue-step-tracking

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Digital Portrait : Evan Spiegel - The World's Youngest Billionaires

Snapchat is reportedly about to receive a $200 million investment from ecommerce giant Alibaba. It's also in the process of raising another round of funding that would place their valuation at $19 billion.

And with a net worth of $1.5 billion, the 24-year-old CEO Evan Spiegel is officially the youngest billionaire in the world, according to Forbes. He met cofounder Murphy at Stanford’s Kappa Sigma frat house. Born and grew up in California, Spiegel proposed Snapchat as a class project while studying product design at Stanford. Later he left Stanford to focus on Snapchat shortly before completing his degree. After their first disappearing photo app flopped, they rebranded and launched Snapchat in 2011. The free app is now used by 100 million people monthly. Valued by investors at $10 billion, FORBES estimates that Speigel and Murphy each own at least 15%.

Of the 1,826 members of the Forbes Billionaires ranking, 46 are under the age of 40, and just under half of them owe their fortunes to technology.

Sources:

http://uk.businessinsider.com/fabulous-life-of-evan-spiegel-worlds-youngest-billionaire-2015-3?op=1?r=US

http://www.forbes.com/sites/hengshao/2015/03/12/alibaba-invests-200-mil-in-snapchat-cso-imran-khan-is-key-to-the-deal/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2015/03/02/the-worlds-youngest-billionaires-2015-46-under-40/

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Personal Data is the new currency

It's no doubt that data from tracking online behavior is precious for brands and marketers. Users know it too, and they want something in exchange for their data, they just don't know how.

Value Me, a study conducted by Microsoft Advertising, IPG Mediabrands and The Future Laboratory, proved that consumers are more aware than ever that their online data has value for companies, and that they wish to get some value back, as a form of compensation for their information. This trend is even stronger among younger consumers, but it also reveled, that 49% of these internet surfers, don't know yet how make the trade off from the money-data combination.

This is something that brands can't and should not ignore, specially the never-ending controversies surrounding the use of personal data by company as a violation of privacy. For example, more products and services should be developed, in order to allow more a greater participation of consumers, in the way they wish to share share their data, to whom, and perhaps in the future even for how much

Actually some companies and startups, are already basing their business model on this fresh and strong consumer trend. For example, DataCoup claims to be the world's first marketplace for personal data, allowing consumers to monetize their online behavior information. There is also Handshake, makes consumers see how who are the brands that want to engage with them and how, at the same time as they negotiate monetization with you and help you see the deal with brands.

On the other hands, other start ups have added a more engaged vision to their business model, and instead of just exploring monetization possibilities, they like to show to the consumer how their data is actually collected and/or used by brands. For example, CitizenMe, who allows consumers to control the showcase of their streaming data, making them control what they want public and private.  There is also TheGoodData, a very unique concept that allows you to sell your data for brands and who distributes your gains among charities, making it  ,a good way to make some good actions while you procrastinate on your computer.

What all the approaches have in common, is that they seem to recognize the inherent monetary value for data, not only for brands but also for consumers. In fact, data is becoming an independent economy, and enabling the consumer to play an active role in this new market, seems like a natural step ahead. In the future, data may even become the new currency, and primary source of exchange between consumers and brands.

*Sources:

http://advertising.microsoft.com/en/cl/4246/value-me

http://datacoup.com/

https://thegooddata.org/

http://www.handshake.uk.com/hs/index.html

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Keep an eye on : SevenHugs

Founded in 2014, this French startup SevenHugs creates connected objects that measure the quality of sleep, thanks to its prototype HugOne. It helps the entire family sleep better and monitors temperature, humidity and air quality for a healthier home. They have recently made its first fundraising from business angels including Xaviel Niel (founder of Free Mobile). It was 1,5 million € worth.

One particularity of this startup, founders are not post-graduate students but 4 40-somethings dads who have already quite a massive experience in this field. Member of the French Tech label, they have presented at the CES in Las Vegas, this past January, its prototype HugOne, the first family sleep monitor.

They have capitalized on a sector that is booming nowadays: health and especially sleep. Founded in 2014, this French startup SevenHugs creates connected objects that measure the quality of sleep, thanks to its prototype HugOne. It helps the entire family sleep better and monitors temperature, humidity and air quality for a healthier home. They have recently made its first fundraising from business angels including Xaviel Niel (founder of Free Mobile). It was 1,5 million € worth.One particularity of this startup, founders are not post-graduate students but 4 40-somethings dads who have already quite a massive experience in this field. Member of the French Tech label, they have presented at the CES in Las Vegas, this past January, its prototype HugOne, the first family sleep monitor.

They have capitalized on a sector that is booming nowadays: health and especially sleep.As a reminder, sleep is the third pillar of health, diet and exercise being the other two. When we sleep poorly, other aspects of our health decline as well. Sleep is not only important for adults, it is also an essential building block for our children's health, well-being and academic success. That’s why they have designed this new tech that offers an experience by changing the way we care about our night’s sleep. The installation is easy as well.“Place the tiny sensor in one corner of the bed, under the mattress cover, and let minihug monitor your sleep cycles”. It has been certified without waves nor Wifi. Then you can manage all information through an iOS and Android app. 3 pillars have been put forward: Insights for the entire familyThe mobile app gathers all family members’ sleep behavior, as well as your home environment data. Wake up at the perfect timeNow, your app will tell you the best moment in your sleep cycle to wake you up in the morning, thanks to a unique and innovative alarm. Get real-time notificationsIt plays the role of a guardian that notifies you directly through your mobile device whenever your children awake during the night for instance. Originally, it was supposed to be released in March but the hardware process has gotten a bit delayed therefore HugOne will be out in June for the early adopters and September for those who want to buy it online. This fundraising will allow Sevenhugs to be secured until mid-2016 but in order to grow faster, they are already working on a Kickstarter campaign as one of its opponents has already done it before and it worked tremendously well. Basically, they bring disruption, with a simple “plug and play” approach, into a market that is in constant mutation. As a reminder, sleep is the third pillar of health, diet and exercise being the other two. When we sleep poorly, other aspects of our health decline as well. Sleep is not only important for adults, it is also an essential building block for our children's health, well-being and academic success. That’s why they have designed this new tech that offers an experience by changing the way we care about our night’s sleep. The installation is easy as well.

“Place the tiny sensor in one corner of the bed, under the mattress cover, and let minihug monitor your sleep cycles”. It has been certified without waves nor Wifi. Then you can manage all information through an iOS and Android app. 3 pillars have been put forward:

Insights for the entire family

The mobile app gathers all family members’ sleep behavior, as well as your home environment data.

Wake up at the perfect time

Now, your app will tell you the best moment in your sleep cycle to wake you up in the morning, thanks to a unique and innovative alarm.

Get real-time notifications

It plays the role of a guardian that notifies you directly through your mobile device whenever your children awake during the night for instance.

Originally, it was supposed to be released in March but the hardware process has gotten a bit delayed therefore HugOne will be out in June for the early adopters and September for those who want to buy it online.

This fundraising will allow Sevenhugs to be secured until mid-2016 but in order to grow faster, they are already working on a Kickstarter campaign as one of its opponents has already done it before and it worked tremendously well. Basically, they bring disruption, with a simple “plug and play” approach, into a market that is in constant mutation.

Sources : 

http://www.seven-hugs.com/

http://frenchweb.fr/objets-connectes-sevenhugs-leve-15-million-deuros-pour-analyser-votre-sommeil/188867

http://www.maddyness.com/finance/levee-de-fonds/2015/03/31/sevenhugs/

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UCPA’s digital communication campaign : school trips will sure get a lot funnier !

For its fifthieth birthday, the French non-profit organization UCPA refreshed its visual branding, and launched a new digital campaign aiming for the generation Y. Without any agency, but thanks to the help of the collaborative online platform Up to Youth, the association digitalized its user experience, for instance introducing a “digital coach” in its golf court Lacanau : people may access tips, maps, and rules through flashcodes integrated on the green. The same campaign is declined in ski and snowboard resorts, where UCPA clients can explore the enhanced reality of sport thourgh mobile devices. The whole campaign is managed and synchronized thanks to the monitors and clients directly : an interactive website and a multiplication of Facebook and Twitter accounts for each station allow a personalized conversation with the brand, and in some youth hostels GoPro and videomaking lessons are available for the users to contibute.

Through this campaign, the UCPA obviously tries to reinforce its link with the younger generations, tech-saavy and hyperconnected. But it also rethinks the whole sport experience in a world of instantaneity, ubiquity and infinite possibilities of knowledge and experiences. ANd for now, it seems to be a success, with 226.000 Facebook fans !

Source : 

http://business.lesechos.fr/directions-marketing/0204217334560-ucpa-du-digital-pour-faire-le-buzz-109362.php

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IFTTT Is Moving Towards Smart-Homes

Smart-homes… Say what?

Smart-homes, or connected homes, is a main issue for the Internet of Things (Iot), which is described as the next digital revolution (Web 3.0 or 4.0). Basically, the idea is to connect our furniture (TVs, lights, fridges etc.) to the internet, so that we’ll be able to enhance our current usages in order to simplify and improve our daily life. For instance, we can expect connected fridges to be able to check itself what kind of food it contains, and let us know that we should buy groceries (which will be ordered automatically by the fridge), or give us some suggestions for nice and healthy recipes.

Of course, smart-homes isn’t a new thing: for more than 30 years, we’ve been able to already control some of our home even if we were miles away. For instance, one could use our phone to turn the heater up so that it would be nicely warm when one comes back home. But today, the technology allows us to push this one step further. First, we have devices that can be used as remote controllers (ex: smartphones). Second, we have developed components and programs that can easily fit within pretty much everything (even the body !). Finally, we have systems((WiFi, 4G etc.) that allow us to exchange huge amounts of data instantly, so that we can connect to anything, anywhere and at anytime.

IFTTT: “if this then that”

IFTTT is a San Francisco based startup “lets you create powerful connections with one simple statement: if this then that”. Basically, IFTTT is one of the greatest digital services EVER, that allows people who are dumb at programming to automate some of their actions for their different devices (computer, smartphone, tablet) and the other services they use one these devices (social networks, calendars, alarms etc.). For instance, among the favorite IFTTT users, you have automations (that they call “recipes”) such as:

- “if I get my phone lost or stolen, then IFTTT will give a call to my phone and put Liam Neeson’s badass quote from Taken to give incentives to return the phone”

- “if I change my picture on Facebook, then the picture will also be changed for my Twitter account (and vice versa”

- ”if I favorite a tweet, then the content will be saved on Pocket (a service for reading articles offlines)”

The future for IFTTT: IoT-management, especially applied to smart-homes.

I think you got the point, as they say on their website, IFTTT is made to “put the internet to work for you.” It’s all about hacking your digital daily life. But over the last few months, IFTTT has made a few changes in its strategy. First, they have split their offer into two main apps: IF (which is the app we were just describing), and DO. DO is described as the app “empowers you to create your own personalized button with just a tap”. In other words, rather than automating something whenever a precise condition is met (that’s “IF”), DO is all about letting us do something we want in a very simple manner. For instance, there’s a “DO” button to send an email saying “I’m heading home”, or other buttons to add ideas or groceries to different lists on Google Drive.

But with DO, the startup is going much more beyond. Indeed, rather than focusing on connections between different digital services like Facebook or Twitter, IFTTT’s goal is to become the best service that will allow us to control the so-called “connected objects”, or Internet of Things. In this sense, IFTTT has started to develop some recipes for the leading smart-home devices such as the Philips Hue (a smart-home system dedicated to lights) or the Nest thermostat (Nest is the leading company in the smart-home industry).

Their goal is pretty clear: they want to be the inevitable IoT-management service, before other giants such as Google.

Sources

https://ifttt.com/products/do/button

http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/19/ifttt-launches-3-do-apps-to-automate-photo-sharing-tasks-notes-rebrands-main-app-if/

https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/if-this-then-that

https://www.aruco.com/2015/01/ifttt-smarthome/

https://www.aruco.com/2015/03/objets-connectes-smart-home-sxsw/

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home/ifttt-quietly-becoming-smart-home-powerhouse/

http://www.usine-digitale.fr/article/ces-2015-ifttt-veut-casser-la-baraque-dans-la-smart-home-et-les-objets-connectes.N306839

http://www.journaldugeek.com/2015/02/20/ifttt-change-de-nom-et-presente-trois-nouvelles-applications/

http://www.igen.fr/accessoires/2015/03/domotique-le-tadodeg-va-parler-dautres-appareils-ifttt-90267

[thinking-cup]

Tidal, New Lossless Streaming Service

What is Tidal? It is one of the two streaming services launched by Aspiro, a small Swedish company which Jay-Z bought.

Its library has more than 25 million tracks and 80,000 videos. It is easy to find what each music lover is looking - featuring Acid rock, Danish jazz, and Swedish Folk.

Tidal is organized around three structural pillars: high fidelity streaming, access to HQ music videos and recommendations made by the Tidal experts. A blog dedicated to the music scene is also present: http://read.tidalhifi.com/. The unique offering of on-demand streaming, for 19,99 euros per month,  provides access to a directory of over 25 million HiFi quality tracks at home or outside. Moreover, the customized recommendations are made by experts and journalists and not algorithms !

Today, the market invested by the brand is a niche market. With a luxury positioning with a particular emphasis on the quality and knowledge of music, Tidal addresses a premium business target, epicurean and looking for excellence in all areas. Ideal for refined people who can afford and wish to stand out by choosing a very rare sound quality. Tidal is positioned as a big competitor to Deezer Elite and Qobuz. Indeed, Deezer has also planned an upcoming launch of the Elite membership in France, in partnership with Sonos, currently at 19,99 dollars in the United-States, and provides access to over 35 million tracks. Qobuz competes poorly, with only 18 million tracks available in high quality, for a price of 19,99 euros per month.

Watch the trailer video featuring Jay-Z, Rihanna, Beyonce, Madonna, Jack White, Daft Punk and more!

Sources

http://www.whathifi.com/news/jay­zs­tidal­takeover­now­likely­to­go­ahead

http://tidalhifi.com/fr/video/explore­tidal

http://www.lesnumeriques.com/tidal-nouveau-service-streaming-musical-haute-fidelite-n36981.html

[thinking-cup]

Go On A Great Quest Over The Mountains With The North Face Trailhead iPhone App

The North Face may not be the mostglamorous brand there is, but it's very likely each person will make at least one successful NorthFace purchase in their life time. Why? Because the brand's philosophy is all about simplicity and functionality, something we all need from time to time. Also, sometimes choosing the one in a million brand gets very complicated, consumers get lost when there are too many options, and NorthFace is there, as the secure and reliable option.

Recently the brand has decides to extend their renowned functionality to the digital world, by releasing an iPhone App to help with the planning of outdoor activities. The App in question is named Trailhead, and fits remarkably into The North Face's brand universe: simple, functional, outdoorsy, community driven...It's purpose is to help the users plan, find and share the best routes for skiing, hiking, mountaineering or fly-fishing. You know, all the kind of activities for which you would need a North Face total look.

The App enables iPhone users to plan their trail by activity type, and then by proximity from their current location. The trails are pulled from a trail sharing platform, that is part of the App: EveryTrail.com, that already comes with 300.000 route options. This enables the users to share their opinion, photographs and tips about each route, so that the future users might have better expectations and also a prepare better.

Also, once on the trail, the App provides a tracking and recording option, so that the user can dispose at any moment of the data about their location, height, weather and events nearby,  at the same time as they are recording and evaluating their performance.

Once the trail is over, sharing it on social media becomes really easy too, because the app with a sharing options for Facebook and Twitter. Because you know, if you don't post about it these days, it's like it (the trail) never actually happened.

Sources

http://www.everytrail.com/mobile/trailhead

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-north-face-explorer/id516701239?mt=8

http://mashable.com/2010/08/04/north-face-trail-app/

[thinking-cup]

Super Cruise: The next leap forward

Who has never thought of a cardrives by itself? General Motors (GM) is currently making it real: an advanced driver assistance system called Super Cruise and vehicle-to-vehicle communications have just been announced to be part of 2017 cars.

We all knew that self-driving cars were coming but it was just a matter of time.  As you would expect, this new tech will take care of steering, acceleration and braking at highway speeds of 70 miles per hour or in stop-and-go congested traffic. Basically it “can speed the car up, slow it down and keep it in its intended lane”. However, as safety is one of the main concerns, GM isn't expected to release a fully self-driving car, meaning that the driver must be attentive even though the device is on.  The high quality technology will be held only on Cadillac, the luxury automobile and SUV division of GM.

Furthermore, the tech kit currently being shown off by Cadillac engineers includes ‘vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication’, a technology which would allow cars to travel in close proximity to one another, with less danger of collisions. Vehicle-to-vehicle communication enables cars to warn each other of autos hitting the brakes ahead, road hazards, traffic jams and closed roads.

Automakers around the globe are racing to develop self-driving cars to solve the growing problem of global gridlock and help reduce traffic fatalities. There are now more than 1.1 billion vehicles on the road worldwide.

To make it doable, roads have to be equipped by special sensors. Therefore, GM is now working with the University of Michigan to outfit around 120 miles of roads with the requisite sensors to make all this technology possible.

When enough autos on the highways have V2V communication, the technology is expected to reduce collisions and improve traffic congestion. Cars will send and receive basic safety information such as location, speed and direction of travel between vehicles that are approaching each other. The data exchange will warn drivers and trigger safety features, such as forward collision warning systems.

Sources

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/gm-testing-super-cruise-technology/

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/09/07/2017-cadillac-super-cruise-semi-autonomous-video/

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-09-07/gm-to-introduce-hands-free-driving-in-cadillac-model

[thinking-cup]

Paramount’s New Way Of Promoting The Launch Of Its Next Movie: Combining Vine’s Biggest Celebrity And A Movie Star On Vine!

To promote Paramount’s new movie “Zoolander 2” (which will be released in February 2016), Ben Stiller played Derek Zoolander at Paris Fashion Week. This stunt generated a lot of excitement, but who would have thought that Stiller would cause such a massive uproar by taking over the phone of social media star Jerome Jarre in the middle of a Vine? It seems like filmmaker Paramount no longer needs advertising to promote the launch of its movie. Was the Vine part of an official marketing campaign? It is hard to say. But Jerome Jarre and Ben Stiller got everyone’s attention on social networks. In fact, those two are both huge social media stars.

After gaining a massive following on Vine in 2013 and 2014, Jerome Jarre founded an agency called GrapeStory with Gary Vaynerchuk which manages several high profile social media stars.

Ben Stiller is not doing so bad himself, since he is a top influencer with 13 posts that had a huge impact because of the 9 900 interactions created by these posts, each of his #Zoolander2 posts had an average of 76 1.54 interactions. Base on Twitter and Facebook, Ben Stiller apparently has the potential of reaching 8 005 809 people.

Their appearance definitely grabbed the attention of social media...Isn’t it the coolest way to find out about an upcoming movie?

Sources

http://blog.digitalrepublic.co.za

http://uk.businessinsider.com/zoolander-2-is-happening-2015-3?r=US

http://www.buzzfeed.com/patricksmith/jerome-jarre-got-derek-zoolander-to-star-in-one-of-his-vines

[thinking-cup]

Céline Lazorthes

Who never suffer from collecting the money of each individual for a collective gift ?

This is the question Céline Lazorthes asked herself 8 years ago when she had to collect the money for an integration weekend at HEC. And thus, the idea behind « Leetchi » was born... Leetchi's purpose is to help nice people to get their money back.

Céline is a 32 years old french woman, founder and CEO of the french start-up “Leetchi” founded in 2009. In fact, she got the great idea of Leetchi during her studies at HEC, the french business school. Even before the company's founding, Céline dragged investors to her project.

After a journey through HEC's incubator, “Leetchi” has been launched in November 2009 and reached 300 000 users in 2012.

Now, “Leetchi” has extended its services to 150 countries and is available in 4 languages. The service gathers 2 millions regular users and 200 millions euros passed through the company in 2014.

Since Leetchi's launch, Céline Lazorthes has had new projects like Mangopay (a B2B solution for marketplaces and crowdfunding platforms) and “Leetchi Cash” (to send cash easily by e-mail : a competitor of Western Union).

[thinking-cup]

Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles

Connected object - digital shower Hydrao that spares water  Now, you’ll knowwhy taking showers is more ecological than having baths ! Hydrao is a connected shower head, which can change color according to the amount of water used. All the settings are customizable through a dedicated application on your smartphone, which also allows you to follow your consumption statistics. Moreover, it produces its own energy thanks to the power of running water. For now, the project is raising funds on KissKissBank, but it plans on developing on the hotel market, where waste amounts to four times the households’.  Hydrao illustrates how connected objects can be a playful and efficient way to promote ecological awareness, and give solutions to daily problems at a larger scale. Ecology can be fun and progressive too.