I still wonder whether somebody of you is aware of a website where organisers share their planned events not to compete for the limited attention of the same target groups. Or can we list at least the main ICT innovation events held regularly in our region? This is certainly one of the questions to be asked when developing our cluster strategy next year.
We are discussing with Gunther Krumpak what upcoming events would be the most relevant to presenting the CITT outcomes or to collecting experience and best practices. Continue reading ‘Best practices from cluster initiatives’
The title of this post is a quotation from Meir Brand’s presentation, delivered at Innovation Thursday in Prague last week. The event attracted about 130 people and was organised in cooperation with our FIRST Innovation Park and the CITT project. Michael Novak and I also took part in the founding meeting of the Innovators Club where we talked to several key ICT innovation players in the Czech Republic.
I wrote down a few remarks that seem to me highly relevant to the technology transfer activities within CITT and thus I am offering them as the starting points for our cluster strategy development.
Continue reading ‘Some secrets are more valuable when shared’
I was in Prague earlier this month conducting a partner search for a social networking company. While I cannot comment on the specifics of that business, I can pass on a few observations about the Central European Internet market.
The online populations of Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia and Austria are relatively small. They are linguistically and culturally isolated. Even the Austrians, who share a common language with Germany and part of Switzerland, prefer to use Austrian websites. This limits the scale of any online business that addresses a single Central European market.
However, it would be a mistake to conclude that there aren’t any decent opportunities in these markets.
Continue reading ‘Online opportunities in Central Europe’
Thursday afternoon I spent in Prague at an event dedicated to investments into technology start-ups. I was listening to a VC fund, two business angels and two incubators sharing their views with an audience of mostly ICT entrepreneurs.
The whole concept of Innovation Thursdays is focused on innovation in the Czech Republic and on bringing together innovators, investors and policy makers. Take a look at the opening event of the series held in the Senate hall (video archive and photos).
Continue reading ‘Can Central Europe follow Israeli innovation examples?’
I am very glad to have the opportunity to be a nowEurope contributor. With my first article and warm welcome I would like to call your attention to global warming, in particular to the ICT aspects of the combat against climate change.
As part of its effort to combat climate change, the European Commission recently announced that it would promote the use of ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) to improve energy efficiency throughout the economy.
Continue reading ‘ICT to combat climate change’
The New York Times reports that the European Union court is launching a new investigation against Microsoft, following two complaints that it continues to use product bundling to exclude competitors. One complaint was lodged by the Norwegian browser company, Opera, and the second by the European Committee for Interoperable Systems.
Continue reading ‘Microsoft faces new EU anti-trust probe’
EurActive reports that the think tank ‘Lisbon Council for Economic Competitiveness and Social Renewal’ has released a study warning that continued growth in the new EU states of Central Europe should not be taken for granted.
“While central and eastern European countries have been “the engine of dynamism, mobility and flexibility” that was lacking the EU-15, the human capital issue in these new member states could have a negative effect on the EU economy as a whole if nothing is done to bridge the gap, warns the authors.”
Continue reading ‘Think tank: don’t take CEE growth for granted’
A dozen major French companies have launched a trial to use cell phones as mobile money, according to the International Herald Tribune. The Payez Mobile consortium includes France’s three largest mobile operators, six major banks, Visa and MasterCard and cellphones made by Motorola, LG Electronics and Sagem Communication of Paris.
The group gave 1,000 people in Strasbourg and Caen mobile handsets outfitted with a short-range radio technology called “near-field communications,” or NFC. The technology is already familar to commuters in London, Paris and Hong Kong who pay their fares by swiping “contactless” programmed plastic cards over scanners embedded in turnstiles.
Continue reading ‘French launch biggest EU mobile payment test’
Sure, we have social networking in Europe. Here in Hungary, last year, everybody I know was signing on to IWIW. Earlier this year, the pan-European Xing began holding face-to-face events here, too. But these services pale when compared to the juggernaut that is Cyworld. (I’m now finishing research for eMarketer’s South Korea Online Overview.)
One third of South Koreans have used Cyworld and 90% of those in their 20s have an account. Cyworld earns $300,000 each day through the sale of virtual goods. Users upload 6.2 million photos each day. The service rivals iTunes in music sales, and serves more video than YouTube. Cyworld is addictive as hell, and it’s launching in Germany soon.
In late 2005, we published a list of Central European ‘companies to watch’ which you’ll find at the top of the nowEurope links page. The list consists of technology companies based in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. The main selection critera was the subjective opinion of the NETIES consortium team members in each of these countries.
It’s now time to review the list and consider whether those companies are still worth watching. And what better way than CoolSW, a new service launched by Intel which Wired Magazine describes as a DIGG for software companies.
The burning question: Are Central European software companies ‘cool’?
Continue reading ‘Is Central European software ‘cool’?’
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