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.
“While efforts to make it easier for Europeans to set up their own company are starting to pay off,” Euractiv reports, “a majority of EU citizens continue to hold back for fear of going bust. The Commission is now proposing taking action to reduce the stigma attached to business failure and encourage non-fraudulent bankrupts to make a fresh start.”
Small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 99% of all businesses in the EU, employ 77 million people, create one in every two new jobs.
Continue reading ‘Removing the stigma of bankruptcy in Europe’
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’?’
Please excuse the dust while we move things around today.
Wordpress.com has just upgraded to the 2.3 version of their service and in the process the ‘tags’ and ‘categories’ features have undergone changes. The result is that this site design no longer works as originally intended.
As a result I’ve decided to move nowEurope to my own server where I can tinker and change the design until it works the way Vlastimil and I like it.
I expect these changes to be finished by noon today CET.
The 6th Framework Programme is practically over and so it is our NETIES project. In last two years we surveyed over 750 SMEs, organised 32 networking events, workshops or conferences attended by 1750 people in six countries. The consortium provided 84 individual consulting sessions and coached 31 companies in the area of finding foreign partners, improving and presenting their business plans or FP6 applications.
22 contributors from 11 countries published more than 300 posts here sharing their experience, views and comments on the topics of technology innovation, R&D funding, venture capital and Central and Eastern Europe. NowEurope attracted totally 30,000 unique visitors over the period. Thank you all.
Continue reading ‘NETIES is ending’
There is no form of intellectual property more controversial, nor more often misunderstood, than so-called “business method patents”. While some individuals and companies complain that patent systems were never intended to protect “methods of doing business”, patent applications on these types of inventions continue to be filed in record numbers. Government patent offices continue to issue such patents, with support by judges who interpret the patent law. While the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has perhaps become the most liberal in granting business method patents, Europe (such as by way of the European Patent Office) also allows these types of patents to be granted, if they are deemed to have a “technical effect”. Like most debates, there are plenty of arguments to be made pro and con.
Continue reading ‘Intellectual Property Rights for Financial Services’
According to Big Four accounting firm, Deloitte, European VCs are increasingly interested in investing in Central and Eastern European. While Western Europe remains the primary focus, 21% of European investors surveyed expressed an interest in Central European deals, while 14% were keen on investing in Eastern Europe.
Deloiitte’s Global Trends in Venture Capital 2006 survey queried 505 investors around the world on their attitudes and interests regarding specific geographic areas and industry sectors.
The top reasons European VCs favored Central Europe were ‘access to foreign markets’, ‘lower cost locations’ and ‘emergence of entrepreneur environment in non-traditional locations’.
As part of the NETIES project, we have conducted a survey of small and medium sized enterprises interested in participating in Sixth Framework funded projects. This survey was carried out in Hungary, in parallel with our colleagues in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
This research was conducted in two parts. The first survey, summarized here, collected information from companies and organizations interested in taking part in an FP6 funded project. The second survey researched those who had previously taken part in a project.
One insight of this survey is that two-thirds of respondents (64%) had little or no knowledge about the FP6 programme, while 56% were interested in receiving information online.
Continue reading ‘Survey One results: Companies interested in applying for FP6′
As part of the NETIES project, we have conducted a survey of small and medium sized enterprises interested in participating in Sixth Framework funded projects. This survey was carried out in Hungary, in parallel with our colleagues in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
This research was conducted in two parts. The first survey gathered information from companies and organizations interested in taking part in an FP6 funded project. The second survey, summarized here, researched those who had previously taken part in a project.
One insight of this survey is the high level of satisfaction among Hungarian companies taking part in FP6. Nearly one third of companies (29%) rated their FP6 participation a ‘four’ on an ascending value scale of one to four, while 48% gave it a ‘three’. A full 90% agreed they would do it all over again, if given the chance.
A total of 39 companies took part in this survey, which was carried out in partnership with the Hungarian Association of IT Companies (IVSZ).
Continue reading ‘Survey Two results: Companies which have successfully applied for FP6 support’
Brno-based company ZONER software is renowned especially among digital photography audiences and companies that need to Internet domain registration and web hosting. Its successes abroad are less known. The latter was the subject of my interview with Robert Sobola, director of Zoner’s software division.
In 1993, Milan Behro and Roman Slavinsk founded a company focused on developing a graphics editor named Zebra. Three years later, Zoner expanded its scope of activities and started to provide Internet domain registration and web hosting. Czechia.com was the very first Czech server in the .com domain.
Continue reading ‘Zoner Software: Digital Photography as a Lifestyle’
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