3F's, customer sales viewed by IT
F ind the Customer, Fuck the Customer, Forget the Customer. Another one from our droll C.I.O and his peculiar sense of humor ;) source: Bear is Cool
Articles
Myriam Makeba - Kulala (Live Version)
A mother laments for the death of her son who drowned in the river. Powerful and riveting funeral poem. Live version from Myriam Makeba's Paris concert in 1977.
Success comes in CANS not CANT'S
Success comes in CANS not CANT'S Some even contend that success comes in all forms... Source image: Things We Forget
Mon ultime priere
« Mon ultime prière, Ô mon corps, fais de moi toujours un homme qui interroge » Frantz Fanon , Peau noire et masques blancs .
Closeup on 8 of the Hottest Tech Apps
I was checking the latest article of Business Insider regarding the top 20 Innovative Startups in Tech and the 20 Hot Silicon Valley Startups You Need To Watch . I found some interesting tools and services, that I'd definitely see myself using or that I have already started using. Among all the products, here are the ones that caught my attention: iDoneThis is one of the gem I've recently discovered, it introduces the concept of "to done list " (vs todo list). It's a productivity tool that work the other way round, in the sense that the diary-based information helps you track your activities and achievements on a daily basis. DropBox created a way to easily share and store files all over the web. Of all the cloud-based files storages services, this one is by far my favorite. Did I mention, it's free? yeah, it's free and it is a big plus for me. Hotel Tonight helps you make a last-minute hotel reservation from your mobile device (iOS and Androi...
Is Nouriel Roubini the Nostradamus of our economically challenged time ?
Is he the Nostradamus of our economically challenged time ? Back in 2006, in a blog post Nouriel Roubini was already prophetic about Italy's debt crisis and the Eurozone doom prospects. The very same year Roubini’s speech at Davos-World Economic Forum was warning that Italy may experience Debt Crisis and EuroZone Break-Up in 5 years. He recently reposted the blog post he wrote in 2006 , after speaking at Davos , and apparently offended the already-then Italian Finance Minister Tremonti, by calling for Eurozone doom. Here is an ominous extract of what the US economist contended at the time: " And unfortunately, the lack of serious economic reforms in Italy implies that there is a growing risk that Italy may end up like Argentina. This is not a foregone conclusion but, if Italy does not reform, an exit from EMU within 5 years is not totally unlikely. " Read more on the topic: http://shar.es/bLLs5 http://www.businessinsider.com/roubin...
2011 Cameroonian presidential run-off's infographic
T hanks to @titaleslie for the infographic depicting the 2011 Cameroonian presidential run-off. Numbers in a nutshell to set the scene 23 candidates were contending for the top spot, 10 of whom had run in previous elections Almost 7,5 million people were registered to vote Only less than 5 million people actually voted As for the campaign budgets : incumbent President Paul Biya'a Bi Mvondo was largely ahead of the others with nearly 3 Billion CFA francs, Ni John Fru Ndi of the Social Democratic Front spent 600 million CFA, SDF spinoff Ms Edith Kahbang Walla (Kah Walla) was able to raise - quite surprisingly - 300 million despite her newcomer and outsider status. As for the results , you know the drill : Paul Biya was reelected with ~78% of the votes. One must note that the Septentrion, the Northwest & Southwest did honorable scores through their respective candidates, who arrive first in their native region' polls. ...
Tie the knot and pay up the price!
A wedding is supposed to be one the most memorable moments of one's life, especially when the sweet of the love turns to the sour of the bill. Source : businesscreditcards.com (no pun intended) CLICK TO ENLARGE THE PICTURE Via: Business Credit Cards Guide
Evanescence
credit photo: Djamel Kadi Evanescence Ou sont nos belles annees allées ? Fragiles, légères, fugaces nos heures s'égrènent La caresse du temps sur nos joues se veut douce ou âpre Sur une photo jaunie par le temps, les souvenirs éphémères Les joies et les peines d'une insouciance antédiluvienne. Evanescence d'un temps qui s'enfuit et n'en revient jamais!
You would never
You would never know If you could ever be If you never try You would never see —Lupe Fiasco, All Black Everything
Week-end readings : Kweku Adoboli, Power, Bourgi
The tale of two Britons from African descent : Mo Farrah and Kweku Adoboli ( Sahara Reporters ) The 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa and the 10 Youngest Power Men in Africa : we'd wish to have more people from francophone Africa and less US educated fellows. Kudos to Ory Okolloh (Kenyan Pundit) and Acha Leke (McKinsey Partner) for making the list and working hard on improving the continent. As for Kabila and Rajoelina, these two are highly debatable picks from Forbes. The Bourgi 's scandal shook France's political class. ( Canal Plus )
Quote of the day - 17-08-11
“ But he who dares not grasp the thorn Should never crave the rose. ” — Anne Brontë
When fear and doubt come into play, lead with possibility
Quote of the day: "When fear and doubt come into play, lead with possibility." — Laura Guido-Clark source: 99% conference
Amazon.com : l'Empire cache
Amazon.com : l'Empire caché Fabernovel décrypte le succès d'une des plus belles marques du eCommerce : Amazon.com . Enjoy :) View more presentations from faberNovel
Buying In : the rise of a middle class in Africa
source : Wall Street Journal According to the African Development Bank Group , the middle class now accounts for nearly 34% of the total population, which represents 313 millions people. It's a great uptick (more than 60%) since the beginning of the last decade, but major improvements remain to be done to enlarge further this group and include more the too many people that remain standing at the bottom of the pyramid . Expanding from the data of the African Development Group, the Wall Street Journal contends that A New Class of Consumers Grows in Africa . " Sustained economic growth in Africa has produced for the first time a broad middle class, one that cuts across the continent and is on par with the size of the middle classes in the billion-person emerging markets of China and India. The rise of a middle class in the world's poorest continent is a dramatic marker for the global economy. At a time when the U.S., Europe and Japan are struggling to grow...
Are you a Mac person or a PC person?
Great dilemma when it comes to take sides and adopt one of the two. 23% of the population in the world are said to have mac computers according to ChaCha . (name your own figure, the figure presented below is even higher) I happen to be one of them and do consider myself a Mac person. According to the guys of Cre8ive Commando " There’s always been a battle between Mac and PC. PC users have always dominated the market but things are starting to change.[…] We’ve all seen the stereotypical Mac and PC guys from the Apple Mac commercials a while back, but this infographic gives us some actual statistics about Mac and PC people’s personalities, fashion sense and differences ." Check this great infographic by Hunch . Sociological analysis or mere compilation of stereotypes? I'd let you decide. I must admit that I did recognize myself in some of the data below. Characteristics and differences between Mac and PC users So my question to you, fellow r...
Week-end's readings: TechCrunch, Flirting, internet in China, French politics, the “Facebook Class.”
From the Founder and Editor of TechCrunch, Michael Arrington to " the Tech Press : screw them all " ( Techcrunch ) The new start-up that the Valley is all excited about LAL.com , a flirting-facilitator platform (or FFP, for advanced users). Yup, that's right, check it out yourselves...( Paul Kedrosky ) Sleeping in Internet Cafes: The Next 300 Million Chinese Users (SXSW talk on slideshare ) France's National Front Le Pen , mightier than the sword? ( the Economist ) The " Facebook Class " That Built Apps, and Fortunes ( NYTimes )
Internet : how fast is too fast?
How fast is the Internet at Google? by thenextweb . Via Loic Le Meur tweet. Mind blowing especially when you know that the fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) internet is making its way in subsaharan Africa only now. Some fortunate clients of Kenya Jamii Telecom will access a network that will be able to deliver "2.4 Gbps downstream and 1.25 Gbps upstream" ( Mybroadband.co.za news ). The good side of it, you get your request at light-speed, the flip side, you become even more impatient. And it has been proven that perceived long downloading times of a given webpage are a show-stopper for may surfers, the issue becomes even more pressing when it comes to e-commerce since this accounts for a great percentage of abandonment of the shopping process. Right now @ home, I have a triple-play offer and I get 11Mbps downstream and approximatively 1Mbps upstream. It's ok for my use, despite that lags can occur, but it's rare and this is when I have all my toys running at the same...
Afrilabs Links Entrepreneurs, Startups, Tech Communities in Africa
Via Fast Company " Erik Hersman, director of operations at the non-profit Ushahidi, today announced the launch of a network of startup incubators and tech communities throughout Africa. Dubbing the new venture Afrilabs, the network is meant to connect a thriving scene of tech entrepreneurs involved in such outfits as iHub in Kenya, Hive Colab in Uganda, ActivSpaces in Cameroon , Nailab in Kenya , and Banta Labs in Senegal . In addition to integrating incubators throughout the continent, Hersman and his colleagues are also in the process of starting an investment fund for seed capital investments "that are accessible to startups that come through the different labs," Hersman tells Fast Company ." A great initiative that shouldn't go unnoticed. This is the first collaboration of tech incubators on the continent, as far as I recall. It would help connect the actors (investors and innovators included) of the African technology community. more on this here .
How to improve health and reduce poverty in Africa ? The View from Seattle
The latest post from Bill Gates on The Economist 's blog dedicated to Africa, Baobab explains the vision of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the tremendous work they are carrying out in Africa to solve some of its biggest challenges regarding the eradication of malaria, AIDS and the reduction of poverty and hunger through a better usage of the farmland on the continent. The view from Seattle gives a good snapshot of the they are doing is stunning and humbling at once. Let's hope, many more follow their example. Excerpt: "Since our first visit, many African countries have made striking advances, driven by wise government investments in health and education and agriculture. Incomes have risen. Poverty has fallen. Trade and investment have doubled. Childhood deaths are down. Africa is on the rise. When a country has the skill and self-confidence to take action against its biggest problems, it makes outsiders eager to be a part of it. That is why Melinda and I ...