Remember when the first mobile phones came with integrated cameras? A revolutionary concept to many people, which begged many to ask the question why a camera was necessary in a mobile in the first place? Didn't we have proper cameras for that. And indeed, the first phone cameras didn't really prove to be very effective.
Since the end of communism, countries suffering from the economic destruction of collectivism have risen out of the ashes, and are turning into prosperous and modern countries. Time to celebrate!
Back in November, I wrote an FTN piece about the fight of students such as Frédéric Jollien, against the mandatory media royalties in Switzerland. They campaigned for the abolishing of a yearly tax of 450 CHF (€385/$453), used to finance public TV and radio stations. One of the most vile criticisms howled at them was that such a move would get rid of these public broadcasters and their cultural enrichment.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg recently appeared in a hearing in the European Parliament. EU legislators wanted to re-create a similar situation than the hearing conducted in the U.S Congress. Once again, Zuckerberg found himself at a public trial, being used for the self-aggrandisement of politicians. Why does nobody appreciate the value created by Silicon Valley giants?
As the sharing economy develops, the opportunities for cutting out the middle-man seem endless. After Lyft and Uber revolutionised personal transport, BlaBlaCar challenged public transportation and Airbnb overthrew our concept of monetising our own properties, Safarisource attempts to do the same thing with safaris. Launched at the INDABA tourism trade fair in South Africa on May 16, safarisource.com connects tourists with local African tour operators.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are buzzing with entrepreneurial activity. The three countries are innovative and progressive. Experts at the Digital Freedom Festival told us more about the reasons for this success and the key factors in the near future.
We will publish the full interviews through January 2017.
The Baltic Startup culture - visiting the Digital Freedom Festival
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The amount of stories and commentary in mainstream news sources about how the internet ruins childhood, attention spans and social interactions, is immense. If you were to arrive in this day and age with a time-machine from the 1960s, you'd think that the internet was the first possible thing one could possibly use: giant corporations frantically praying on consumers which become the victim of the technological age.
In a recent opinion piece for everyone's favourite newspaper, The Guardian, Rhik Samadder, makes the case of getting rid of your smart phone. His goal: leaving the phone in a different room, and only replying to messages once a day.
