All posts tagged: social media

Connected Life: Utilizing Next-Gen Technologies for Humanitarian Action

As we explore a connected life, our society is still trying to comprehend how digital technology plays a role in creating life-changing and life-saving solutions that would not have been possible even 5-10 years ago. What is the role of entrepreneurs in creating technology that can solve some of the hardest problems in the world, such as humanitarian law and policy, or environmental impact? With the incredible advances in connected technologies built on systems like the blockchain, digitalization has become a priority not only in the tech sector but also for organizations providing solutions for uses with extremely high stakes, such as humanitarian relief in conflict areas. A colleague of mine, Yannick Heiniger, is currently working as a Senior Technology Diplomacy and Cyber Advisor for the Swiss foreign ministry in San Francisco. Yes, Silicon Valley’s tech companies have become so important that countries send diplomats to the Bay Area. Denmark started the trend by appointing a “Tech Ambassador” and Switzerland’s consul general in San Francisco also has the rank of an ambassador. Why? Because in …

Hot Trend: TikTok! The next big thing for self-expression, not just a music-selfie app.

“Every now and then, a technology appears that is so intriguing that it spikes fantasies of what it is, does and all the things it might make possible…” this is how I started an article about Blockchain in the July 2019 Digigram. And here we go again: The next such technology is TikTok, the world’s fastest-growing social media platform and the hottest new thing for 2020! TikTok will be very BIG. And it is way more than just a selfie-app for kids: Firstly, it completely hits the sweet spot of today’s mobile social media users – A “video first” combination of Facebook-Instagram-Vine-Snap-Twitter all in one. Secondly, it is easier to use than its predecessors – It includes tools for video creation and editing and for adding music (legally and without royalty costs!). An advantage that is hard for Instagram & Co. to copy because of their user interface legacy. And thirdly, they started with an almost exclusive focus on the teen segment, precisely the age group that advertisers will want to communicate with once TikTok …

Digigram Newsletter of December 2019!

The bi-monthly newsletter of December 2019. Covering TikTok, the next hot trend, Xaas – Everything as a Service – and the backend business opportunity. Top of the month: 26 Swiss managers & HWZ master students in Silicon Valley, and one of my teams reached 4th place in the startup competition at UC Berkeley.
Meet me here: At UC Berkeley’s “Deplastifying the Planet” course starting in Jan 2020
On my table: Thanks are on my table. Wish all happy holidays and happiness & success for 2020