Welcome to my last newsletter of 2019. The days are getting shorter, the first snow has fallen in the Sierras, and San Francisco welcomed the first rain of our wet season: Time to look forward to 2020 and at the first hot thing of the new year. Please read below what I feel is hot in technology and innovation and ­, therefore, worth thinking about.

TikTok is hot! I have been talking about it for over a year, and now it has become the fastest growing social media app ever (thanks Sven Ruoss for triggering me!). But what is TikTok? Is it just a fad? No! It is the next and highly addictive version of Vining-Instagramming-blogging-tweeting-vlogging, and all rolled into one: Do. Not. Ignore. It. Anymore.

I wrote about “XaaS = Everything as a Service” in my last newsletters. Lastly, in this mini-series, let’s look at the backend of XaaS, which is a great business opportunity in itself! Early players already started claiming land there. Conclusion: It might be more advanced than you think… 

I want to thank YOU, dear reader, for your support, comments, and feedback to my newsletters – I love these conversations.

Happy reading, happy holidays, and my best wishes for 2020!

Till soon, Gert

P.S: If you receive this newsletter and would rather not, then please excuse my intrusion, and you can unsubscribe at the bottom. If you would like to reach me, you can do so at gert.christen@artecos.ch or +1 650 441 6299. If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter, please go to www.gertchristen.org.

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Explore Digigram – December 2019

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

XaaS – Everything as a Service – The backend is a BIG business opportunity

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Top of the Month

26 managers from Swiss companies/master students at HWZ University Zurich’s Institute of Digital Business again toured Silicon Valley with me. It is always a privilege to accompany them; their perspectives help me stay fresh, hungry, and up to date! Please read one of their daily blogs here (or all of them here). And I am thrilled to share that at UC Berkeley, one of the teams in my class reached 4th place among all 200(!) entrepreneurship projects this semester. Go team “MeghaScore”: Denesh Chandrahasan, Antonio Flores, Dhriti Hampapur, Sophie Han, Shivani Patel, and Malika Sugathapala!

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Meet me here:

Want to do something about the plastics crisis? Join me at UC Berkeley for my next course, “Deplastifying the Planet.” Students will work in teams to find entrepreneurial solutions for plastic challenges. Corporate sponsors are welcome: Join by sponsoring a challenge! Find a flyer here.

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On my table:

Thanks are on my table. Thank you for your interest in this Digigram. Thank you for your support, for listening to me, discussing with me and for your feedback and advice. I am very thankful. I wish you and your family fantastic holidays and lots of happiness & success in 2020!