Hello and welcome to the Digital Digest podcast version 2.0.

Back in 2015, I wanted to experiment with audio and with podcasts. I started recording podcasts on my own time, focusing on the tech news cycle. Very soon I was spending a few hours per week recording and editing up to 23 episodes on a weekly basis. Then I decided to go on a hiatus. This coincided with a new job I’ve started, and then by moving abroad, leaving England (and Brighton) for good.

However during this time, my community of listeners grew, I stayed losing my focus and becoming aware of different problems and shortcomings. Amongst which were these :

1. **The tech news cycle is too fast. ** Adjusting to the news and taking the time to explain it was my primary focus, but in reality I couldn't dedicate enough time and as a one man band, I spent several hours recording a single 10mn episode.
2. I want to go more in depth with the variety of topics we discuss. And go beyond the news.
3. And perhaps more importantly, I want to interact with other interesting individuals. See, my passion is in the people, more than the pixels. Ever had an in-depth conversation with someone and wanted to share it with those around you? Well that's what I'd like to try and recreate.

So here goes Digital Digest 2.0. I’d like to make sure the episodes are longer and possibly free flowing. I also want to experiment with a quick word before, after, and possibly during the interviews. And I want to showcase people that you may not have heard of before. And in order to do that I’m thinking about publishing one episode a month, to give me the time to offer a teaser/preview, and thank potential sponsors and prepare the next episodes.

So hang tight for the first episode coming out very soon! In the meantime if you have any question or suggestion, I’d love for you to get in touch!

Stay tuned, and don’t forget to subscribe in iTunes to the podcast!

Mailbox, the app that single-handedly revolutionized emails & productivity apps on mobile, is being shut down by its parent, Dropbox. They’re also shutting down Carousel, the excellent but under-used photo management app. Carousel’s core focus around photos will stay inherent to Dropbox, although features such as Flashback and Shared Albums will not make it to Dropbox.

Beyond the news of the service shutting down are a few things worth noting. First of all, this was discussed a few months ago, when pundits & VC started talking about the death of a few unicorns, and companies starting to consolidate. The biggest targets at the time seemed to be Dropbox & Evernote.

The second thing worth noting, as written by Brent Simmons, by way of John Gruber:

“Apps that get acquired don’t last. Apps that don’t get acquired also don’t last. (Exceptions are rare.)”

This is a worrying trend for the world of app development, and especially indie developers. At this point in time, and without Apple’s help, it is simply impossible to create an independent and sustainable business developing apps. The alternative: working for clients, or branching out to take your focus away from apps and trying your luck building freemium games, or desktop apps. Even leaving your values at the door and adding mobile ads won’t be enough to help you play the long game.

Developers on the iOS & Mac App Store have asked for Paid Upgrades for years, and until Apple decides to help its developers, the situation will only get worse. Customers already feel icky about paying for an app, even for a price as low as ranging from $0.99 to $2.99, and a later option to monetise is about the only way to ensure an app’s development. So far, Apple’s stance has always been that third-party developers were working for them, as opposed to working with them.

If independent developers continue to be squeezed out, soon there won’t be a lot of these businesses left, and all customers will be left with will be productivity apps from the 3-4 biggest companies, and free applications developed by big brands who have other ways to monetize, thus rendering the mobile apps & games as mere branded advertising opportunities.

Another take from Stephen Hackett at 512px:

That said, Mailbox is now on a long list of smaller projects swallowed up by big companies just to be shut down later. That's always rough to see.

Mailbox (and Carousel) join a long list of acquired services being swallowed and discontinued. As noted in online comments, this is the type of behaviour one would expect from Google, Apple or Microsoft, not Dropbox.

The future is looking more incertain by the day, and there are no easy answers at the moment. What’s sure is that we are far from the gold rush of the first 4-5 years of the App Store when developers could offer an innovative product for a fee, and make a good return worth the work they’d spend months investing into.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for an alternive to Mailbox, be sure to check out Spark, an excellent email client on iOS by Readdle, one of the few remaining indie developers out there!

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In the past, I’ve written about how Customer Support should be a part of your Marketing effort.

Customer support can make or break small businesses, and has a powerful impact on the outcome, successful or not, experienced by younger companies: every praise matters, and any customer with a high enough number of followers can help shine the spotlight on your product. However, this is a double-edged sword that can work against you, when vocal dissatisfied end-users ruin your latest product launch with just a few tweets.

Most businesses haven’t yet realised the opportunity that lies in developing a friendly proactive support team. A great customer experience is worth your time & effort, and this starts by making sure your staff is motivated to give great support.

Customer Support can differentiate between a good product and a great company

OK, so how do I offer great support?

It’s simple really: beyond the simple idea that they want their problems fixed, customers want you to meet their expectations: so start by caring deeply about your customers, and listen to their problems. If you pay attention to your end-users and how they use your product, you can better understand their problems.

And it’s likely that they will realise the amount of effort you put into helping them.

Chances are, they may even feel grateful that you’ve taken them seriously, and you could turn a bad situation (i.e. experiencing a bug) into a positive outcome (i.e. Turn the customer into a fan, or even an ambassador for your product), simply by paying attention to them and being open, honest, and transparent about their request.

Are they experiencing a known bug? Then, explain to them that this is a known issue, that you’re expecting a bugfix to go out soon (feel free to share a rough ETA), and if possible, provide them with a temporary alternative.

Are your customers experiencing a new problem that your support team hasn’t seen, yet? Then try to give very simple & clear steps to help them gather log files, screenshots, and as many details as possible so that you can then investigate what’s going on. Again, be transparent with your customers and try to give them an ETA or offer an alternative, if you can. And make sure to follow-up with them once you have a solution.

Is that it?

It’s a simple thing, but paying attention and listening closely to your users can get you far, whether you’re acknowledging a feature request or trying to fix a problem with your product. It’s the difference between a company & product that they use, and one that they feel they share a bond with.

If your company, through your support agents, is able to show empathy, be reasonable, and make some honest efforts with your end-users, you will start reaping the benefits. This will start with better, more educated customers, friendlier conversations with your existing & potential end-users, and an overall better mood across your team, when dealing with support queries. I wouldn’t be surprised if you started seeing your customers be more vocal and open about sharing the good word about you.

I’ve bought my first Kindle back in 2011, during my internship in San Francisco. I knew I wanted to get back into reading and the advances of eInk as well as the convenience of being to carry hundreds of books in such a small device made it incredibly attractive for me.

I’ve been really happy with my Kindle 3G - the last generation sporting the physical keyboard. It’s travelled with me from the US, back to Europe, and all around the world (from sandy beaches in the Caribbean, to family trips through France, and beyond.)

Recently, I’ve noticed that after 4-5 years, the e-ink started fading away, and the device got slower. So I’ve had my eyes on the latest Paperwhite and Voyage for a while. Last year, when Amazon updated their Kindles I got a strong itch to upgrade. However, as my former colleagues at Realmac got theirs, I managed to hold off.

Fast forward to this week when, with the announcement of a new Kindle Paperwhite upgrade, including Goodreads integration (a service I’ve been using more and more in the past 2 years), the new Bookerly font, and a much higher pixel density (300DPI), I couldn’t resist and had to preorder it.

I’ve got a long list of books to read: fiction, non-fiction, business, self-help, and I’m also excited about the idea of connecting the articles I’ve saved from Pocket, and send them to my new dedicated e-Ink device.

We’re technologists, gadget geeks, and we tend upgrade our gear regularly. For some of the most hardcore of us, it’s a yearly iPhone upgrade. Me? I try to stay a bit more moderate and upgrade when I feel it’s a bit more needed or when I’ve really got a lot of value out of my prized possession. Not on a yearly basis, but every few years when it’s more justifiable. The new Kindle is definitely a (very) nice to have over a need to have, but the devices are not really that expensive anymore and I know it’ll be put to good use.

So long Kindle! You’ve been a great friend: now it’s time to make space to the new addition to the family!

[≠]

A few months ago, I was browsing Reddit and Tumblr when I saw a comic book kept popping up repeatedly: “Sunstone”.

The name somehow stayed in the back of my mind (as someone for whom English is not my native language, I had never heard of the word sunstone before.) Until last week, when Comixology ran a special promotional sale, ahead of the release of the second volume of Sunstone (which came out today, by the way.) As part of this sale, the first volume was discounted: it was the perfect time for me to pick it up and give it a try.

Sunstone was created by Stjepan Šejić, an artist who’s worked for some great series such as Witchblade, Aphrodite IX, and The Darkness for Top Cow Productions, a division of Image Comics.

The book is aimed at adults, and is about two women meeting in a chatroom, getting to know one another, and entering a relationship through their common attraction to BDSM. Now, I know what you’re thinking, and you have to understand that this shouldn’t be considered a pornographic book. Where the book shines is by really diving deep into the protagonists background and psychology: these are fully developed three-dimensional characters who bring their share of experience, and at the end of the day, you keep reading these pages trying to learn more about their paths. In a single book, I’ve felt a genuine curiosity towards the stories of these characters and felt compelled to learn what would happen next. Over the first few pages, I’ve already felt like some of the characters traits were reflections of my own personality.

In the past week, I’ve not only read this book from cover to cover, I’ve also taken the time to educate myself on the story behind the creation of the book, the artist, and also read the other finished chapters, available online for free and should be published very soon.

There’s an interesting backstory to how the book came to be: Šejić started drawing a series of sketches and illustrations on his spare-time, as a way to take a break from his busy schedule as a comic book artist. Overtime, he continued to draw these two protagonists in different poses and situations, to the point where he naturally started working on stories between them. He published them online on DeviantArt, under the alias “Shiniez”. Overtime, the web comic became incredibly popular (reaching with millions of views) and the creator was offered a publishing deal to turn the free online comic into a physical version.

Although this is indeed a true independent success story, there is something absolutely unique about this book: it’s no coincidence that it’s such a popular indie title. First of all, starting with the obvious: the art is just beautiful! As I’ve mentioned before, the creator has done some great work on big titles in the past and whether you read it for free from his DeviantArt account, or via the slightly more polished print version, Sunstone is a visual treat on the eyes.

What really shines, however, is the details given to the characters' traits and personalities as well as the attention and respect towards the BDSM community. I’m not into this type of fetish in any way and used to think about it in slightly stereotypical ways… until I started reading Sunstone. This book really respects these practises and takes the time to explain the psychology behind dominance, submission and the whole alternative lifestyle that is the BDSM scene. It’s an exercise in openness and empathy, and the addition of different “vanilla” characters in later chapters help introduce inexperienced readers to this world even more. In addition, there is a lot of humor throughout the book, and the pace is really well balanced. There aren’t any pages during which I got bored or wanted to skip ahead to a different setting or situation. No matter where Šejić takes the story, there is always something interesting on the page.

So here we are: I’ve ordered a physical version of this first volume, as a gift for my girlfriend. I can’t wait to see her reaction after reading the book, so we can talk about these characters together. I would highly recommend anyone (above 18 years old) to check out Sunstone.

If you’d like to read more about the creator and his work on the book, you should definitely read this cross interview between him & his wife.

You can support this comic by buying the book physically from Amazon or digitally via Comixology. In addition, the book (and more artwork) is also available for free on DeviantArt.

If you have read Sunstone, I’d love to know what you thought, and what attracted you to the book. And if you have any question on the book, I’d be happy to get in touch with you.

How’s that for “New York values”, Senator Cruz?

I haven’t yet had time to look at what happened during the latest democratic debate, but this video put a smile on my face. A great way to start the weekend.

“...you know what New York is? It's a place built by the backbreaking work of immigrants. Immigrants like your family, Ted Cruz. And when you say having New York values is a bad thing, you insult my city, my state, my culture, and my heritage. I am the son of an immigrant — and I am proud of it.”

“Mr. Trump, you wouldn't know New York values if they were written in 50-foot gold letters on the side of the Empire State Building. ”

[≠]

Over the weekend, I’ve worked on my first mix. Enjoy!

[mixcloud www.mixcloud.com/tibz/love… width=100% height=400 light=1]

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In this post, I’d like to discuss some simple ways to improve the way you can support your users. Although we are a software company, these tips will apply to any domain where you have to deal with clients and customers on a regular basis.

In a world where a single individual can reach just about anyone, anywhere, it is vital to keep your customers happy. It has become too easy to spread a bad word about a product, a company, or even a person; your reputation matters more than ever before. Delivering great products is as important as making sure you bring satisfaction to your users.

At Realmac Software, we care for those two aspects, and aim to build great products to delight our users and provide them with outstanding customer service.

Know Your Product

There’s no secret to success: if you want to be good at something, you need to do the work. In terms of customer service, this means knowing the products that you sell, inside-and-out. If there is a new version or a new feature, try to plan ahead of time for the type of questions you might receive, and be ready to train users with simple instructions. For example, while preparing for the launch of OS X Mavericks, we set up a post on our Help Page with answers to questions we believed would likely be asked about one of our apps.

Simple Directions

When talking with your users, keep it simple and break it down. If you require the customer to follow a certain procedure, make sure that every step is explained clearly (and don’t be afraid to use those bullet points). A good rule of thumb when dealing with users is to assume the person is not familiar with the product, unless stated otherwise. The easiest your instructions will be to understand, the more likely the customers' experience will improve.

Remember the Details

If you’re unsure about something mentioned by a customer, don’t make assumptions: just ask them. It might be one more exchange, but understanding what the user is doing is the most efficient way to identify what’s wrong. If something is not obvious to one of your users, it can be a clear indicator that we need to improve something in our product. In this case, knowing how to replicate the error will help your engineers to outline and fix the issue. You need to help them help you!

Ask More Questions

One of the many inspiring posters we have at the office is a typographic piece from Anthony Burrill with the inscription “Ask More Question” on it.

If you’re not 100% sure about a solution, the best thing to do is to double check with one member of the team. In my case, and depending on the context, I know I can ask our QA Manager, our Product Manager or even one of our Engineers. No one is going to blame you for asking questions and trying to be better at helping customers. However if you tend to forget things, make sure to write them down somewhere.

Let your team help

Having a dedicated support team helps to make sure users get the assistance they require in a timely manner. It also helps to keep an eye on how these users are doing and outline specific issues or bugs within the products we ship. However an app will likely be built by a team, and as such, you should encourage all members of the team to respond to the users every now and then. It’s easy for your coworkers to login on Twitter and save a search with your app’s Twitter handle, or even a hashtag. This way they can keep a finger on the pulse of the product they helped build.

Empathy

One of the quality that you must develop to become better at supporting customers, is empathy. This means taking the time to see the world through your users' eyes. It can be hard to assume someone else’s perspective. But it’s important to try to be unbiased and understand that the way your user sees the situation is different then yours. You probably have much more context and knowledge about how the product was built, and why it takes a certain way to use a specific feature. So try to be understanding: if you can educate your user in the process of helping them, you are much more likely to get some great feedback and for them to spread the word about their good experience with your company.

If you’re in a business-to-consumers venture, it is also very hard to outline a product that will appeal to many different people in different ways. Being able to step out of your own shoes to see the bigger picture will help you much more to understand other perspectives.

Don't take it personally

Finally, it’s vital that you don’t take things badly. Customers will often see the end-product and it’s impossible for an outsider to understand the consequences and the context in which a product was built. So if someone just doesn’t get it, leave your ego at the door, and try to be as clear as you can. The more efforts you put into growing a thicker skin, the more unbiased and subjective you will be to try and help your users. It’s one of the most important —yet overlooked— things when dealing with customers. It’s even harder if you’ve put a lot of effort on a project with a very small team.

Hopefully this gives a better idea of the responsibilities when supporting customers. A lot of it boils down to paying attention, and taking the time to understand your customers' perspective. If you have any addition or subsequent question, I’d love to hear about it, so feel free to contact me on Twitter.

Today Mr Steven Paul Jobs died at the age of 56. While the circumstances of his death should only be important to his friends and family and not to the journalists relaying the information, there are a lot of things to be said about this incredible man.

There are no words to describe the impact Mr Jobs has had on the modern world from the moment he first started working on a computer in his garage until the moment he showed us his latest product as CEO: iCloud —a simple way to make the general public step in the 21st century and Cloud Computing by allowing them to synchronize their digital media content anywhere.

I don’t believe any man, in the history of mankind has had such an impact on so many levels. Maybe I’m wrong —and that’s not even the point— but Steve has changed industries, created markets, and helped not only imagine but also create a vision of the future that we only thought possible in our wildest dreams.

There are so many things to thank Steve Jobs for.

Apple was the first company to add a graphical user interface (‘GUI’ if you work in the IT industry.) Apple created the first computer with a ‘mouse’, they pushed the adoption of USB ports (the absolute standard for any transfer between devices), they created tools and products that were not only doing great things. They were great products that lasted and were beautiful.

Steve himself, after having fired from his own company, ended up buying a small hardware division of Lucasart (the Star Wars studio.) At this time the company was creating its own ads by making short animated movies. The company was called Pixar, and in 1995, Toy Story, their first major release, set a new standard for motion graphics and animated movies. Even by today’s standard, Toy Story is still a very impressive movie to watch, more than 15 years later, when it comes to the technology and rendering techniques.

But Steve’s incredible tale didn’t stop there. He launched a new company called NeXT. To sum up, NeXT worked on software development and laid the ground work for what would become Mac OS X. This operating system is in it’s 10th year of existence, with the latest version, Mac OS X Lion, having been released just two months ago.

In 2001, Jobs introduced a device that would forever change the music industry: the iPod. Just on Tuesday morning, during its keynote presenting the iPhone 4S, Apple announced that the iPod family was responsible for 78% of the MP3 market share in the USA.

Only a mere 4 years or so ago, in January 2007, Apple revolutionized the phone industry, first by re-launching the Smartphone market, and introducing a phone with a touchscreen technology. This powered the urge for third-party developers but also designers and new usability and human-computer interactions specialists.

We all know what the evolution has been today, but love it or hate it, it all started with the iPhone. Even more amazing is the fact that back in 1985, in an interview for Playboy Magazine, he had started to mention the concept of the telephone merging with a computer:

"The developments will be in making the products more and more portable,networking them, [...], maybe the merging of the telephone and the personal computer." —[Source]

And then last year, once again, Jobs did it and launched a product that defined a market by itself: tablets. There is a lot to be said about the iPad, and a lot has already been said when it was launched. But you can’t argue about the fact that beyond the vision for this compromise between a laptop and a smartphone, the iPad was a device that consumer didn’t need until it was shown and launched.

But here we are, and as the holiday season is getting close, all hardware manufacturer are putting their shiny shoes on to unveil new products and reveal attractive offers, hoping to steal some market shares from the iPad.

There are a lot more things to say about Steve Jobs, his vision for technology and the world, and his drive for innovation and perfection. A couple of months ago, Loic, my CEO at Seesmic, published a post referring to Steve Job as an indicator of perfection. To me, and I believe to a lot of people, the question that we will need to ask ourselves anytime we will be on the verge of an important milestone, will be: ‘Would Steve Jobs allow it? What would Steve Jobs do?’

Once again, Jobs was able to not only imagine the future, he was able to create and develop this vision, and every time share it with us once the idea had matured enough. No Apple product is released if it’s not perfectly tested. And in a world of perfection in design and usability, Steve Jobs is the seal of excellence.

Steve was an inventor and innovator, and most of the technology found today in our devices is available thanks to him. It started with the Graphical User Interface, then the introduction of the ‘mouse’ as a device to deal with the GUI in an intuitive way. And coming back to today, Steve’s vision is the reason why we have access to devices that used to be dreamt of and pictured in the wildest sci-fi movies, not so long ago.

The future that we pictured is today’s reality, mostly thanks to Steve.

[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch

But Steve was also an inspiring individual. And he tried to encourage us to innovate and never rest. He tried to get individuals to follow their hearts and look for their passions. Here are his two most famous quotes demonstrating this state of mind:

"Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish"

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Steve Jobs' legacy is as incredible as President Obama put it in a public announcement:

“There may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.”

We —as the human race— have lost a very important man today. He singlehandedly changed industries, created markets, and left his vision for the world to share.

Rest In Peace, Steven Paul Jobs. You’ve changed the world and for that we thank you. You will never be forgotten.

It’s 11pm in San Francisco, close to 25 Celsius degrees, I’m wearing a t-shirt, coming back from dinner with a great friend. If you were still doubting how happy a Frenchman in California can be, I can guarantee that you’ll be convinced by the end of this post.

I came to San Francisco to work. I came because to me it’s the best city and area (silicon valley) to live in and evolve in. Not just because I aspire to work in the tech/digital/new media industry, but also because it’s a beautiful city in itself. As I said to another friend, you can take the silicon valley out of San Francisco, but you won’t ever be able to take the beauty of the city and the atmosphere that it has for itself.

But tonight I had the opportunity to meet with a very good friend that I hadn’t seen for over 4 years. We hadn’t lost touch, thanks to social media, but the last time I had seen Andrew was in the middle of August 2007, and it’s been too long. So tonight, I jumped straight to this invitation to meet for dinner, and incredible things that I didn’t even suspect could have happened, ended up …well, Happening.

This dinner allowed me to take a step back from the tech industry and Un-Focus from work.

While walking under those streetlights, our conversation didn’t revolve around tech for more than 10 minutes. And it was one of the greatest thongs I have done. Engaging with Andrew, and discussing a variety of topics from Floods to Being too cool to meet Katy Perry and Lil Wayne opened my mind even more, and allowed me to learn about topics and areas I was not familiar with.

This is the type of thing that helps you change your perspective on things and even your approach to the World.

This night out was never about learning, or networking, or getting business tips, it was about enjoying life through important things, discussing about our lives and families.

Simply put, it was honest. A moment when you can truly open yourself to the other person, knowing that whatever the differences in your point of views, and no matter your attitude, this person is listening, understanding, and accepting what you have to say. No one is judging anyone, because we have this relationship.

We even ended up discussing the future of both our professional lives, and as you would do with any friend, sharing interesting things, points of views, and useful information that as an individual, you are happy to share with your friends.

It’s kind of a confused post, but on this very moment, I’m feeling happy, motivated, and inspired. This would not have happened if I had had the same dinner with a friend who happened to work in tech. I can guarantee we would have talked about all those exciting products and services, but I wouldn’t have gone out of my area of expertise, and this would have been a big miss of opportunity.

Once again, I’m very grateful to be in San Francisco, but even more am I grateful to know these interesting people who help me increase my knowledge of the World we all live in.

If I had one advice to give out to virtually anyone, it would be the following: no matter what time it is today, plan something tonight that is different, and not linked to your domain of expertise. Find out something you’re interested in but don’t know enough of. It can be anything (from Solar Power, to canvas painting, to entrepreneurship, to boxing) and I’m sure you can find it for free (or at least cheap enough.) If you don’t have access to something interesting enough, use Wikipedia and choose a random article, or go on iTunes, and download one of the free podcasts available on iTunes U.

Go out and learn something new. You’ll thank the universe later!

[vimeo 29298709]

I am living a dream.

I’ve said it and repeated it, online and in real life. When some kids grow up hoping to become an astronaut, my teenage years were looking at one day working in Tech. As the years went by, I am extremely proud to say that, with a lot of motivations, luck, and efforts, I’ve been able to make this come true. And by now you probably heard/read this enough to see me as a bragging spoilt brat.

But today, I’d like to be a bit more down to earth. There is a downside in all this, as small as it is. Most of the time you ignore it, or even better don’t even realize it. That is probably around 98% of the time, for me.

But just to make things clear, here’s my take on what it means to be: -not only a European outsider, -but also being amongst the youngest ones I’ve met that was not a student, but on a first real-job experience that is not a summer job spent at a camping or a local supermarket.

Rythm & Productivity:

<p class=“p1”>One of the things I’m definitely not used to is the rythm —by this, understand the amount of constant work and effort. It’s coming from both sides: I’m generally not used to the speed things are going, but also, working in a start-up makes it even more challenging —and even more interesting, as decisions and goals much be executed very fast.</p> <p class=“p1”>From a productivity aspect, as far as I can remember, I’ve always got the job done and on time. But for the same task, and same level of productivity, I would end up spending more time trying to solve my problem. I can’t explain what’s wrong, if it’s my mental capacity or just a problem or focus. It might even be both.</p>

Expectations:

<p class=“p1”>For all kinds of different reasons —the fact that the company is small and the team is darn good, mainly— the expectations are high. Once again, it makes perfect sense: we have a talented team at all levels, from the vision of our CEO to the details that our designer puts into every single icon. Everyone is dedicated to making the products great and the company successful. But as a result you sometimes find yourself doubting your own skills compared to all of them. Obviously this internship is an opportunity for me to learn, but I constantly put a lot of pressure on a personal level to try to reach even a tiny amount of the aweomeness and talent that seems to reign at Seesmic. I don’t want to just do the job, I want to do a <strong>good </strong>job!</p>

Being clear and organized:

<p class=“p1”>These are two of the things that I’ve been trying to improve for a long time and that have been a source of problem for me probably ever since I was able to make decisions by myself.</p> <p class=“p1”>I don’t understand why, but I can’t seem to communicate the thoughts in my mind in a clear and easy way. The simplest question can be followed by an unnecessarily-overcomplicated answer. As soon as I realized that it was going to be a problem, I tried to work on keeping things simple, but it is still a challenge today.</p> <p class=“p1”>The same goes with organization. With all the different things we all need to take care of, and the constant multi-tasking, it is easy to be disorganized. Being able to have access to documents in advance of a meeting, “owning” a task and proving that you’re worth the responsabilities given to you is very rewarding, but once again requires good work, organization and a high level of attention to details.</p> <p class=“p1”><em>This last part is less to do about my internship, and more about being alone in a foreign land…</em></p> <p class=“p1”><span style=“text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Being constantly torn being two continents:</strong></span></p> <p class=“p1”>Let’s say it right away: I’m not a “family person.” It’s not mean or anything, and doesn’t mean I don’t love them or appreciate what they constantly do for me. I totally realize that. But I don’t feel the need to hug them, or tell them how much I love them. I don’t feel like I need to be physically close to them either. That’s one of the many reasons why I left home as soon as I had the opportunity.</p> <p class=“p1”>Some aspects of this is the same with my friends back from France: I know who they are, and we’ve known each other long enough, that despite the fact that we are all in different places around the globe, whenever we get together, every moment is special, and feels just like if no one had ever left.</p> <p class=“p1”>But being here, I find myself constantly struggling to find the right time to speak to them. Yes we could send messages (and sometimes, despite my hatred for this tool: emails), but everyone knows that a message sent, then answered, and so on… doesn’t bring any level of interaction unlike a video conversation, or even instant messages.</p>

<p class=“p1”>So I send a considerably big amount of time trying to keep in touch with everyone, mostly the week-end, and even during the week at times.</p> <p class=“p1”>Which leads to my last point…</p>

Spare time and resting:

<p class=“p1”>During the week, I try to compensate the fact that I’m not on the same level of productivity as the others, by staying longer at the office. I don’t like to leave work hanging, and I feel bad if I don’t feel productive enough, so staying longer at the office is my way to compensate.</p> <p class=“p1”>During the week-end, I’d say close to a quarter of my time is spent catching up with friends and family. And while it’s definitely amazing to talk in real-time, it’s also taking a big part of my day (as it happens to be the evening for them.)</p> <p class=“p1”>I don’t regret anything though, but I’m just pointing out that it’s hard to conceil everything and then try to enjoy a new environment to the maximum.</p> <p class=“p1”>On the other (–and more optimistic) hand, when I do find the balance, once I manage to optimize either my time working or spare time, it will be much easier to apply these changes, and discipline, in my lifestyle.</p>

<p class=“p1”>These were some pretty huge paragraphs of different things to mention, to realize, and to improve.</p> <p class=“p1”>It took me a walk outside, after a long day at work, to make the most of this and organize my thoughts properly.</p> <p class=“p1” style=“text-align: left;">But now that the post is complete, here’s the bigger picture:</p> <p class=“p1” style=“text-align: left;">I’M HAVING A Frakking BLAST!</p> <p class=“p1” style=“text-align: left;">And this is my state of mind 98% of the time.</p> <p class=“p1” style=“text-align: left;">The remaining 2% are responsible for this post: not a downer, but a realistic side of me, always looking at what’s <em>not</em> good to try to improve. (Note that I didn’t say <em>what’s going wrong</em>.)</p> <p class=“p1” style=“text-align: left;">I’m an optimistic kind of person. I look at things on the bright size, and my glass of orange juice is half full because the rest is in the bottle, chilled, and ready to be served.</p> <p class=“p1”>If you’re living or have lived in a similar situation, studied abroad, worked far from home, or were pushed out of your comfort zone, against your will or not, can you relate to this? What are the advices that you would give to individuals getting ready for this trip?</p> <p class=“p1”>Finally, I am 100% opened to suggestions to improve, so Shout! Shout! Let It Out!</p>

Once upon a time, there was a kid who was interested in Movie making. He was open minded and fun, for all the world could tell, and just like anyone else, he had a dream.

Today, I’m here to tell you about this kid and his dream.

Whit Scott is a talented individual that I discovered at the time when he was working at Seesmic, doing all the video recording and editing, as well as recording the Build Your Own Brand videos with Loic (I helped translating these videos into French, which was my first contact with Seesmic at the time…) One day, I learnt on the Interweb that Whit quit Seesmic to start working on a personal project called Rolled. Without any detail apart from a background of a toilet paper roll on the official website, I subscribed to both Whit’s personal blog and the Newsletter for Rolled.

Two weeks ago, I met Whit in person, and while I knew him throughout his work at Seesmic, I knew that he had no idea who I was. Even then, he seemed like the stereotype of the cool Californian guy: nice, fun, genuinely what you would expect from a nice guy, and …he came with his dog! In other words, he made a great impression on me.

He actually made such a good impression that when I received his newsletter, I didn’t hesitate one second to help him. So I contacted him and tried to see what I could do.

Which brings me to this post: as I recently talked about how I will discuss more about the things that inspire me and motivate me, I’d like to share with you this piece of Whit’s dream. I’m proud to announce that he’s about to release his movie, and that I’m fully supporting him. But the best part is that you can support him too.

But before anything, look at the preview for his docu-movie:

video-47247-h264_high.mp4

As he put it himself, the movie is about Happiness, Adventure, and Risk-Taking - it gives tribute to good friends and good times too, something we can all relate to.

After I saw it, a mixture of thoughts in my head lead my mouth to open wide to say « It’s A.W.E.S.O.M.E. » I love the concept of the group of people using the toilet paper roll and documenting it generations after generations, and I love the original idea of basically having a movie/documentary centered around a roll of Toilet Paper.

All of this, associated with the fact that i’ve seen some of Whit’s work, and that he’s an ex-Raccoon, having worked at Seesmic, are additional motivations for me to try to help him raise funds for the movie to be released properly.

<hr />

I’m not affiliated with Whit in any way, but I wanted to share this awesome project. The idea behind social media is to recommend and share interesting things among ourselves, and I felt like helping him by sharing this with you!

Feel free to share this article with your closest friends and people who you think might be interested. If we all give a little something together, it’s easy to reach one’s goal.

This week, I had an epiphany.

I was walking down the street. It was a sunny tuesday of July, in the beautiful city by the bay. I was on my way to grab the second bus to go to work, and then it struck me. Market street continuing until it reached the sea, surrounded by Skycrapers filled with financial offices. Cables above the ground, enabling buses to go around the city. Bicycles and cars flirting with each others like two individuals testing each others' nerves while staying seemingly passive.

The sun was already high in the sky, enlightening this spectacle of life happening before my very eyes. I had made it. I was in San Francisco, something that I swore to myself to accomplish exactly 4 years ago. And I felt good. I felt like I somehow belonged here. I felt like something deep inside of me was finally right.

Something had changed inside of me: I had finally found at least one place to call home that was not linked to my parent's decision and lifestyle. My first real shock of being independent and autonomous in at least a certain way.

And subconsciously realizing the obvious, I made another promise to myself: in 5 years, no matter what would have happened by then, I will be back! 5 years after my internship, is my deadline. 5 years to give me time to finish my current degree (Bachelor of Arts in Digital Media) and then do something else, either continuing my studies, getting a job, or starting a company. It will all depend on the opportunity that I have.

The only FIXED thing in time is to come back to San Francisco in 5 years maximum, so before Summer 2017 (because I really don't believe in this 20.12.2012 crap!)

There, you have it, my epiphany.

I love you with all my heart San Francisco, and writing you a love letter could take years and several books. But I'll come back for you. Somehow, I'll come back...

It’s been very interesting to live in this house… There are so many different people with different cultures and background that we could nearly make our own United Nations and debates… And having lived there for over two weeks now, I realize a few things about travelling and the way most people tend to see things abroad.

Some of the people I’m living with are adapting, some of them are missing home, some of them are more hybrid, but for most of them, the same method seems to be responsible for whether or not they are happy or not, in this environment.

Let’s start with a personal statement. It may sound like bragging, or showing off, but here it is: I never really had a real life problem. Nothing where either my life was in danger or I was in a lot of trouble. I’ve never gotten in a fight, and I’m the first one to lower my head and discreetly walk in the streets, with my headphones on, because I know that in this day & age, people are easily angered or ready to jump on you, for any possible reason… The saddest thing is, they don’t even have a reason most of the time: it’s been heard times and times again, but an odd look can be enough to startled a random individual in the streets, and it might be happening everyday, closer to you than you may think.

So there’s absolutely no need to panic, but there are obviously a few safety measures to take when you are on your own, and even more in a foreign country by yourself.

But as I’m starting my third year away from home, in a different continent where my relatives would take a minimum of nearly 24 hours to get here, in case of an emergency, I know that I don’t need luxury. I can live ‘cheap’. I am perfectly fine with eating ramen noodles on a daily basis if I know that I have to, just like all i need to sleep would be some sort of flat ground, a piece of soft anything to use as a pillow, and clothes to use as a blanket.

I can live without an iPod, a laptop and a full-framed poster of the latest indie band.

Having these material things can help you, entertain you, but at the end of the day, you don’t NEED all of these. Let’s add to this thinking that even though I was lucky enough to have material and financial support pretty much all my life:

• I can be honest about it
• I received an education in which I know that I can live without it, no matter what society says about me.

What I’m trying to say is that my comfort-zone can be reduced to the minimum. And that’s where I’m trying to go. A place where ideally ‘home is where the heart is’ and where I don’t need to recreate what I’ve been calling home all these years.

So going back to my introduction, I see people around me who have moved from home and become Homesick very easily. I completely understand. But I found it interesting that in order to feel like home, instead of making the most of the possibilities and opportunities, people try to constantly re-create their own comfort zone. And they won’t feel good until they have managed this.

Some people look for local food, or decorate their rooms with something that reminds them of home. Pictures, even.

And sometimes, what they need to feel like home, is simply a universal human of not being lonely. Sometimes they are ready to leave and go back home, and then a human presence make them realize that it’s not so bad after all.

It takes time.

Some of them don’t always realize because they have been busy moving-in, adapting, and working in this new environment. Usually this group of people realizes too late and tends to be struck with reality and regrets.

Some of us manage to adapt and be happy fairly easily, trying to make the most of whatever piece of happiness is given to us.

And some of us complain, all the time, whether they are home or abroad, about the current state of things not being like it should be. Just like the stereotypes of old people not coping with the modern age we live in. Which, if you ARE old, can make sense. After all, we have made incredible things…

My advises, if you are willing to listen to the 20-years-old-travelling-french-geek, are the following:

• Keep your eyes opened
• Keep your mind opened even more
• Make the most of what is given to you, may it be opportunities, food, accommodation, or even advises.
• Listen more
• Don't be scared to ask questions to local people about the culture
• Eat local, rather than looking for a local Cheeseburger/Fries/Coke combo.
• Make sure that, even though you use technology a lot, you can still work things out by yourself, in case you are lost/alone/lacking your oh-so-trendy new rainbow-colored iPhone 'with sprinkles on top'.

These advises are general rules of thumb to enjoying traveling, becoming a better individual and feeling good about yourself, but also improve the look that people have on you. I’m hoping that you’ll recognize yourself in these portraits, and I hope that the next time you’re far-away from home, you’ll enjoy and avoid regretting to learn something new.

So in case you haven’t heard, these days, I’ve applied to two different companies in the Social Media industry to get an internship next year.

The first one? <a title=“Seesmic” href=“http://seesmic.com”>Seesmic</a>, a company that created a really good Social Media Management tool to get your feeds from most social networks in one place. So who’s the second one? <a title=“iCrossing” href=“http://icrossing.co.uk”>iCrossing</a>, a global digital marketing agency that has offices all over the world. As I’m writing these lines, I want to point out that none of these companies have accepted me yet, but it seems likely that both do offer me a position as an intern. An easy question is simply: How did I get as far as I am today?

First of all, let’s keep in mind that I’m not a genius who graduated from High-School at 14, I didn’t start my first company at 18, and I never had any computing classes until I attended University in September 2009. So what are the things that you need:

1. Being the best is only optional

I’m certainly not the student with the best grades at University, and also in High School. I’m rather average. I’ve been average my whole life so far. But I am studying an area that I’m passionate about. It even annoys my girlfriend at times. I’m not even working yet I’m a Social Media junkie.

You don’t need to be the best at everything. You need to step out of the crowd, and you need to show that you know something about the area you’re interested in. Experience or skills for a job are not what matter the most. In my case, I know that I’m looking for a 12-months internship. The company has a long time with me, so they have enough time to give me an adequate training and to help me learn how to do my job. What they are really looking for is someone who can bring something to their company.

2. Scream, Get The Word Out, and Listen

If you want to step out of the crowd, you need a way to express yourself. In the Digital World, it’s now ridiculously easy, as you have several ways to do this: a website, a facebook page, a twitter account, hell, even without a website you can do this : an <a title=“About.me Tibz Thibault Lemaitre” href=“http://about.me/thibaultlemaitre">About.Me</a> page or <a title=“Flavors Me” href=“http://flavors.me”>Flavors.me</a> account is more than enough!

Yet the best way is definitely a blog. A blog helps you give your personal insight on a definite topic that appeals to you. It also shows that you know how to express yourself and most importantly, that you know how to WRITE (and read) PROPERLY. In France we have a huge problem with people being less able to read, because of several things (NB: Instant Messaging and Texting being the most common reasons, even though we now have free texts everywhere, so there is no longer a reason to slash words)

Also, a blog shows that you’re not afraid of taking sides in a debate, that you’re not afraid of ‘speaking’ your mind. It shows off your personality. This is important to an employer. To this, you can add anything that make you stand out of the crowd, like a portfolio if you’re into design, or just anything you can think of that is accessible, visible, and demonstrates your set of skills.

3. Do It Yourself and don't wait on the world.

When comes the time to applying for a position, you must not be afraid to make things happen for yourself. Go send emails, interact with Twitter users and send Direct Messages to agencies. No one is going to look for you, but you can make yourself visible. Contacting a company shows off two things: first, it shows that you’re able to take initiatives. Secondly, it shows that you have an interest towards the company, its industry, and shows off your motivation regarding the area.

In my case, I directly contacted <a title=“Loïc Le Meur” href=“https://about.me/loic">Loïc Le Meur</a> from <a title=“Seesmic” href=“http://seesmic.com”>Seesmic</a>, and <a title=“Mark Higginson” href=“http://twitter.com/#!/markhgn">Mark Higginson</a> from <a title=“iCrossing” href=“http://iCrossing.co.uk”>iCrossing</a>. I didn’t know if they had any position, but I explained my current situation and asked if they had any availability and if they were interested. I made sure to send them links to my <a title=“iTibz: website” href="/">website</a>, and <a title=“Tibz.co contact & social” href="/contact”>social networking</a> page. Once they contacted me back, I made sure to keep in touch with them. If they didn’t answered after a bit of time, I’d make sure they hadn’t forgotten me.

So go ahead: contact people from companies in which you are interested. Use LinkedIn, companies' blogs, twitter account… There are just so many ways to get in touch with people today!

Bonus: Interview Tip. You've made it to this point. Well Done!

I don’t really have a lot of experience with interviews, but my local barber actually gave the best advice regarding an interview.

It’s very simple, but what you have to do, is to include something with your CV when you present yourself to the employer. For example think about a creative business card or a pen with your website written on it, anything will do. The point is that by the end of the day, when the recruiter is done with several interviews, chances are that he will still be fidgeting with your pen. Before he leaves the office, he will remember you, you are nearly guaranteed not to be yet another name on a pile of CVs.

Most of us students at the University of Brighton are trying to apply for a placement. It’s not too late but those who haven’t started yet need to spend some serious time on it.

Are you guys applying for an industrial placement/internship? Did these advices help you in any way? Do you have anything to add? The comments are opened to any feedback or suggestion. Let me know what you think.