Herve Cuviliez

I’ve been working in the online advertising business for the past 15 years. I have always considered that we all have a part of responsibility to help our market grow.

Today in the Middle East, online media investments represent less than 2% of the total media expenditure. That is abnormally low! Therefore, there must be a fight among all the actors in the digital industry to convince advertisers to invest significantly more online.

For this exact reason, I have extended my collaboration with the Webby Awards to become an UAE Webby Awards Ambassador.

This award is known to be “The most prestigious award in the world” by the BBC. Now that “The Webbys” are in the Middle East, we can say it is a first sign of the emergence of the Middle Eastern Digital scene.

It is now our chance to show the world that the Webbys’ presence in Dubai does actually make sense! So I strongly invite you to submit your blogs, startups and your digital creations to the Webbys. You can submit it here: Enter the Webbys

The more we will be active for these awards, the more they will take the region more seriously in the digital scene. Let’s win some Webbys people!!!!

The biggest problem with being away too long from blogging is where to restart.

It has been my problem for the past 2 months, but it doesn’t mean I have done nothing. not at all.

First thing first: Beirut Media City.

it’s moving quite well.

we have visited dozens of location, I can reposition myself as a real estate agent now. If you have any question regarding old buildings, lands around Beirut, just ask me.

What, the old textile factory in Hazmieh? it will become the US embassy. The Lazziza brewery in Rmeil? a future residential project. etc.

So where we will finally locate the media city?
The answer came from the business plan. it’s too expensive to redesign an old building (space lost, price, parking facilities, etc.) to maintain reasonable rental prices. So, we will have to build it from scratch. it gonna be cheaper, more adapted and not even longer according to specialists.

With which money?
That’s the other good news, we are in advanced discussion with an investor but you know what we say: “money is in the bank when money is in the bank”.
So for the moment, it’s a lot of discussion around excel spreadsheets.

What about the project itself?
Well, we also made major steps in the project definition. And for that, I would like to thank everyone who sent us ideas, readings, good ideas. Please, keep on doing that : beirutmediacity@kuvcapital.com.

I’ve visited a very inspiring project: Euratechnologies in Lille (North of France) 25000 sqm dedicated to ITC (more on beirutmediacity blog). I spent hours to discuss with the guy in charge of the project: Raouti Chehih. I would like to personally thank him for his support and precious advices.

Next one to be visited: Qatar technology park.

To better understand everybody needs, we are conducted a survey, so please take 5 mins to do it: http://surveys.polldaddy.com/s/3C81B8696757026F/

To close that chapter, we will organize soon a second edition of the Beirut media city open discussion.

On kuv capital side.
Business as usual, but we will announce some news in the coming week, a new company and a new organization for our digital middle east activities.

Last but not least if you have missed the last twitleb meetup, you can find pictures here but please join the next one.

that’s it for tonight, thanks again for your support in Beirut Media City.

First of all, thank you for your support in this project. All your feedbacks and help offers showed that we are doing the right move.

In an international crisis like the one we actually living in, cards can be reshuffled in a snap.

Six months ago, Dubai had no competitor, everybody wanted to move there

When we took the decision to establish Kuv Capital head quarters in Beirut instead of Dubai, everybody explained us what enormous mistake we just made.

And when you look at the brutal facts, they were right.
In Lebanon:

• Broadband is expensive, slow and unreliable,
• Getting a stable electricity is a challenge
• Mobile plans are a ripp off
• Lebanon is unstable, etc..
• GDP is 4-6% at best

Where in Dubai:

• Broadband is fast and stable (but also really expensive and restricted)
• A double digit growth
• Freezone
• An international workforce

But our job is to anticipate trends, and we strongly believe that Beirut has a window to become a Digital Middle East Hub.

How I dare say that with that weak broadband infrastructure, unreliable power grid and Lebanon inability to reform itself?

Well, create a company is cheap and easy in lebanon (limited liability company starts at 3500 USD), so it is for office expenses, labor cost is for less expensive than in the GGC countries and last but not least there is great talents here.

All these are the necessary ingredients to create a startup and have a low burn rate. On the opposite, Dubai has been design to become the middle east headquarter for international groups, so offices are great but really expensive, so is the cost of living (talking about the expensive part), incorporation cost and minimum capital requested are too high, etc..
and this is not startup friendly.

So why Beirut is not considered? Because Beirut has a marketing/branding issue, nobody knows what is really happening here. I spent my last 8 months in Beirut and I can tell you a lot is happening here. I met amazing people and discovered great companies (see Rootspace for example).

How to solve that branding issue?

As a first step, we need to structure all initiatives as a real ecosystem by creating synergies, meeting, conferences, etc.. make it more readable for foreigners.

But to accelerate this change in perception, we need go a step further. we need an iconic project to create a international buzz.

So we decide on to work on a crazy project: Create a media city in Lebanon.

Here is the idea. Find old warehouses or factories, rehabilitate them in offices with decent broadband and electricity, free spaces for students who want to work on innovative projects, Showroom for high tech companies, etc..

No it’s not a only a dream. We have already spotted 3 places around Beirut, talked to investors, convince 6 digital related companies and a media group to move in, etc..

The Silicon Valley started like this 20 years ago by gathering one after the others in place around San Francisco, Why not us ?

We will air a blog soon to gather all the information and coordinate actions

If you think I’m crazy, please let me know,
if you want to help, please declare yourself,
if you just want to show your support, leave a comment
if you just want to get updates, drop me an email.

More and more people are bored by facebook. I’m not sure that a new design will change that, no?

Facebook has released its new home. Should we rename facebook to twitbook. at least, they will give twitter some credits

with 514m$ raised, Facebook is so innovative. they are able to copy twitter but change twitter light blue into a Facebook dark blue. Waouh

I hated the new HP of facebook, too crowded too messy, and u kinda lose ur way in there

I agree with the FB fact,i’m one of those who are getting bored, their new look? dont even care plus they are copying twitter

now facebook wanna be like twitter. clearly twitter is market leader and facebook is trying to catch up.

facebook has clearly accepted that twitter is the future and they have to just follow the direction of twitter

I’ve certaiinly stopped using facebook as frequently as I did. Suspect you are right - new design won’t bring me back.

Twitter success is because of the real time intimate conversation (include support of this through apps and desktop widgets) and the age of next generation reporting as a cause of this. This is why Facebook copied Twitter.

I cannot end up that week without talking about what’s going on in france regarding P2P networks usage.

if you are not familiar with the subject you can read this excellent article from ars technica: French anti-P2P law toughest in the world

Don’t get me wrong my point here is not to advocate for piracy, every talented content creator deserve to get the harvest fruits of their work.

But to denounce an industry that misbehaved for the past 2 decades and the clueless lawmakers influenced by music/video industry lobbies.

To better understand the situation

we need to take a closer look at their business model. If you think, they make their biggest profit on original content creation and talent detection, you are all wrong.
Music industry (same for video) makes most of their profit by moving from one medium to another audiotape to CD, videotape to DVD, etc.. so you have to buy again and again the same album (I bought some albums 3 times: audiotape, CD, iTunes). This has nothing to do with content creation. Everybody was happy, money was flooding without any work except burning some CDs. That was good old times.

Then came a problem: Internet. Information became medium free, distribution worldwide, and file exchange standards emerged. it took them sometimes to understand the importance of the phenomena. They were to concentrate at resampling songs and creating best of with their already produced music.

When they understood it, their first reaction was how can we stop this not how can we benefit from it. So they created the DRM. a “smart way to recreate medium but they went to far. The music you were buying on iTunes was no playable on you Nokia mobile, and having it on two PC was an nightmare.

They forgot 2 things in their masterplan: Internet has no boundaries, so there is no way to stop the information (except if you live in china) and the most important one: Customers are not stupid.

How you can explain to a customer that from now, you can only listen to your music on the device you used to buy it. Even with a CD, I was able to play it in my car, at home or at a friend place…. and with the digital music, you (music industry) try to explain me that I don’t have that right anymore! NO WAY so I have to find another way to enjoy my music freely. the other way are P2P networks.

that’s why I started downloading from P2P networks, and by their attempt to preserve their unfair profits they have pushed millions of people to P2P networks.

Of course there are professional pirates, I don’t deny it and they deserve to be punished by law as any other thief but the vast majority of P2P networks users are people like you and me pissed of by music industry greediness. I hope they will one day realize that I’m using P2P networks because of DRM, they have moved me to P2P. I had and I still have no problem to pay for content.

Then comes now the second act. As the DRM has failed, let’s make a law. Here comes the HADOPI

577 deputies talking about something they barely understand for the majority. French assembly debates are looking like comedy shows.

• French Culture minister saying that Internet access is not a fundamental right.
• French government can request you to send your hard drive via mail
• To solve the problem of using P2P from public hotspots, let’s create a white list of site accessible from public hotspots. Don’t we normally call that censorship?
• If you downloaded too much music, they can cut your internet access. What happens when I’m using dial up, will they cut my phone line also?
• Etc, etc…

I’m appalled. HADOPI is just another proof that France is stucked in the past, incapable to see a change in a positive and so unable to take advantage of it (you can also read my post on the french digital revolution).

To the Music industry leader

you should spend your energy to figure out how to recreate your economy is a worldwide interconnected market because this or any law won’t change that. Even, China has difficulties to keep the system closed.

By this law, you will just encourage people to find a better system that P2P to exchange files but it won’t solve your problem.

Funny links (in french):

• Estimate your HADOPI performance
• Fuck HADOPI website

I finally finished my blog rewamp.

What new?

• a mailing list (inside twitter) that deliver the best of twitter content in your inbox.
• Categories have been restructured
• New design, as you can notice I hope

I would like to thank

• wordpress
• Kenny Pitt and Jeffrey Hardy for the theme (it has been heavily modified)
• Alex King for Twitter tools plug-in

ok, enough talking about this blog. Let’s get back to work

Ok, Ok. I’ve said enough blogging.

the truth is after 2 months (euh may be 3) trying to think about what’s next now, I still feel there is opinions I like to share and discuss with you.

Plus, you are still there (my stats are decent) and people are continuing to encourage me to get back to work

So, I finally decided to give my blog a second chance. I will also come up with new tools (a mailing list “inside twitter” is on its way).

Next step will be a good blog rewamp, first categories reorganization then design.

But first, I will enjoy this promising sunny week end with my family.

Have a good week end

I already had my own opinion about blogging, but I wanted to give it a try.

I’ve done it for more than a year, but it’s not my thing.

Blogs are the natural evolution and a good one for journalism. I mean real journalism not wanna be like 99% (my own rating) of existing blogs.

I want more interaction & spontaneity. My heart goes for microblogging, discussion and content sharing.

So it’s time to rewamp hervecuviliez.com.

if you have any input, you are welcome.

Give me a month or so, see you soon and thank you to those who read me.

herve

A lot as been written on twitter: business model, quality of service, etc…

So what can I add on top this? May be just my personal experience, because a lot of people around me still get what interest I find in twitter.

To me, twitter is amazing tool to learn about my industry, directly from people who make it and try to bring a small something in it.

That’s why the most important thing is not your followers number but who are you following. Sorry, Al gore despite having 11 000 followers + in less than 48, you are not a twitter hero. Choosing to follow, people who can help you and send you feedback, will make you one.

Following the right people will bring you the right information and the most interesting discussions

To see whom I’m following, go to my twitter http://www.twitter.com/hervecuviliez