SEO Werkt!

Vanity Fair is one of my all-time favorite magazines — it publishes loads of incredibly well-written stories about fascinating topics and people. Its regular features, like My Stuff and the Proust Questionnaire, are always entertaining.

So, I was pretty excited to get an email from one of Vanity Fair‘s publicists this morning, offering an advance copy of a story that will run in the August issue. Written by Kurt Eichenwald, the piece is promised to be an unflinching deep dive into the past ten years at Microsoft while Steve Ballmer has been at the helm — specifically, I’m told, Eichenwald uncovers the stifling bureaucracy and “astonishingly foolish management decisions” that have held Microsoft back while Apple ascended to dizzying heights in the eyes of global consumers and the stock market.

It sounds like a doozy. People have already begun Tweeting and blogging about the teaser that was published today on Vanity Fair‘s website. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the full piece. So I emailed the publicist back within minutes: Yes, yes, yes, please send the entire thing over! This was the response:

Now, that’s a question I certainly never thought I’d encounter from someone pitching a story to TechCrunch — unless we were being punk’d once again, or perhaps if it was a piece that required crazy sensitive court documents or something. Who faxes anymore? OK, besides Karl Lagerfeld and Anna Wintour (maybe it is a Condé Nast thing.)

Anyway, it struck me as so funny I had to forward the thread along to my colleagues. They responded in kind:

The thing is, I really wanted to read the article. I would have dug up a fax machine if I could have. But like many reporters often do, I’m working remotely today (right now I’m about halfway through a 5-hour flight, with another 2-hour flight to go after that one. In-flight Internet for the win.)  Faxing is just not going to happen.

I explained this to the publicist, and asked if she could perhaps use her own fax machine to scan the document, which she could then send along to me as a PDF. I pretty much provided step-by-step instructions. That was five hours ago, and I haven’t heard back yet.

But I still really wanted to read this thing! So, I earnestly took to TechCrunch’s internal Yammer to ask if one of my coworkers could please figure out what our fax machine number is, receive the document, scan it, and send it to me. No one was up for it, but I did get assigned a different story idea:

Now I’m following the orders of my editor. Well, actually, two of my editors.

I’m not sure that there is a big takeaway here, but it is amusing — and also maddening. The whole thing is just ironic, or Alanic: The distribution of an apparently awesome article about one company’s old-fashioned business habits and suffocating bureaucracy is slowed down by the old-fashioned business habits and suffocating bureaucracy of the company that published it and is tasked with publicizing it.

(And yes, in case you’re wondering, it is also a slow news day.)

So. I still want to read all about the Ballmer dirt. I want to write a post with a scathing excerpt and tell all the TechCrunch readers out there to run and pick up a Vanity Fair, pop some popcorn, and read all about it themselves. But at this rate, I might just have to wait until it comes out on the newsstand myself.

Image of fax machine credited to Michael A. Keller/Uniphoto via Britannica.com

To celebrate the launch of ‘Karl’ by Karl Lagerfeld, a range available exclusively at Net-a-Porter, the online fashion giant produced a real window shopping experience. Fashionistas are invited to come to shop fronts in Paris, New York, London, Munich and Sydney. There they can use the Net-A-Porter mobile app to scan, inspect and buy the hottest items.

The film below documents the premier of this idea in September 2011 at Fashion’s Night Out in London and New York.

Launching the new range ‘Karl, sees the concept rolled out globally, including a chance to spot Karl within the app and win £1,000 credit.

Even though an online brand, Net-A-Porter definitely has the allure and loyalty required to make a throng of well-dressed women stand in front of a shop window and hold up their iPads and iPhones.

You get a nice sense of what’s to come in terms of brick-and-mortar shops merging with the online world.

In addition to the above, Net-A-Porter also just launched a teaser for Karl cheekily going 1-on-1, literally interviewing himself. As a fellow German I had to chuckle quite a bit about this messiah-like production.

via

Editor’s note: Guest contributor Amit Shafrir is president of Badoo, a social network for meeting new people based in London with 130 million users.

Silicon Valley is famously, and rightly, proud of its place as the spiritual home for startups. And it has an inspiring and awesome track record that’s tough to beat.

However, as the recent Le Web conference proved, European tech hubs like London, Berlin and more recently Paris, can now also lay claim to breeding world-class entrepreneurs. There’s a sense that Europe is finally getting its groove on when it comes to startup innovation, and that’s exciting to watch and be a part of. (When even Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld is getting in on the action, you know that Digital/Tech is having a moment…)

Loic Le Meur’s mission for Le Web—to bring the best of Silicon Valley to Europe—is a laudable one. As Loic says in this TCTV interview, European entrepreneurs are eager to learn from the best and the brightest in the US. And if you look at the headlines from this year’s Le Web, you’ll see the usual bold-faced American names, such as Google, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Twitter, Flipboard, and Instagram.

But hang on a second. Shouldn’t it work the other way around too? Shouldn’t we in the States also look to the European startup renaissance for ideas and inspiration?

After all, some of the most successful start-ups on stage at Le Web weren’t just the Valley wunderkinds, flown over to show the Euros how it’s done. They were the European companies that are innovating in the fields of commerce, lifestyle, and social networking. Not content with just providing local versions of Facebook or LinkedIn, they are creating new businesses for a sophisticated consumer audience. And proving they can be profitable.

With Spotify as a notable exception, there wasn’t a ton of excitement or buzz about those European startups over here. And I have to question why that is. I welcome your thoughts in the comments.

In the meantime, here is my own attempt to try and help redress that balance. Below is my own take on five of the European startups we should be paying closer attention to in 2012:

Social gaming:

Wooga: One of the hottest companies to emerge from the Berlin tech hub, Wooga is Europe’s largest social games developer and the third largest in the world. Wooga recently launched the mobile version of its game Diamond Dash, one of the top 10 social games on Facebook, and hopes to reinvent mobile game app distribution through smarter use of Facebook’s app notifications.

Online Music:

Deezer: Spotify might be making all the headlines over here, and they certainly had a good showing at Le Web this year. But French mobile music-on-demand site Deezer seems intent on giving them a run for their money, announcing their expansion to 130 more countries at Le Web, taking the total to 200 around the world. Interestingly, this doesn’t include plans for the US. Deezer’s CEO, Axel Dauchez, is focused on smartphone users and doesn’t see enough growth happening in the States compared to other countries and territories. However, this decision might be better explained by its competitors’ well-documented struggles with US music labels.

Soundcloud: Headquartered in Berlin, fast becoming a hub for the online music industry and with two Swedish founders, Soundcloud is one of the German capital’s most prominent start-ups. The company is growing at a rapid pace, with over 8 million people creating and sharing sounds across its platform. With its focus on the mobile platform and apps, Soundcloud looks set for an even bigger 2012.

Personal Finance:

Wonga: UK-based short-term online loans company Wonga (the name is a British slang term for cash) is on a tear and looks set to keep growing as the UK economy continues to falter and the need for such a service increases. Wonga closed a massive $117 million round back in February, for further expansion in the UK.

Photo-Sharing:

Eye-Em: Unlike the much-hyped Color, Berlin-based Eye-Em has seemingly found a way to make photo-sharing on your smartphone, well, a smart idea. It’s still early days, but the company is growing fast, and is another one to watch.

This list doesn’t even scratch the surface. I could add other more established names, like Rovio, creator of the hugely successful Angry Birds gaming franchise, or private luxury deals site, Vente Privee.

In short, Europe is no longer just imitating the Valley; it’s creating its own narrative for success. And as innovators and business creators in a global economy, the US entrepreneurial community should be sitting up and taking notice.

Map image by blogdroed.

Naast Eric Schmidt van Google waren en natuurlijk nog veel meer sprekers van bekende bedrijven, waaronder LinkedIn, Foursquare en Instagram. En er was ook nog die vreemde vogel: mode-ontwerper Karl Lagerfeld. In dit artikel een korte samenvatting van wat zij te vertellen hadden.  Lees meer

Terwijl de bomvolle zaal langzaam leegliep na de openingstalk van Karl Lagerfeld op LeWeb en de temperatuur weer naar “prettig” daalde, maakte Steve Jang zijn opwachting op het podium. Jang is co-founder en CEO van Schematic Labs, de makers van de populaire iOS-app “Soundtracking“. Slechts negen maanden geleden officieel gelanceerd, maar met 1 miljoen users nu al ontzettend populair. Vandaag kondigde Jang dan eindelijk de Android-app…

Le Web kicked off today in Paris, though the show was opened not with a discussion about a tech issue or company of the day, but with a demonstration by fashion scion Karl Lagerfeld on how he uses the iPad and technology to enhance his work. Not your typical Le Web fare, but then this reflects a growing maturity in the tech scene as it infects the mainstream, in part thanks to devices like the iPhone and the iPad.

With just a small amount of technical hitches Lagerfeld managed to demonstrate to Le Web’s Loic Le Meur how he now creates many of his designs using drawing programmes on the iPad, even showing a sketch he’d done of Steve Jobs that morning.

But the news from the fireside chat was delivered Natalie Massenet, founder and executive chairman of Net-A-Porter, who announced her company would be working with Lagerfeld on a new online fashion brand, called Karl.

LeWeb’11 is right around the corner. For those who do not know what LeWeb is — it is Europe’s number one tech event. This year they already have some amazing speakers lined up. Some of those include ones we’ve even seen at our very own Disrupt events. Those speaking at LeWeb’11 include: Eric Schmidt, Sean Parker, Kevin Rose, Marissa Mayer, Brian Chesky, and Dave Morin just to name a few. You can view the full list of speakers here.

Also, Karl Lagerfeld has just been added as a speaker. Many of you may know him as the head designer and creative director for Chanel. Très fantaisie, vous ne pensez pas?

They have a number of other surprises in store for those attending as well. I can promise you that it is going to be a great event. Already over 3,000 participants from 60 different countries have registered and that number is continuing to grow, but not for long. I was just informed that tickets are almost sold out. Lucky for all of you, we have one of the last tickets to give away and we’re giving it away for free.

If you are feeling lucky and want to go to LeWeb’11 from December 7th – 9th in Paris, all you have to do is follow the steps below.

1) Become a fan of our TechCrunch Facebook Page:

2) Then do one of the following:

- Retweet this post (making sure to include the #TechCrunch hashtag)
- Leave us a comment below telling us why you want to go

The contest starts now and ends Friday, December 2nd, at 7:30pm PT.

Please only tweet the message once or you will be disqualified. We will choose at random and contact the winner on Friday with more details. Anyone in the world is eligible. Please understand this giveaway is for the ticket only and does not include airfare or hotel.

Bonne chance à tous!

Ontwerper Karl Lagerfeld zet zijn eerste grote, commerciële stappen op het web met de opening van een webwinkel.

Eind januari 2012 lanceert de Duitser op KarlLagerfeld.com een webwinkel. Die gebeurtenis is feitelijk een pre launch die via het netwerk van webwinkel Net a Porter plaatsvindt. Vermoedelijk helpt deze partij met de financiering en marketing van Lagerfelds volgende online stappen.

Na een maand gaat er een aparte site live van de modekoning zelf. Daar lanceert hij het jongere modemerk Karl. Die webwinkel is voor de meerderheid in handen van investeringsbedrijf Apax. De shop verkoopt items van tussen de zestig en driehonderd euro.

Wanneer de digitale tweestapslancering achter de rug is, komen de modeartikelen bij een selecte groep retailers in de schappen te liggen.

De door Apax gecontroleerde webwinkel wordt geëxploiteerd vanuit de ondernemer Karl Lagerfeld B.V., wat erop duidt dat Nederland de fiscale thuisbasis van de onderneming is. Apax (portfolio) verkocht het bedrijf Tommy Hilfiger begin 2010 voor 2,2 miljard euro.

De exploitatie van het merk Lagerfeld levert jaarlijks rond de honderd miljoen euro omzet op, tekent persbureau Reuters op.

This is the kind of advertising that rocks my world. Why? Because it’s clever, funny, impossible to ignore, and memorable. Ergo: 100% effective. US agencies take note. This is how print advertising is done.

And…um… if you’re still coming to this url, you still haven’t made the switch to the new brandbuilder blog. Do it soon, before this blog becomes history.

(While you’re on the new url, remember to update your RSS, blogroll and favorites/bookmarks.)

Cheers,

Olivier