December 13th, 2007
I wrote this post on my way back from Paris today, on my handheld. I decided to capture what happened at LeWeb3, and in Paris, before I began to forget about it or selectively edit out too much of it (what happens with normal memory).
Overall, the trip was good - but as I mention below, i did not accomplish everything I had hoped to do, particularly with connecting with some of the influentials (nor was I totally clear what I would have said/presented outside of just saying hello -as most of them know who I am).
Flew out from JFK Saturday night, 12/8 and arrived in Paris 11:30 AM on
Sunday, the following day.
Waited for a shuttle to my Paris 2 star hotel and spoke to a French woman who was returning from Argentina and also waiting; it was a plesent conversation and I showed her the LeWeb3 program and she knew of Phillipe Stark, one of the speakers during the first day (I cover this on Webmetricsguru.com).
When I got to my hotel, it was overcast and raining slightly, and was overcast most of the trip, infact.
My hotel was a few block frim Gare Du Nord and, while it was no more than a closet with a bathroom, was reasonably clean and priced within my budget, and since I was hardly there, turned out to be not much of a problem.
I was able to connect with a Meetup Group that was touring Maxim’s Art
Museum on Rue Royale that afternoon, and met locals as well and after
the tour, which was filmed and up on Youtube, had an early brunch/dinner
with them.
Afterwards, I walked around and found a Starbucks that had free internet and worked there for a couple of hours. I had 3 initial observation at this point in my trip
It’s comforting to go to a big brand, like Starbucks and find something familiar as I don’t speak a word of French, and don’t aim to either.
French Society, at least, that part that I have seen and observed, even reflected upon, is obsessed with sex and food and the sexual mores are much more open and demonstrative, with woman often the initiator. I’ve seen that behavior with several french couples, particularly at Starbucks, but in other places as well.
The falling value of the dollar has not only made travelling in Europe more expensive, but commodities such as coffee, big mac burger, etc, are 15 to 20% more expensive to their equivalents in NY, even accounting for the devaluation..therefor, it can be said that many items, particularly commodities are almost twice as expensive as New York.
Point 2 was particularly annoying as seeing the amorous behavior of several couple just turned me on without providing me with any release. However, I figure that I am visiting “their” country so who am I to call what they’re doing “wrong”? I think it’s more that I am jealous, admitting that, moved on to the rest of my trip.
I spent the rest of Sunday night walking around, often lost, and finally making it back to my hotel on foot, a few miles of walking, and I was dead tired.
The following day, Monday, I had breakfast at the hotel and made my over to the Louvre using transit, bought a 13 euro ticket and first worked at the Starbucks outside the Louvre, where I discovered I had to pay for internet service and my Tmobile account didn’t work here, it cost me 4 euros 4 an hour.
When I got in the Louvre, I went straight to the Delacroix and other large French paintings in one of the main areas and then had brunch in a cafe adjacent to the paintings, fulfilling a desire -I have had to eat in this cafe. I also did 2 sketches while sitting and waiting 4 my food.
Spent the next two hours walking around, checking email, Twitter and Facebook for updates and found out Robert Scoble as going to be at the Louvre at 3PM..I tweeted back but didn’t hook up with him and left close to 4PM ro search 4 a Seesmic last minute meetup that I could not find (was cursing Loic quite a lot fro not providing a map of some kind - something for people are not French, don’t speak French, and haven’t spent much time in Paris ….. and therefore, don’t know where many of these “small streets” are. But I got over it - it’s no big deal, just a different cultural idea of how to direct people, happens all the time and I should expect it - I guess that’s what makes life interesting and somewhat unpredictable).
Afterwards, I made my way, with a bit of difficulty, to the same Starbucks I was at the night before and work for a few hours there.
I was also trying to find a Pre Leweb3 party and was having no luck. Finally, an earlier post I did that day led to a comment that pointed me to a meetup at an Irish Pub not far from my location that was still going on, and I took a cab to get there as I could not find it otherwise.
I hung out and met a few people and then got invited to dinner with some and posted on this. At dinner I ordered a steak and several glasses of red wine and when we were done, around 1 30 am, one of my party and I tried to rent a bike, but could not (his card did not work) and we shared a cab. I got to my hotel about 2am and eventually fell asleep.
The next day, Tuesday, was the beginning of Leweb3 and I found it easy to take transit and arrive at Point de la Chapelle where a shuttle bus was waiting, as promised. Before that, I had the breakfast the hotel provided and felt a little out of sorts, not sure what to wear and wondering what the internet connectivity at Les Docks was going to be like.
I arrived at 9 30, about an hour after the beginning and found connectivity to be a real problem and moved close to the front left of center. Connectivity was still a problem though, but I could see the speakers and was sitting just behind, and to the left of Robert Scoble and what appeared to be other European influentials.
Soon after I arrived, Sebastian Wenzel (webanalyticsbook.com) friend, Oliver, contacted me by message, SMS, and we met after lunch. I spent the rest of the day distributing Eclectic Commons brochures as I could, and speaking with people I could, and collected several cards.
I ran into Scoble several times but really, besides saying hello, didn’t find any opportunity to speak or network with him or some of the other influentials I wanted to connect with such as Michael Arrington, Om Malik, Dave Winer, the lady from TED, etc.
Part of that was by design, the speakers to each session often went
behind stage after and I didn’t have the opportunity to connect.
However, it may also be equally true that I was bust talking with others and was unable to find or connect with these individuals, even if they were right near me..I’d not have known it. Finally, I was shy and felt somewhat out of place initiating a conversation those who I did hear speak and might have wanted to talk with..who were engaged in discussions with others..and it seemed to me rude to interject myself when I clearly wasn’t invited.
In that way, I experienced a curious perception - I know a lot of
people, and some consider me to be an influential myself, and I consider myself that way, but to this crowd at and running Leweb3, I was an outsider. Just as I imagined, the real parties, the real conversations, the real deals were being discussed in meeting I was never invited to, didn’t know about and probably had no place at (though I an argue that perception of me, is not correct) ..I think I had something very valuable to offer, but did not have a sufficiently strong connection to anyone to really put me at the scenes of the real action, behind the scenes…but there was nothing I could do about that situation, instead, I decided to meetup with other valuable people who I could met with, and had dinner with Oliver at “nick’s Place”, a popular French food chain similar to Friday’s here.
Afterwards, I went to the Leweb3 party at La Scala, about 10 30 PM, and stayed till 1AM.
I found the La Scala party OK, but somewhat of a disappointment from what I was expecting…the disco was nice enough, exclusive enough and the drinks plentiful enough and free till midnight, but the experience was, fundamentally, little different than a typical Disco I could go to any night of the week in New York, if I wanted to.
I was expecting a repeat, or better than the party last year, that I saw footage on in Youtube…and that was a factor in my coming.
I took a cab back to the hotel and got to bed around 2AM.
On Wednesday, I dragged myself into Leweb about 10 AM and before - got into the conference hall, ended up in a long conversation with a friend of Valeria Maltoni’s who works for Microsoft in Europe…perhaps we’ll meet again at Bloggers Social next spring.
When I finally got into the hall, I found I missed the presentation with Michael Arrington and OM Malik and was unable to recognise or find them later to speak with. I also failed to meetup with a friend of Dean Collins that’s based in the UK and writes for TechCrunch..again, my regrets.
I had lunch lunch Oliver at Leweb, we were well taken care of in the
food department with several French specialties…and I was happy, overall, with the food, coffee and wine.
I next go my cell phone laser lettered, saw a demo and then went back to
listen to the rest of the sessions till 5 30PM, when it was all over.
Didn’t met up with Oliver again, but went to the Louvre again a d spent about 90 minutes there, before I realized I had enough..it was open Wednesday nights and ended up seeing much the same stuff I did on Monday.
Before I left Leweb3, I found an event with Gypsy Music in Montmartre given
by Fed2Baro that I found out about via Seesmic.com. Determined to have a good time in Paris, perhaps better than many of the real power brokers that met at their own parties doing their own activities, I found my way to the cafe where the music was happening just before 9 PM, and met with Fred…no one else showed up from Leweb3 but I had a very good time in this crowded artist’s bar cafe music pub….experiencing an unforgettable evening of music with other Parisians who come here regularly and hang out. Spoke to a few regulars and we tried some seesmic recordings using the low bandwidth internet connectivity the bar provided.
Finally, Fred and I left the cafe at a little after 12AM and he rode
with me part of the way back to my hotel near Gare Du Noir.
When I got out from the train, on the 2 line, I was on the other side of
this large train station, it was kinda deserted and it took me about 30
minutes of walking around to find my way back to the hotel, but I didn’t
mind…the air was cool, damp and refreshing.
I stopped to get a cappuccino near the hotel I a bar restaurant still open, the went in to pack and go to bed. But I didn’t go to bed right away; just before I closed my eyes I remembered that I wanted to watch French TV and hadn’t done so yet.
Ok, so I turn the TV on and flip channels, finding nothing of interest, I was about to turn the set off. The very last channel was an explicit sex and natually, being that Paris is the city of Love, I wasn’t surprised that what you have to pay for everywhere else, was free here - and, more explicit.
Needless to say, I stayed up another hour or so looking at TV, and it was only after that I realized I was looking at the same clips again, and I finally closed my eyes when I could not keep them open any longer.
And then, I woke up, at 6:30 and packed to go home, and my hotel shuttle came at 7AM, so I was in a van, heading to CDG airport soon after.
And after a smooth flight home with some good conversations on the plane, I’m home.
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