Well, hello.
The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed a little addition to the GigaOM navigation bar: Europe.
That’s because from today we’re adding a new channel to the network that brings our coverage of European companies and issues into one place. The idea is to give Europe’s exciting companies and centers of innovation — important global cities like London and Berlin — the same sort of smart analysis, deep context, thorough reporting and insightful coverage that GigaOM gives to their American counterparts.
The fact is that Europe is home to a vibrant technology industry, with world-leading companies in mobile, digital media, cloud technology and e-commerce. We’ve been covering it increasingly over the past year, but now it’s time to bring it all together.
Our coverage here will be both wide and deep, ranging across our core subjects like startups, media, broadband, mobile and emerging technology, all from a distinctly European perspective.
So why now?
I’ve written before about how Europe has changed over the past few years, and a few months ago Om documented some of the exciting developments taking place.
Ultimately, we believe that not only is there an under-covered base of businesses in Europe, but there is also a new generation of international startups and digital companies being built here — and that the changes happening as a result of this shift deserve the kind of attention we can give it.
To get us there, I’m being joined by a fantastic team.
Robert Andrews, our senior editor, international, joined as part of the acquisition of paidContent earlier this year. Robert, who launched paidContent:UK in 2007, is a veteran with deep expertise, experience and insight. I think his view on the continent’s media businesses, and the disruption they face, is unparalleled — and I’m really excited that he’s part of our team now.
We’ve also hired David Meyer to report on the burgeoning startup scene in Berlin. David, who has been writing for ZDNet in the U.K. for the last few years, joined us a little over a month ago and has been taking on the task of covering his beat with gusto. We think we’re the first major technology site to have a real presence in one of the world’s greatest, most creative cities, rather than just parachuting in, enjoying a little clubbing and currywurst and then heading off again.
We’ll also be supporting our coverage with events, starting with Structure:Europe — the first transatlantic edition of our cloud computing conference — to be held in Amsterdam in October.
It’s going to be great, with top innovators from Europe and Silicon Valley joining GigaOM editors to debate topics such as big data, the cloud and global regulation. We’ve already got some visionary speakers lined up to take the stage, including Werner Vogels, CTO of Amazon; Nick Halstead, founder and CTO of DataSift; and JP Rangaswami, Chief Scientist at SalesForce. More speakers will soon be announced, and pre-registration is now open.
At the same time as doing all this, we will not be turning the European channel into a ghetto, separate from the rest of the GigaOM network. It is precisely because we believe the best European entrepreneurs and businesses can compete on a global basis, that we will be placing the bar for our coverage high.
You won’t find small funding announcements about me-too companies, and we won’t waste your time publishing scurrilous rumors. What you’ll get is our trademark coverage of the ideas, people and companies that are making this region such an exciting place to be right now.
The bottom line: if it’s important and it affects Europe, you’ll read it here.
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