I’ve had quite a few non-French people contact me regarding the best tech blogs and news outlets in the French technosphere. As my Twitter lists are far from being up-to-date (they will be soon!) I thought I’d put a few names to know here.
French Blogs 101.
First off, one very simple way to find out what’s out there and what’s being read is à la Technorati, via Wikio’s rankings (done according to number of links to the blog and apparently retweets as of June 2010).
But let me highlight a few of my favorites/names to know that are perhaps less-known outside of France (in absolutely no order whatsoever)…
Electron Libre @3l3ctr0nlibr3)
A really super blog about hi-tech, media and culture. You’ll get everything from Microsoft’s latest adventure to what Italy’s Berlusconi’s been up to – with a little twist of what’s been going on with French music start-ups.
Korben (@korben)
The best of geekdom, seriously. Korben will publish anything from a possible wannabe Social Network Google Movie (yawn) to a video game that lets girls beat up men who hit on them (yeowza). Honestly, it’s hardcore tech with a terrific twist of entertainment.
Presse Citron (@pressecitron)
Presse Citron is another blog at the peak of tech – but with more of a newsy flavor. Main topics span from the next best Twitter-based service to the war between printed versus electronic books. Definitely a must-know blog for France’s tech space.
Frenchweb.fr (@Frenchweb)
Tech and start-up news – and not just for the French tech space! Groupon acquisitions, Facebook Places launch, you name it, it’s all there. Plus, there are tons of terrific interviews with local entrepreneurs – and foreign ones too. Not a blog to overlook.
Blogomania.
And of course there are TONS I didn’t mention. You’ve also got your local ReadWriteWeb France, Mashable France – oh, and TechCrunch France. Obviously. 🙂 Ya, ok, there are obviously many more worthwhile blogs/online media publications I didn’t cover – especially for hi-tech and start-up news (VendeDesign, Journal du Net, Journal du Geek, Accessoweb, JeanMarieGall, etc.). By no means does it mean that I don’t read them or find them insanely well done. The French tech space is FULL of bloggers.
Bonjour, je m’appelle geek.
There are also some local tech experts that have their own blogs and are really worth knowing – I’m thinking of Olivier Ezratty and Jean-François Ruiz’s WebDeux, but there are certainly more. I also really love when I come across entrepreneurs that have blogs as well. I’ve seen some really fabulous ones – but perhaps my all-time favorite is that of Submate founder, Laurent Kretz (yes, it’s in English!). Oh, and it looks like Netvibes and Jolicloud founder, Tariq Krim, may be back to blogging as well. THAT would be something.
And the girliest geek blog award goes to…
GamonGirls. I love the initiative. Yoda USB keys, iPhone news, gadgets, blah blah blah – all that with a hint of pink. Thank God it’s more serious tech and less like that horrible Valley Girl show. Don’t get me started.
By the way, anyone recognize the host ? Hint: DFJ.
Don’t be MIA.
I am not even going to try and pretend this list is anywhere near exhaustive. If you’ve got a killer blog about tech and startups in France, PLEASE add the URL below with a brief description of exactly what you cover and in what language. Merci!