AOL Blog

Good news for gear heads in Québec! AOL Canada just announced the launch of Autoblog Québec, the French language edition of its popular automotive site Autoblog Canada. Autoblog Québec will be led by editor Jean-François Savoie who will combine award-winning content from the international editions of the site, with featured content from key contributors and local journalists from across the province.

With 50 percent of Quebecers (3 million UVs) currently visiting automotive sites, Autoblog Québec will provide a new destination for original automotive news and industry content, car reviews, international auto show coverage and captivating best-in-class photo and video galleries to a highly engaged audience*.

The launch will extend the distinctive and authoritative voice and original content offered by Autoblog Canada to French speaking visitors. The expansion only further supports AOL Canada's commitment to growth for both French language sites and original local content, as Autoblog Québec joins Le Huffington Post Québec in AOL Canada's growing French language portfolio.

For more info on Autoblog, see what it's up to in the U.S: http://www.autoblog.com/




*Source: comScore, Inc., Total Canada, Home and Work, January 2013
**PMB/comScore, 2012 Fall Fusion

The series features the creative minds and leaders behind Soundcloud, Wired Magazine, Cadillac, Readmill, Obama Campaign, Mondelēz International and more. Watch the playlist below or visit AOL On for more insightful "Shingerviews."

WATCH: @aol's digital prophet, @shingy, interviews industry's leaders at #SXSW for "Shingerviews" aol.it/109kUgs

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) March 18, 2013

So, let's review.

Fast Company declared Google Glass the "winner" of SXSW Interactive 2013. Sort of. AllThingsD declared that parties- not products or panels- stole the show, adding, they were "where there real work is done". The Wall Street Journal also suggested that the focus is on re-embracing the physical.

And, of course, there was Grumpy Cat.

So, who won overall? In my opinion, none of them.

The reality is that SXSW, this year, as every year, is really what visitors make out of it. Veterans of SXSW (this year was my third), learn quickly, and painfully that there is no possible way to consume and interact with everything available - or even a majority of it. This is partly because there are so many options and partly because the panel / discussion / dinner / party you really wanted to go to was full 30 minutes before starting.

So rather than trying to pick a winner, I'll focus on a series of themes that stood out during my days in Texas:

(The MakerBot: Replicator 2 and products made with Autodesk iPad app. / Photo: MakerBot)

• 3D Printing made even simpler... and the issues that go along with it - Makerbot announced new digitizer product that allows ordinary people to scan objects and print them with little to no design experience. Ping Fu of 3D Systems unveiled the first mobile 3D printer at her panel Digital Reality: Life in Two Worlds while wearing 3D printed shoes What about printing things like... guns? Yes, that is one possibility, and according to Cody Wilson, founder of Defense Distributed, an organization that he founded to foster distribution of 3D designs, they aren't going away. Clearly, making 3D printing simple will open up countless use cases, good and bad, but the turning point of "print your own anything" may have just happened right here.

• Brands as incubators - the Nike+ FuelBand has inspired a whole new way of thinking for marketers - offering products and solutions that extend your brand through making your consumer's lives easier. In this regard, Target's retail accelerator, in partnership with Fast Company's Co. Labs, is challenging developers to build innovative mobile apps to improve the retail experience for a $75,000 prize. Target will offer API access to their retail data, and will work with finalists to make sure their solutions fit the target brand. These sorts of partnerships will become more common as brands, looking to be more nimble step outside their own walls for fresh inspiration, and developers look for more interesting data sets to play with and problems to solve.

(The Samsung TecTile Wall /Photo: Matthew Knell)

• Touchless tech... the next big thing? - Using Near Field Communication (NFC), Samsung allowed you to pay for a pedicab ride, or get a free cupcake or ice cream just by waving your NFC-enabled phone at tags (Samsung calls them TecTiles) all over the city of Austin. Samsung had no shame in flaunting one of its biggest product advantages over Apple devices, and put it to good use in trying to meet Maslow's hierarchy of needs for conference goers.

• Real-time marketing is challenging - The challenge to replicate the Oreo Super Bowl moment has driven marketers to rethink how they create social content. A spirited exchange on a Expion sponsored panel, called "The Power of Microcontent and Marketing in the Moment" featuring some of digital's biggest thinkers, showed the ink isn't even dry on the right ways to do "real-time marketing." Its success and failure depends on having the right brand and team to make it happen.

• IRL matters - The appearance of Grumpy Cat at Mashable House illustrated what makes SXSW best, the limited opportunity for people to crossover from Internet to real-life, to meet each other, put faces to Twitter avatars, and above all, cheer for a cat who stole the Internet's heart.

Adding one more entry into the chorus of voices sharing their perspective on SXSW has allowed me to better absorb what matters to me through the noise. While many have declared the festival "over" or "a thing of the past", I still find the experience unique enough to where I'd recommend trying to go yourself if you've never been. The real winner in this sweepstakes is you.

Who won #SXSW Interactive in 2013? (Spoiler alert: No one.. and that's a good thing) aol.it/ZLoltF

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) March 13, 2013

Here are AOL's Digiday award-winners:

• Best Editorial Achievement by a Publisher: AOL for MAKERS.com
• Best Use of Video by a Publisher: AOL for MAKERS.com
• Best Use of Mobile by a Publisher: Moviefone iPhone App
• Best Branded Content Integration by a Publisher: Huffington Post Media Group for Cisco Impact

Additionally, AOL's TechCrunch was nominated for Best Editorial Achievement by a Publisher, Homepage for Heroes was up for Best Content Marketing Program, the Huffington Post iPad app was a finalist for Best Design and the HuffPost Live iPad app was nominated for Best Use of a iPad/Tablet by a Publisher.

See the full list of Digiday nominees and winners here. Congrats to all of the digital brands that were selected by Digiday, including the amazing AOL brands!

.@aol wins four @digiday awards! Congratulations to @makerswomen, @moviefone & @huffingtonpost on their awards! aol.it/ZKQ51k

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) March 13, 2013

Marie Goggins, Aengus McClean, Roslynn Williams and Curtis Brown accepting the Best Workplaces in Ireland award for AOL Ireland last night in Dublin

AOL Ireland has been named one of the Best Workplaces in Ireland, coming in fourth in the medium-sized category and is the top tech company on the list at the annual Great Place to Work Awards. This prestigious accolade was presented to the AOL Ireland team in Dublin's Burlington Hotel last night.

AOL CTO Curtis Brown attended the event, along with Aengus McClean, who heads the AOL Ireland team; Marie Goggins, who's responsible for HR across Europe for AOL, and Roslynn Williams, business adviser to the CTO and the Technologies organization.

There are two elements of the Best Workplace ranking: a culture audit and a trust audit in which employee perception of the quality of their workplace relationships is measured with a focus on trust, pride and camaraderie, considered key drivers of all high-performing workplaces.

Dublin AOLers were keen to get involved and share their views, with 92% of the site completing the Trust Audit.

Commenting on the wonderful achievement by 49 organizations, CEO of the Great Place to Work Institute John Ryan said competition for places on the list was at its highest in 10 years as more organizations had chosen to go through the assessment process, clearly appreciating the business benefits of having a high-performing workplace where employees are seen as having a critical impact. "This is a fantastic achievement particularly given the difficult economic backdrop, proving that if you invest time and effort in developing the right culture in your organization, your people will be your best asset and will be key to your business success."

AOL has had an office in Dublin for 16 years and employs more than 160 AOLers. It's located in Heuston South Quarter and focuses on developing global products for AOL Networks, AOL Services and the AOL Brand Group. To see what opportunities are available in Dublin, head to their career site.

.@aolireland named one of the best places to work in Ireland 2013 aol.it/Zmx3OP

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) March 8, 2013