Saint-Paul Web, launched in 1997, is challenging itself : television on the Net. Channel Riviera, which has to open in October, covers the French Riviera.
In 1997, who would have bet on the durability of Saint-Paul Web ? Really few people, because according to many observers, Internet was just an epiphenomenon. Hubert Lalo, the founder of Saint-Paul Web and Paule Eliott, the artistic director, have had to convince many sceptic people at the beginning. But, after a few months, the mistrust was substituted by a real enthusiasm in Saint-Paul city.
Saint-Paul Web, which is auto-financed and whose success keeps on increasing, did more than just resisting. Taking advantage of the international notoriety of the village, the Saint-Paul site had developed. They have recruited a computer graphic designer, Grégory Bottazzi, in order to take care of the presentation and to improve the quality of their pages. Above all, with the help of a newcomer, Jérôme Asencio, they got launched in a Web TV project, Channel Riviera, a project which must be finalized early October.
Web shop : a New-Yorker wedding list
'The starting idea is simple : we want to put the Saint-Paul village on the Net. Saint-Paul, with its numerous activities linked to tourism. With its shops that offer land products or art galleries',Paule Elliott explains. 'We started with twelve pages. At the moment, there are one thousand pages peppered with eight hundred photos.
At the beginning, I used to canvass. Today, people come spontaneously to us. They have acquired the 'Internet reflex' very quickly'.Almost twenty-four artists and shopkeepers offer customers their products on-line. Four hundred products precisely. 'Recently, a wedding list have even been left to Tholance workshops which are specialized in art ceramics. And what is an evidence that the site is famous all over the world is that the future brides come from New-York !'
The web shop pages are created by Grégory Bottazzi according to the sensibility of each artist or shopkeeper. He is also in charge of the layout or the shop logo. Thanks to a dynamic database, artists and shopkeepers have the opportunity to update their pages. 'An education dispensed by Hubert Lalo has allowed them to be autonomous in a few days and to manage at best their space. So, they keep the power on their site.'
Promotion of the on-line village
Today, it's undeniable. Saint-Paul Web accounts for an active part of the village promotion. Moreover, this village counts two million five thousand physical visits per year. As far as the virtual is concerned, one hundred and forty thousand pages of the Website have been visited from January to July 2000. 'Through our intermediary it is possible to book a hotel room. In 1999, almost seventy people have chosen this formula.'
'We also offer a commented walk of the village across the ages. It's really appreciated. What allows us to think so are the comments written in a guest book'.An agenda lists the festivities proposed in the small town. 'Many people often program their stay in Saint-Paul according to events. That's why we particularly take care of the agenda section'.
Channel Riviera, an interactive TV
The new /www.stpaulweb.com">Saint-Paul Web, challenge is called /www.channelriviera.com">Channel Riviera.. This web TV will not be limited to the village. It will cover the whole region. Every kind of reports will be proposed to surfers. During the program called 'A la carte cette semaine', they will be allowed to vote for the best report, what will allow to refine the choice of tackled subjects.
The Hubert Lalo's team intends to bet on interactivity. 'A television which would not be interactive at 100% on the web would have no reason to be.'During October, Channel Riviera, will start as a service provider. 'We will organize a videoconference. On the one hand, you will find Carnegie Mellon University of Pittsburgh, which is reference as far as technology is concerned and on the other hand, the Concrete Art space and the Picasso museum, which will debate about the theme : 'Art and Technics'.'
After /www.zewebtv.com">ZewebTVon Sophia Antipolis, /www.happymonaco.com">HappyMonacoin the Principality, and before Azur.tv, under way of realization, Saint-Paul Web could be one of the great pioneers of the Web TV on the Riviera…