4 ms·

> Francophone networks are weak. They are very local, and poor, and for a variety of reasons a little 'self oriented'. This is a Quebec thing, but also a Frenc

> Francophone networks are weak. They are very local, and poor, and for a variety of reasons a little 'self oriented'. This is a Quebec thing, but also a French thing > An acquaintance calls herself a 'playwright' and she's written 2 tiny productions for the local theatre with 2 actors each - no props or anything. She's late in her 'career' already. You are making such blanket statements of stereotypes. The "career" of an artist, as you mention, is not something for you to judge the quality or success of. I suppose that because the great writer Bukowski was still working as an unknown postal worker at age 50 that he was also too late in his career. Or the many other artists with similar "careers". It's not you to judge someone else's artistic output, or for that matter, the quality of a network of people based on the language they speak.

edblarney 10y ago
" Francophone networks are weak. They are very local, and poor" A) French speaking Quebecers are poor, relative to N. America. Median wages are 'ok' due to lots of 'decent' government jobs, but mean wages for Francophones are very low. B) Francophone business networks usually don't expand beyond Quebec. There are no elite Universities in Quebec (McGill is pretty good, but not French), and there is zero access to networks from elite schools among Francophones. C) There are very few wealthy Francophone Quebecers who 'write cheques' for startups. Ergo - networks are very weak here, it's just a fact. I've lived in several cities in N.America/Europe, this is by far the weakest of 'known cities'. It's probably better than Orlando. Or Dublin. But worse than any of Boston, Toronto, Vancouver, Frankfurt, etc.. "The "career" of an artist, as you mention, is not something for you to judge the quality or success of. " I'll judge these people however I want, but it's not a judgement to point out that people who prefer to serve coffee and write 1 short play every 10 years aren't the kinds of people who build high-tech startups. I know these people very well (I live in ground-zero of French Montreal), they prefer to do other things, that's fine, it's not a judgement, just a reality. (FYI Bukowski was prolific - he wrote tons of stuff). A 'circus' - yes. I can't think of any other place in North America where 'Cirque du Soleil' could be born. And it seems there's a huge plethora of 'artisanal' small-scale things ... I like Montreal, which is why I live here, and I have no doubt there will be some startups here and there that will win, but it will never be the 'leader' in any classical, industrious lines of business. There will likely never be a full-blown ecosystem here for any industry that doesn't already exist. The people here do not have any interest in building it.
- miguelrochefort 10y ago
  > The people here do not have any interest in building it. I have. Where do I start?
  - edblarney 10y ago
    You can start by getting the Quebec government to reduce the highest bracket income taxes which are a full 10% greater than the rest of Canada and about 12% greater than NY/California. Just kidding :) I would say if you want to help, go and work for a startup, or a growing private company that is not just a services entity who's #1 client is the government.
    - miguelrochefort 10y ago
      You speak as if salaries in Montreal would reach the highest tax bracket.
      - edblarney 10y ago
        "You speak as if salaries in Montreal would reach the highest tax bracket." Ha ha - you nailed it. I believe the 'extra 10%' kicks in at only 85K CDN. Which is not that much. It's like 65K USD. A pittance. This has to be one hugely odd thing about Montreal - especially with exchange rates, salaries are so low. You might think that's a good thing, but really, it's not because talent will leave. On the other hand, if you have something good going, you can get good talent cheap, and perhaps pay them above market rates. Even though the cost of living is commensurate - it's hard for young people to factor that in. They see $150K salary in the US and glaze over it.
        miguelrochefort 10y ago
        > Even though the cost of living is commensurate - it's hard for young people to factor that in. They see $150K salary in the US and glaze over it. I don't even earn a third of that, and I've been building native iOS, Android and Windows apps for more than 3 years...

edblarney 10y ago

" Francophone networks are weak. They are very local, and poor" A) French speaking Quebecers are poor, relative to N. America. Median wages are 'ok' due to lots of 'decent' government jobs, but mean wages for Francophones are very low. B) Francophone business networks usually don't expand beyond Quebec. There are no elite Universities in Quebec (McGill is pretty good, but not French), and there is zero access to networks from elite schools among Francophones. C) There are very few wealthy Francophone Quebecers who 'write cheques' for startups. Ergo - networks are very weak here, it's just a fact. I've lived in several cities in N.America/Europe, this is by far the weakest of 'known cities'. It's probably better than Orlando. Or Dublin. But worse than any of Boston, Toronto, Vancouver, Frankfurt, etc.. "The "career" of an artist, as you mention, is not something for you to judge the quality or success of. " I'll judge these people however I want, but it's not a judgement to point out that people who prefer to serve coffee and write 1 short play every 10 years aren't the kinds of people who build high-tech startups. I know these people very well (I live in ground-zero of French Montreal), they prefer to do other things, that's fine, it's not a judgement, just a reality. (FYI Bukowski was prolific - he wrote tons of stuff). A 'circus' - yes. I can't think of any other place in North America where 'Cirque du Soleil' could be born. And it seems there's a huge plethora of 'artisanal' small-scale things ... I like Montreal, which is why I live here, and I have no doubt there will be some startups here and there that will win, but it will never be the 'leader' in any classical, industrious lines of business. There will likely never be a full-blown ecosystem here for any industry that doesn't already exist. The people here do not have any interest in building it.

miguelrochefort 10y ago
> The people here do not have any interest in building it. I have. Where do I start?
- edblarney 10y ago
  You can start by getting the Quebec government to reduce the highest bracket income taxes which are a full 10% greater than the rest of Canada and about 12% greater than NY/California. Just kidding :) I would say if you want to help, go and work for a startup, or a growing private company that is not just a services entity who's #1 client is the government.
  - miguelrochefort 10y ago
    You speak as if salaries in Montreal would reach the highest tax bracket.
    - edblarney 10y ago
      "You speak as if salaries in Montreal would reach the highest tax bracket." Ha ha - you nailed it. I believe the 'extra 10%' kicks in at only 85K CDN. Which is not that much. It's like 65K USD. A pittance. This has to be one hugely odd thing about Montreal - especially with exchange rates, salaries are so low. You might think that's a good thing, but really, it's not because talent will leave. On the other hand, if you have something good going, you can get good talent cheap, and perhaps pay them above market rates. Even though the cost of living is commensurate - it's hard for young people to factor that in. They see $150K salary in the US and glaze over it.
      - miguelrochefort 10y ago
        > Even though the cost of living is commensurate - it's hard for young people to factor that in. They see $150K salary in the US and glaze over it. I don't even earn a third of that, and I've been building native iOS, Android and Windows apps for more than 3 years...