Um nicht nur in der digitalen Gesellschaft anzukommen, sondern sie auch mit zu prägen, müssen sich Politk und Bürger Deutschlands entscheidend verändern. Die von Newsweek jüngst festgestellte deutsche “Technophobie” muss einer technologie-freundlicheren Haltung weichen, die begreift, dass Deutschland schon längst ein Global Village ist. Für die Mehrheit der Generation Y sind geografische und nationale Grenzen obsolet, und Konzepte wie Privatsphäre lediglich ein Feature von Self-Branding und Reputationsmanagement.

Der Staat sollt sich als Impulsgeber sehen für bürgerliches Engagement, als Inkubator für Social und Political Entrepreneurship. Initiativen wie Obama’s Office for Social Innovation in den USA würden auch Deutschland gut zu Gesicht stehen, und die Nutzung von Sozial Media zur Bürgerbindung und Förderung von Sozialkapital betreibt ja sogar schon der Vatikan – nicht aber die deutsche Politik. Hier und in anderen Bereichen scheint mir die deutsche Gesellschaft weiter als die deutsche Politik, die deutlich aufholen muss.

Tim Leberecht packt im zweiten Teil des Textes, den er für Markus Albers’ neues Buch ‘Meconomy’ geschrieben hat, die dicken Statements aus.

Den Auftakt für die fotografische Weltreise von Daniel Gebhart gibt’s drüben beim StyleSpion. Anschauen!

Help construct our future digital world. Build honestly, naturally, authentically, beautifully, not motivated by page views or ad revenue but by what the digital world should be, in its purest, noblest sense. Articulate digital spaces that nurture the soul and the spirit.

Don’t leave it to today’s companies to solve these problems, as they will only perpetuate the same habits they have already adopted. There needs to be a new vision for the future of the web, one that is sensitive both to the human individual and the human collective, just like real life.

After lunch, I get a little lazy between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. I don’t feel that productive, so I’m usually screwing around, which I think is really important. Everyone should read stuff on the Web that’s goofy or discover something new. I hate it when businesses treat their employees like children. They block Facebook or YouTube because they want their employees to work eight hours a day. But instead of getting more productivity, you’re getting frustration. What’s the point? As long as the work gets done, I don’t care what people do all day.

I always liked the guy and here’s another reason why.

If I could create the perfect “conference” for myself, it would be a “think week” that combines curated speakers, solitary time, and “un-conference” meetups.  It would be in the middle of nowhere — let’s say Wyoming — and WiFi access would be a luxury.  It wouldn’t be livestreamed because people watching it would get no value out of watching it from their cubicles.  It would be an event for 50 people max, and the entire conference would be focused on YOU the individual.  You can read entire books, do yoga every morning, attend curated speaker sessions, meet other people around specific topics, etc.  The week is what you want to make of it for yourself.

I love these thoughts. I’m so bored at conferences these days. And I’m in dire need of a ThinkWeek.

One decision that we made was there are just no B-teams. If you’re a B-team member, then you can go to a B-team agency. And actually the process of when new people come and work for us, there is this kind of expectation of them from day one; this is the hardest company you’ve ever worked for, this is the hardest project you’ve ever touched, and these are the smartest people you’ve ever talked to. And having them in return complete the best work of their careers.

Read the whole interview for more insights on the creative culture of one of the leading agencies.

via Radek