The Channel | 2008 | Issue 1

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FEATURE | THE CHANNEL
THE CHANNEL | JANUARY08 |
that age - which means many don’t
know the world without “always-
on” connectivity.
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This becomes a recurring theme of
the three-day event – the world is
increasingly connected, it’s changing
and good can come of that change.
That’s true of “Getting social” in
which Facebook, Bebo, LinkedIn,
Xing examine how social networking
has developed and continues to
grow. Matt Cohler from Facebook
says that it has 60 million users
worldwide, up from 10 million in
September 2006. Versions in
languages other than English are
now becoming available to spread
the online networking phenomenon
to new territories, enabling more
people to interact. It’s happening in
Eastern Europe, too, with the launch
of by entrepreneur Andrej
Nabergoj. He describes his software
as a social engine rather than social
network which he intends to spread
to Asia as well as Eastern Europe.
Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner
for Information, Society and Media,
makes an impassioned call to
infrastructure operators across
Europe. It’s vital to ensure that
there’s more broadband, more
wireless access. “The future world
will be a wireless world,” she says
forcefully. It’s also important that
the cost of wireless access is
affordable for all taking something
of a sideswipe at incumbent
telecommunication companies such
as Deutsche Telekom whose CEO
René Obermann is sitting alongside.
She says there is a need for new
frequencies for these services –
hinting at recent decisions at the
ITU to allocate certain TV
frequencies for mobile applications.
She is also clearly pro-DVB-H as a
single technology for mobile TV.
DLD turns out to be broader
than telecommunications, Internet
and wireless. The conference is also
about architectural design, DNA,
gene pools, artistic expression,
entertainment. Inspiring speakers
from an immense variety of
backgrounds provide thought-
provoking and stimulating
presentations that remind all the
audience what an amazing world
we inhabit. They also focus on
inspiring things happening in
developing countries – like mobile
banking in Ghana. Fortunately,
these presentations are posted on
line so you don’t lose the thread by
trying to take detailed notes.
Of course, half the fun of the
events like this is meeting new
people and starting conversations.
Over coffee, lunch and at the
Main Image:
clockwise from
top right Viviane
Reding confers
with René
Obermann;
author Paul
Coelho; Martin
Sorrell, CEO,
WPP; one of the
fleet of DLD
Mercedes cars
Top right: Niklas
Zennström, co-
founder, Joost;
Bottomright:
Amy Macdonald
performing at
DLD Night
fabulous DLD Night party it was
possible to meet and share ideas
with people of an incredible range
of disciplines and to be reminded
that, as broadcasters, we need to be
able to focus on the widest possible
world and to bring our audiences
dynamic, stimulating and varied
content.
MEETING TODAY’S WORLD
Guido Baumhauer, managing
director distribution at Deutsche
Welle, sums it up: "The DLD-
conference was a great opportunity
to stop and smell the roses. It’s a
chance to think, rethink, argue and
reflect upon media developments
in the near future. The mix of
people was exciting, ranging from
old media war horses to top
bloggers, dot com winners and start
up entrepreneurs. You don’t get a
chance to meet these people on a
daily basis. Some of their insights
were thrilling; others seem to be
way off base. But in the end I left
with the feeling that Deutsche
Welle is currently doing the right
thing. As international broadcasters
we have to be more flexible in
responding to market needs.” The
audience is up to something – and
successful international
broadcasters are already exploring
this territory. ■
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