Category: Influential People

14
Mar

Shifting paradigm: how mobile technology rules the world!

What a difference 8 years makes: St. Peter’s Square in 2005 and yesterday.
Welcome to the Digital World, Pope Francis.

We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next 8 months and underestimate the change that will occur in the next 8 years.

pope-election-st-peters-square

14
Mar

German chancellor Angela Merkel meets German StartUp Elite

Chancellor Angela Merkel invited 175 CEOs of StartUps, Investors and Entrepreneurs to Berlin. It was a pleasure to be part of this event and it was a good first step to connect politics with the dynamic internet economy.

Here is my german review:
Merkel trifft Deutsche Internet StartUps

Angela-Merkel-StartUp-Szene

Great Video Summary of the event:

17
Sep

Kate’s topless pictures: Why Kate Middleton needs a new PR Manager!

The italian magazine Chi and french magazine Closer have published a series of topless picture of Kate Middleton the Duchess of Cambridge. Now Prince William and Kate Middleton are threatening to sue French magazine Closer for printing her topless pictures.

It seems that the PR Manager of Kate and William are not aware of the Streisand Effect. The Streisand effect is the phenomenon whereby an attempt to hide or remove a piece of information has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely. It is named after American entertainer Barbra Streisand, whose attempt in 2003 to suppress photographs of her residence inadvertently generated further publicity.

Chi magazine, which is owned by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlluscon’s company Mondadori Group, which also publishes Closer, printed more topless pictures of Kate Middleton today. Thus, exactly these pictures are now spreading online rapidly, from Pinterest to Facebook to Flickr to Blogs….. the internet just does not forget.

22
Apr

e-G8 Forum: the G8 of Digital Leaders

I am honored to be invited by French President, Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy, to an invite-only gathering of global digital leaders, right before this year’s G8 Summit in Paris. The e-G8 Forum will include heads of state as well as key tech personalities like Eric Schmidt of Google, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg all expected to attend. The event is hosted and chaired by Publicis Groupe CEO, Mr. Maurice Lévy.

e-G8 Forum - Global Digital Leaders President Sarkozy is currently heading the Group of Eight (G8) with Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The major topic of the upcoming summit will be the state and the future of the Internet and the digital ecosystem on a global level. The goal of the e-G8 is to provide the G8 leaders with fresh-ideas and key insights.

Well, fresh ideas and digital know-how is something I can definitely bring into this diverse gathering in Paris. Since the publication of the Vision of Mobile Media for the year 2020 (Mocom2020) and several innovation projects at Ahead of Time, this is someting I had been asked before, but not by a President of a state. Exciting.

Discussions at the two-day Forum will be a mixture of plenary sessions and in-depth workshops where a wide variety of themes will be addressed, including:
– The Internet as key driver for economic growth
– The emergence of global digital citizenship
– The digital technologies of the future
– How best to promote innovation clusters
– The mobile revolution and its impact on commerce, media and advertising
– Privacy and IP protection

President Nicolas Sarkozy will himself deliver the opening keynote address.

14
Apr

What are the most important conferences to meet world and industry leaders?

Global, Economic, Political:

1. Bilderberg
2. World Economic Forum – Annual Meeting in Davos
3. DLD
4. TED
5. Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)

Business:

1. Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference
2. All Things D
3. Monaco Media Forum
4. Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting
5. Summit Series (skewed to younger entrepreneurs and mentors)

Social Entrepreneurship
Skoll World Forum

Tech:

1. Techcrunch Disrupt
2. Leweb
3. The Lobby
4. Fortune Brainstorm TECH
5. South by South West – SXSW (Interactive)
Germany: Next Conference

By Season:

January:
DLD (Munich)
World Economic Forum (Davos)

February:
TED

March:
Abu Dhabi Media Summit (Abu Dhabi)
South by South West – SXSW (Austin, TX)

April:
Summit Series (varies)

May-June:
All Things D (San Diego and now Rancho Palos Verdes)
Bilderberg conference (varies)
Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder’s Meeting (Omaha)
Next Conference (Berlin)

June-July
Aspen Idea Festival
Fortune Brainstorm Tech (Aspen)
Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference

September:
Techcrunch Disrupt (San Francisco)
The Lobby (Hawaii and now Mexico)
Clinton Global Initiative (NYC)

November:
Monaco Media Forum

December:
Leweb (Paris)

19
Oct

Milestone: 1 million views on my YouTube Videos

I started to produce videos for my YouTube Channel in December 2006 and now I realized that I have reached over one million views, exactly 1,039,903 views today. Amazing!

Monty Metzger - YouTube ChannelSince the start I kept producing videos whenever and wherever I had time – at conferences, during business travel or at exciting events. So far I have published 136 Videos and most of them are business related or feature executive interviews. Although the videos are not as funny as Fred’s or exciting as Lady Gaga’s, people do like and watch them.

I met fascinating thought leaders, such as Lawrence Lessig, Gary Vaynerchuk, Jim Gilmore, Arianna Huffington or Jimmy Wales, inspiring business leaders, such as Hans Vestberg, Jonney Shih or Edward Borgerding, and published some provoking ideas, such as Mobile Future 2020 or the Global Cocreation Model.

It is interesting aswell to look at the most viewed videos – so here is my top ten:

Last but not least I want to thank all my viewers and readers for their support and feedback!!!

09
Jun

Open Sessions at DLD Women Conference

The World Economic Forum is known for its “Open Forum” as part of the annual meeting in Davos. Today Steffi, Co-Chair of DLD and DLD Women, told me that at the inaugural DLD Women Conference they will integrate an Open Session, too.

So, here is your invitation. Feel free to share and forward!

DLD Women Conference 2010 - Invitation

23
Mar

DLD Women Conference 2010

The DLD announced a new conference this week, called „DLDwomen – The Female Decade”. The inaugural event will take place in June 2010 at the centre of innovative technology in Munich, Germany. DLDwomen is organized by the DLD team as a new format and extension of the successful annual DLD Conference and builds upon its creative network and competence.

In the following Video Interview Steffi Czerny, one of the hosts of the famous DLD conference, talks about the passion behind this new event. She also explains what role Digitalisation, eHealth and Leadership plays in the era of “womenomics”. The interview was filmed at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit 2010.

The chairman of the event is Dr. Maria Furtwängler-Burda. DLDwomen is focusing on the “Female Decade” and the so-called “womenomics” and is about new opportunities, new markets, the new lifestyle and future developments of women’s role that are being influenced by today’s digital age and social transformation.

More about DLDwomen at http://www.dld-conference.com

05
Jan

My Message to Davos

I have created the Global Cocreation Model as a basic of Rethinking and Rebuilding our economy. This is my video for the Davos YouTube Debates for the World Economic Forum 2010. If this is selected as a finalist, I will need your help by voting to make this the winning entry.

Global Cocreation Model – Davos 2010

My name is Monty Metzger. I run a social media agency in germany and have started a collaborative global think-tank about the future of mobile media and communication, called Mocom 2020.

We have talked about the unthinkable challenges our world is facing in the next century and even in the next decade. The financial system has collapsed, the media industry is under massive pressure and the healthcare-system has become non-efficient. In 2020 we will reach the peak of the oil-production globally, climate change is one of the results of our exploitation of the planet. In 2050 we will have 200 million climate refugees due to a lack of resources of food or water.
Will we or our children be involved in a war for food, clear water or energy?

The world economy is based on many outdated structures and is not capable of solving the new challenges with old solutions. We are in a unique position, because we know some of the problems our planet and society is facing. Rather than dumping millions of dollars in old structure, we need to invest in new innovative solutions. We can solve these issues while integrating all stakeholders in a transparent, open and ethical economic structure.

Charles Schwab said that “we are living in a multi-stakeholder society and we need to rethink our values”. But how can we turn these ideas into action?

Today we have two unique factors which come together.
1) Half of the people on earth are under 25 years old.
2) We have the most powerful global communication tool ever – The Internet.

The technology and demographics combined can empower the Digital Natives to Cocreate solutions faster, more efficient and from the bottom up rather than from the top down.

I call this the Global Cocreation Model.
The Net Generation or Digital Natives have strong sense of values, they have Integrity, a Motivation or many Reasons to change the world. They are natural teamplayers and know how to self organize themselves. The Technology empowers and enables them to do things differently. And finally the openness, new culture of sharing and innovation gives them a very profound way of control.

This basic structure is framed by three key elements:
Collaboration – A powerful tool of self organization for all stakeholders enabled by the global platform of communication – the web.
Transparency – A new way of turning insights into common knowledge give us control and power to regulate what has been done.
and
a Vision – A powerful Vision or a Dream that is simple enough to spread it fast, but detailled enough to motivate and truely turn social media into social activism.

I would like to challenge my model of Global Cocreation with the members of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Like Al Gore once said:
If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go far, go together. But we need to go far … quickly.

11
Nov

Esther’s engagement & vision of eHealth

I talked with Esther Dyson on the way to the Monaco Media Forum about her vision of healthcare for the upcoming years.

View on YouTube.

14
Oct

Netbooks, Mobile-phones and Social Media – Mythbusting with Duncan Stewart, Deloitte

Interview with Duncan Stewart Director, Deloitte Canada Research: Technology, Media & Telecommunications at the Mobile Media World 2009 in Toronto Canada. He talks about the growth of Netbooks, Mobile Phones and Social Media.

14
Oct

Details about Paypal’s Developer Conference Innovate 2009

Interview with Darrell MacMullin Country Manager, PayPal Canada at the Mobile Media World 2009 in Toronto Canada.

He talks about the upcoming developer event Innovate 2009 in November 2009. More infos about the event at www.x.com

12
Feb

“Rock star physicist” Brian Cox about achievements & problems at CERN

Interview with the creative physicist Brian Cox the latest achievements and problems at the Altas Project at CERN. He also talks about the famous “hover board” (from the movie back to the future).

Watch his speech at the TED Conference.

27
Jan

Monty’s Meetup in Munich

Rodrigo A. Sepúlveda Schulz about his experience with bavarian food.

Overview of the guests at Monty’s private dinner on Sunday, January 25th 2009.
From Left to Right: Marc Goldberg, Georgia Dienst, Matthias Kröner, Benedict Rodenstock, Michelle Guthrie, Tariq Krim, Rodrigo Sepúlveda, Bernhard Schmid and Katarina.

20
Jan

Analyzing Barack Obama’s Inauguration Speech

I took the full-text of Barack Obama’s Inauguration Speech and used Wordle.net to analyze his speech. The most-used words in each address appear in the interactive chart below, sized by number of use

See the result here. Enjoy.

Barack Obama’s Inauguration Speech analyzed

20
Jan

Obama’s Speech – full version

This is the text of President Barack Obama’s inaugural speech.

My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land – a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America – they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things.
The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted – for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things – some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions – that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act – not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions – who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them – that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works – whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account – to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day – because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control – and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.
The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart – not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake.
And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more. Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort – even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West – know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment – a moment that will define a generation – it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends – hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism – these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility – a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence – the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed – why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
“Let it be told to the future world…that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].”
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

19
Dec

Colleen DeCourcy: How to win at Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival?

Interview with Colleen DeCourcy, Chief Digital Officer TBWA Worldwide and President of the Cyber-Lions-Jury in Cannes 2008. I met Colleen at the Art Directors Club Conference in Berlin.

Colleen DeCourcy Job is to create and execute smart digital strategies for TBWA and their clients. To win a Lion at Cannes, Colleen said, that you need to integrate technology in smart and intelligent way to create an engaging advertising campaign. Consumers should be integrated within the activities to create loyalty about the products and brand. Furthermore the main idea should change the perception and view of the brand’s role in the world. This could be realized through added value, fun or education.

09
Dec

Two exciting days at Le Web Paris

Today the web conference “Le Web” has started. I am looking forward to interesting talks and new inspiration.

This morning there had already been some intersting speeches, e.g. David Weinberger or the conversation between Loic and Nikesh Aurora, Head of Google Europe.
Furthermore the first feedback from the MOCOM2020 project was very positive.

Le Web 2008: Nikesh and Loic

30
Nov
29
Nov

Re-Imagine Online Advertising with Calvin Lui

Calvin Lui, CEO of Tumri, is talking about new opportunities for Online Advertising. Tumri is already serving over one billion impressions per month. They are currently only active in USA, but will expand to Europe and Asia this year.

One key advantage of Tumri is that “the platform delivers highly relevant advertising messages to consumers while lowering creative production costs and timelines.”

Here is the Video, filmed a the MMF 2008.