while im writing this in a hotel room in Belgrad/Serbia, Oliver is already sleeping. We must leave to the airport at 5 am, uffz, so there is not much time for blogging and sleeping:)) Just to make it „short“ therefore, it was an impressive conference in Bor/Serbia, a place you can somehow compare with the Ruhrpott here in Germany.
Although you cant compare the general economical situation with my country regarding the GNP (gross national product), the living standards and the things, they care for, the BlogOpen Conference materialized some new perspectives for the people there, showing them possibilities, the internet is offering to them. In many ways, not just by economical means. Simply by gathering the people, learning from each other, by discussing with each other many topics, sharing experiences, comparing and mentally adjusting given situations. Connecting and sharing on a personal level is the key.
The contrasts couldnt be more extreme. On the one side the place is dominated by the mining industry. A very old and classical way to make your living. On the other side this hypermodern thing we call the internet, discussed in a town hall. The participants gathered all aorund from Bor, from the whole Serbia and Macedonija. So? If you want to put it this way, you could say, that the internet in Macedonija and Serbia regarding the penetration, usage and broadband is behind Croatia, Croatia is behind Germany and Germany is behind the US-Web. So any given situation produces different scenarios we are looking at. Flanked by different cultural, economical, historical and political factors. But -and that is somehow very astonishing to mine- although there are different situations, the topics we could speak about are much the same if you would share your experiences with internet users in Germany or in the US, if you look at it from a more generalized view. As there is something like a common sense, although the different countries arent really connected with each other (meaning the interactions among most of the users are nationally focused, rarely internationally focused). I have to sort my mind to work that out. Forgive me, its late now, i have just three hours for the rest of this short night.
So let me thank you very much -and in behalf of Oliver, dreaming and snoring right now:))- for your fantastic hospitality, the talks and all the personal impressions, Bor! And you know, as a former guy from Croatia, connecting with people from and in Serbia means much to me on a very personal level. We, the people from the internet, do not need passports and borders to share and connect:)
Good night, laku noc, farewell and citamo se;)
