My early learnings as an online media consultant still seem valid. As the current market is changing at a maddening pace I thought it relevant to write a retrospect. In 2007 I had my first job at a publisher, Techmedia. It was a small company (±6 people) and we worked with a network of freelancers to publish a young brand called Bright. We worked on a magazine, weblog, video podcast and even a TV show. I was really excited about the market we were in, traditional publishers were just starting to understand what was coming and we had the opportunity to alternate between these two worlds: online and traditional media. We were creating branded entertainment, sponsored stories and set up barters with similar outlets in the market. After working there for a while I needed to expand my views and quit my job but started freelancing for several other publishers. It was at the end of 2007, in an attempt to structure my learnings that I wrote this manifest. Besides some proof reading by friends I never published this, until I found it again in my notes.

I’ve always been fascinated by stories and what they do with us. Our thoughts, our characters, our experiences. Stories shape who we are and who we’re becoming. I was really inspired by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who opened my eyes with her talked on the danger of a single story.

A single story emphasises on how we are different, rather than how we are similar.

I think that’s a brilliant phrase to live by. Never trust the single story. Try to learn more by viewing something from other perspectives. And know that as long as you know only one story, you should withhold your opinions and prejudice because they might portrait you as a single story. With everything we make in this world, be it a product or a service, we should consider: are we building something real or is this going to be perceived as another single story? Update: This travelers report on North Korea is an apt example of the danger of the single story. If you haven’t read about North Korean tourism this is a great article to get an idea of what the country tries to tell tourist and it’s inhabitants: https://medium.com/@ryannee/my-summer-vacation-in-north-korea-910571c48f76

Technology and music are two of the most important things that keep me inspired. The people behind Blogotheque have been my heroes for a long time, but no they made a leap into the future by filming the band ALB with a drone. The whole video is shot in 1 take, which reduces the chance of “catching your breath”. Without switching context your brain keeps processing what it sees, thus keeping you on edge for the whole length of the video. Here you go, hope you enjoy it as much as I did: