Deborah Dietrich: Different cultures, same social network usage?

How do Europeans use social networks? And which one to communicate what? Is there "the european way" compared to northamerican or is norway different than spain and both differ from the UK? And how does Russia think about all this? let's follow me on a short converstation through european communication ways....

Anna-Marie Vilamovska: Balkan … Innovation: YES, PLEASE!

The Balkans had a concerning rep for quite a long time, mirrored in the political science term “balkanization”. Today, the Balkans are showing the other face of disruptive energy – as a drive for innovation, entrepreneurial success and value-added growth. A recent study of Europe’s top start-up destinations placed Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, 3rd immediately after London and Dublin when it comes to entrepreneurial drive and results. Is it time to change the label?
This talk will discuss the case of Bulgaria – the emergence and prospects of its innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. What does it look like? How fragile is this success? What is driving it and what may this ecosystem have to offer?

Tatiana Bazzichelli: Back to the Roots! From Cyberpunk to (Social) Networking in Italy

Core of this presentation is the development of Italian critical online and offline actions from the early times of “cyberpunk” to social networking contexts. The scope is to compare the diverse use of art and technology among grassroots communities of artists, hackers and activists involved in underground networks, with the contemporary use of social networking platforms. Bazzichelli reconstructs the roots of Italian collaborative media and art practices in which the main developer is a creator of shared networks that expand virally through collective interventions. This presentation introduces also the upcoming event of the Disruption Network Lab in Berlin, when the first English edition of the book: The Cyborg. Essay about the Artificial Man, written by expert of Italian digital counterculture Antonio Caronia (Genoa, 1944 – Milan, 2013) will be launched together with many protagonists of the Italian digital culture and political activism from the 1980s until today.

Frank Segert: Polen.pl - Hinter der Oder geht's weiter!

Polen findet in deutschen Medien statt als: a) historischer Ort deutscher Kriegsverbrechen, b) Heimat von Diebesbanden und neuerdings auch als c) modernes Wirtschaftswunderland. Polen.pl hat sich zur Aufgabe gemacht, das Polen-Bild hintergründiger und vielfältiger darzustellen. Wir sind ein Team von Blogger_innen aus derzeit vier Ländern und widmen uns den Themen, die wir spannend und in deutschsprachigen Medien unterrepräsentiert finden.

Birgit Stöber: Digitales Dänemark - progressiv und (allzu) gutgläubig?

Dänemarks digitale Infrastruktur gehört mit zu den am besten ausgebautesten Europas, und bis zum Jahr 2020 soll es landesweit Breitbandverbindungen mit 100 Mbit/s geben. Dabei stehen die meisten Dänen der Digitialisierung sehr offen gegenüber und haben nur wenig Berührungsängste vor digitalen Alltagslösungen. Ein Grund dafür mag die Verknüpfung der Themen Digitalisierung und Wohlfahrtstaat sein,. Gleichzeitig verwundert das fast vorbehaltlose Vertrauen der Dänen in die digitale Verwaltung.

Tarig Krim: Digital Independence is a human right 

We take for granted the incredible integration that large platforms have in our daily life. But should things be the way they are. Is there a way for each of us to enjoy a truly independent digital life?