Web Summit : the art of working, living (and loving) in a digitized world
Tech is massively present at Web Summit, “the world’s premier tech conference” (Politico). “Where to next?” at Web Summit 2021 was not only about tech but about the art of working, living (and loving) in a digitized world. Human behaviour, knowledge, were at the core of many talks. Learn, share, dare, are some of the qualities you need to survive and thrive in a post-pandemic world. Pandemia is still there even in “the most vaccinated country if the world Portugal”. In a previous article “Web Summit 2021: can the Future be positive?” we bet that 2021 Web Summit would be a wakeup call”. And indeed it was. 42 000 people attended and an impressive Opening Night.
Youth is hope
Yes the founders and CEOs of technology companies were there, Microsoft, AWS, Cisco, many of them are women, and 1500 start-ups, and platforms and apps, but the good news was the YOUTH was there, coming from all over the world. What you could see around Altice Arena in the pale November sun was thousands of young people talking and lining up to attend masterclasses. A great success for #IamRemarkable [Hosted by Google] or “We can be heroes: Designing impactful brand experiences [Hosted by Blue Hat]. Young people want to learn and practice.
Web Summit key words : authenticity, sincerity
“Amy Poehler (https://amysmartgirls.com): “In the tech world I find that young women and girls are very keen on making sure that the person delivering the message is authentic. ». Wether it is saving the planet or empowering employees or reorienting your company, people you deal with want to feel authenticity. Clever communication is not enough, sincerity must be at the core of whatever message you want to deliver.
Take Reddit : Jon Wong,CCO (Chief Operating Officer) described it as a”passionate gathering of communities”. Open to anybody wo wants to “dive in” wether you are a “baker or a wood worker, when you come to Redit you connect with people who share the same interest”, a “trusted and authentic community’. The company generates revenue through advertising and an ad-free premium membership plan. Reddit boasts 52 million daily active users. Communities are “brand-loyal”.During the lockdown Reddit doubled the size of the company says Jen Wong, who has put “love” as a value. What influence and what perspective? Because Reddit is “so trusted and authentic”, “altruistic conversation communities can drive ACTION” so Reddit is empowering people, local communities. Jon Wong wants to go beyond “growing organically” with a new vision for Reddit.
“What role do brands have in saving the planet? “
He dislikes “greenwashing” and the word “sustainability” gets on his nerves. Sebastien Kopp co-founder (with François-Ghislain Morillon) and creative director of Veja the iconic sneaker told us the story of two young guys who knew nothing about sneakers and had to start “from the field” with a goal : to make an “ecological” shoe. “We started innocently, with 10 000 euros.” They looked for organic cotton, that they bought at a fair price 60% more than the market.They did the same for the rubber in Amazonia, buying from the forest. So how does the brand make profit buying at a “fair price” ecological raw material? ”We don’t work with influencers, or celebrities, all the money we could put in publicity, we spend it into the production chain”. Opting for a rather radical choice is not opposite to profit.
Content and content creators : “Be interesting, be consistent”
“In the future everbody is going to be a creator” “Be interesting, be consistent” tells us the energitic creator Nas Daily who has 40 million followers and founded the Nas Academy . “We are a force for good”.
“The beauty of social media is that you can now become successful from wherever you are in the world — armed with just the phone in your pocket.” Sarati, influencer and content creator found sucess by just filming herself in her everyday life on Tik Tok or Snapshat. But she does it with special “lol” refreshing talent. She is now concentrating on her new project Sarati Body. Nas Daily is being cash about content creation :it is a full time job (he left his job in 2016) . “Create stories, create something unique” and “images and text are dead, vidéo and VR are the future”. Of course we do not agree : I am still reading great articles from the press. “
Metaverse or Roblox?
The presentation of Metaverse was clearly a flop.
Even the technical aspect looked like sabotage with a mediocre video instead of a most expected revelation. All we saw was Chris Cox myosotis blue eyes wide open. The questions of Business Insider were more about Facebook that about Meta. Many of us had already learned a glimpse of the universe following Mark Zuckerberg and Meta Executives live presentation on Facebook Reality Labs.
A Press conference about Roblox followed with musician Zara Larsson and Roblox global head of music Jon Vlassopulos. What is Roblox? “A platform where you can express yourself and play in a paralell world” The « Roblox girl » as Zara Larsson calls herself, seems to love her universe, a marshmallow pink and green decor. She recently launched an online party. How much does it cost to get there? “Going to the universe us free, but you might spend money dressing up your avatar.” For kids !
From algorithms to creation
We start to understand that up to now algorithms were guiding social media and our path to interaction and connections. But a whole new path seems to open for developers and creators, their talent can attract brands in one of the Metaverse, and Facebook Meta is not the only, there are many already existing or in a work in progress state. The job of developers and creators will be to keep users and brands engaged. And the challenge is not easy. But not everybody believes in Metaverse a a future Internet. Remember Second Life? It is still there but…”The Metaverse Is Simply Big Tech, but Bigger. It’s a rebrand of Silicon Valley’s increasing power and reach. And it’s made for companies, not people.” writes Cecilia d’Anastasio in Wired.
“The hope as we emerge from the pandemic”
Who could make a better conclusion than the President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. “You thousands and thousands of young people make a difference” and “Temos der ser cem mil para o ano”, “We have to be 100,000 next year”. Approved by Paddy Cosgrave Web Summit CEO.
