I talked to a friend on the phone today and I told her that when the week began I had decided to make this a book writing week – my daughter is at my in-laws for a winter holiday so things are pretty quiet around here, which is awesome for writing. Anyway now it’s wednesday evening and  I had done a ton of restructuring, a ton of client work and business planning this week, but no book writing.  And then she said something:

” how about doing something that’s easy?” and I went

“what do you mean ?” then she said

“well everytime you do something you want it to be worldchanging in your perspective, just so you can look back at it in 2 years time, when everybody has come to terms with it and said “I told you so. If you wrote something that came easy to you it would be mindblowing in the present and you could do that in no time”…

I think she struck a very large chord within me, Im so obsessed going after the next megatrend so I can say “I told you so”… I don’t believe in writing stuff that’s not worldchanging, but I think my problem is that I don’t see how far ahead I am… So I chose to supply my worldchanging epic book that’s due in the fall with something easy for the spring. And I found out that easy for me, has a pretty good shot at being mindblowing, practical and current for a lot of people on the internet.

And I became humbled by her insights. Especially when she added “im in communication and marketing, and I just can’t keep up with you.. you are such a geek”…

picture by Chris Heuer: Kristie Wells of Social Media Club, Annika Lidne of Disruptive Media and yours truely)

So this draft was created on the last day of the le Web conference in Paris, but I first got around to finish it now.

Le Web has been a very interesting experience. Even though it has been very different from last year- but a lot fantastic people where met, speakers seen, friends dined and cool British bands such as the ting tings where experienced. All compiled in 4 days in Paris.

I think to some extend the Le Web conference is like a fashion show. 

in one of the presentations somebody used the phrase “undercover fashion tech a la creme”. To me it describes Le Web very well;  It’s the best of the best in tech and you’re left mesmerized. I think Le web has become for tech what Paris is for the fashion scene. The conference is so well curated so if you’re leaving Le Web not knowing what is going to happen within the next 2 – 3 years, then you haven’t been paying attention at all at the conference.

Le Web has become the European event hub that’s most vital for your business.

You need to be present as a startup or as a coolhunter/trendspotter. There was some agencies down there who I overheard a conversation by, and they had simply thought that they would get a recipe for social media they could sell to their clients (if that’s what you want – feel free to contact me over at Toothlesstiger.com and I can help you out). But they didn’t get the whole startup/venture capitalist part of the conference. Some of them where annoyed that it seemed like that the whole conference where more about startups and what they are building. But you need to know this – even as an agency. You need to know what cool ideas are out there – executed by the finest in Europe.

Anyway Im looking forward to Le Web again next year. It’s my december kick and a good way to ignite and plan for 2012 =)

A couple of weeks ago I was approached by a friend of mine, who was asking me what I thought about this video:

Right from the beginning I just knew that this would upset me very much – sometimes you can just feel it when it’s coming.

She’s entitled to her opinion, but if it’s the truth she’s saying, then I shouldn’t have succeeded in anything I’ve ever done in the tech industry. I have been a women in tech since I was 19, and I think I’ve done pretty alright for myself (to say the least). So now I have been thinking about it for a while, and I think what’s really making me tick, is that she argues that because Im a women in tech and I call myself a GIRL (im 31 so Im still cool with that), I should be afraid not to be taken seriously in the tech scene – especially because I’m standing by “being a girl”. Im the co-founder of geek girl meetup copenhagen. And actually after I’ve been thinking about it (and talking about it with my good friend Lone) I don’t want to try/ to do an effort to be taken seriously. No way! here’s why:

When I was living in another country, one of the things that mystified me was that the women/girls there always went out on the town in suits. I think they did it because they wanted to be taken seriously by someone – but no one really thought about it, apart from some of us foreigners who thought it was really weird that these women would wear suits when they where supposed to have fun. I think they wanted to show the world that they where to be taken seriously – and to me it ended up having another effect – I ended up feeling sorry for them, because they didn’t show a bit of themselves instead of being taken seriously by their surroundings.

It reminds me so much of something I have seen happen again and again in the tech scene – that women they start to resemble men more and more because they don’t want to stand out and show the world what they are really like, because – what if somebody didn’t take them seriously.  What if people deemed you strange or “not qualified” because you didn’t look or acted seriously enough.

I think Im the proof that the techscene has changed – and it can embrace both men, women and girls, because I don’t think that “seriousness” lies in a name or in a “girl” label. I think that seriousness lies in going after what you think is super important, practice what you preach and be a rolemodel to other people. Do epic shit, right ?

The reason I think Geek Girl meetups are so important is because it teaches our kids/daughters that Geek can be cool, and I don’t think “geek women” would do the trick. In my mind it just wants to be taken seriously.

Actually I think that my girl label (that I bear with pride) is the least of my “seriousness” problems. I build a large part of Toothless Tiger (my thriving 7 year old business) telling companies that they should be like rockbands - think more in return on involvement instead of return on investment (biiiig business no-no)  (I wrote a danish book about that) and practice rockbandism and do business unusual. And most of the companies actually loves me for it. And they do take me seriously – why ? because I do what I think is the best fit for me. I firmly believe that I challenge the old systems and I am taken seriously because of it. I would never try to be taken seriously.

I will wake up everyday being myself and do what I believe in. And I think that some people don’t take me seriously at all. That to them Im the biggest joke on the planet. And I think that’s okay, they are entitled to. But to others – I’m the hugest inspiration. And the only thing that hasn’t done anything to aid the effect I’ve had in the scandinavian european global tech industry is probably ta-da! seriousness.

I guess what I wanted to say is that asking for seriousness, to me, is a sign of low self-esteem, it’s a sign of not believing enough in yourself to say “hey I can be totally different and they will still love me and take me serious because of that”.

Because you take yourself seriously. The whole of you. And that, my rockers, is one thing I really do; Take myself seriously.

This.is.a.rant.

Actually I thought that hurting peoples feelings and having a huge attitude was something that went out of style when you became 20 or something.

But the other day it was something I saw happening to a friend of mine, and it both made me sick to my stomach, it made me dizzy, and it also put me right back in school as the outsider I always was and still am. It was the same feeling that I had years ago when I was at a school reunion and I felt horrible because the patterns was the same as they where when we attended school. I didn’t get a chance to do differently because they already thought they knew me, and I wasn’t that interesting to them. I hadn’t been interesting 10 and 20 years ago, what would be interesting about me now? They gave me attitude.

That “you’re not good enough to be talking to me” attitude.

That “what have you ever achieved” attitude.

That “why are you approaching me” attitude.

Basically my friend just sat down at a full table and told a lady that she loved her book. Within 3 minutes the table was cleared of other people than her. And I thought ” wow that was extremely harsh and rude”. I think it actually made a larger impact on me than her.

Now in my perspective, we are only succesful because we see ourselves as succesful and we have achieved something because people can relate to what we’re writing or teaching or creating. If the people relation wasn’t there – then you wouldn’t be succesful. There’s no way that I’ll refer anyone to those ladies at that table again. Because I don’t think they deserve it.

In my opinion those ladies have the same pattern as the kids in school. That pattern became the primus motor for me to actually start my own business and publish a book before I was 30.

I really don’t want to get into details, but it just meant the world to me, the outsider, to be the one shouting “I told you so” or “see what I said ? Look who’s awesome now”.  In some ways it’s a double edged sword, because I can see both my primus motor and what their doing as a part of the same pattern. It’s the “im more succesful than you attitude”.

I have chosen to be humble about it though. it’s not something I shout out- and I think I am pretty welcoming to people, because I know that If I ain’t they will see me as some sort of arrogant bitch, never referring any more clients to me. It might be that it derived from my own insecurities as a person, but I’ve chosen to see it as strenght in my work and my personality. Im the outsider, the one you probably wouldn’t choose to talk at first choice at a cocktail party. Im overweight and I wear weird clothes and I suck at wearing heels. But Im also the one having more fun and getting more love from people, because I am humble because I relate and I give them a 1000 chances to tell me who they are and what they believe in. It could be that we don’t agree or don’t match, then it is what it is. But you have to give people a chance.

So get off your high horse and come down to earth and play. You’re hurting people. And it’s so much more fun here. We even have good music, champagne and cupcakes.

So I stumbled across this list through the next women – and even though I appreciate it a lot – I think a list with the coolest geekgirls from a scandinavian/european perspective would be awesome! – and I am so doing that.

I am aiming for 500 geekgirls and 500 pieces of geekgirl business advice – both for the femmes but also for the hommes =)

I want to include all of you! – so drop me a note on henrietteATtoothlesstigerDOTcom or leave a comment below if you want in/knows someone who should be on the list – tell me a bit about yourself, give me your best business advice and give me a link to your twitter and site – and let’s build this together=)

1. “Don’t ever do anything mainstream” – Henriette Weber

2. “Follow your Passion and bring it into Action!” – Pernilla Näsfors

3. “Be trustworthy and kick assâ„¢” – Amelie Jacobsson

4. “Be a hub! With spokes! The hub is your core business, your specialty. The spikes is what you also make money on. Keep oiling the hub, keep it in top shape!” – Karin Høgh

5. “To slip on the right banana peel, you need to eat lots of lots of bananas. ” – Linn Grubbström

6. “Put yourself into your customer’s shoes and understand their business! Only then you will be able to help them finding “their” solution and sell them what really suits them best. If you cannot offer them anything really suitable, an honest “no” is better than selling them a bad solution. Honesty and helpfulness is core for establishing a long-term business friendship! Yes, friendship, not just relationship, since friendship is about helping, trust and honesty. That is what ensures future sales. Disregard this if you aim for business one-night-stands only.” – Anja Rauch

7. ”Remember that the path to luck must be weeded daily.” – Néné La Beet

You’re in- aren’t you ?

So during the last couple of months the amount of times I’ve heard “we need to be based in the valley” from startups has increased – a lot.

Yesterday I found a blogpost about the “european ecosystem” for startups – I think the article has a lot of great points, but I want to add my own more-action filled 2 cents.

I don’t want to move to the valley. I want to be at my own personal silicon mousehole called Elsinore, Denmark. Because it’s cool here and it’s where my kid goes to school. See, we are possibly 3 companies up here working with the internet. It’s not even Copenhagen. I don’t see a decentralized tech scene as something bad, I see it as something remarkably “glocal” and an opportunity to tell a different story than yet-another-startup-out-of-the-valley. I think what we need to aim at, is the “clusters” in the different cities, making sure that companies within the same field works together to ensure further growth.

We have a technical ecosystem that makes sure that we can work on projects from anywhere in the world with video and cms/crm/project management systems located somewhere on the internet. And basically being based in the same city makes me not prioritize meeting people here, because I could meet them at any time. I think there’s a huge psychological thing attached to geographical locations that isn’t taken into consideration when talking about “the whole tech scene needs to be in the valley” and the “competitive advantages of valley startups”.

So how do I make sure that people in the  tech scene knows about this little red tornado (aka. me)?

I often do tours of Europe to be present at the gatherings that are made in and for the european tech scene, it’s important to me because I get a grasp of what’s happening amongst the firstmovers of the internet, it’s important for me because it makes me connect to people, that are easier to connect with here than if they where in the valley. Oh and sometimes I even meet people at a different conference again – and they remember me.

Think about it. If you want to pitch/sell/get to know some hot shot person (maybe the coolest person in the world) it’s probably better to meet him when he’s out of his context, when he’s in Paris or London or Copenhagen for a week and don’t really have anything else to do there than to speak at conferences and attend meetings. If he’s in the valley he’s within his own context and wouldn’t prioritize meeting you as much as he would if he was in Europe and had time on his hands.

So I definitely see that you need to be present physically in the tech scene, you need to meet people where they are (physically as well as on the internet). But I would rather stay put in my small town and fly out to meet the tech scene physically every second month (europe, asia, US ) instead of being present all the time, backing it up with skype calls and tweets and facebook likes and what have you. Get a proactive and strategic approach to the tech community would create so much more for you as a startup than to be present in the valley at all times.

Live from my personal silicon mousehole

Im a girl who came home crying from school in 3rd grade because the ozone layer was going away and I was afraid that the earth would be turning into a living hell because of consumption. This article probably isn’t anything new, it’s just my reflection and call for action to other people, hoping that it will help them to do a little more…

I woke up this morning to the horrifying images and videos from a gigantic earthquake and Tsunami sweeping over Japan. It left me sitting and crying in front of the computerscreen. Im convinced that these devastating earthquakes and tsunamies are manmade and a part of the climate change we are experiencing in these years. It’s now a fact that glacier movement increasingly are causing earthquakes and tsunamies I guess Im sad and in tears because I feel like there’s no actions that I can do to prevent this. The things I am told to do by the danish government agencies is to save water and oil and try not to use as much energy. It’s putted sharply in contrast with what other people are doing around the world. I don’t want to point fingers.

I am sure that we can sit here for a couple of years yet to come and see “it” happen, before the iceberg tips and words are putted into action on a global scale. Im a democratic girl all the way, but I seriously feel that this is an issue that is so much bigger than democracy. It’s so hard to grasp because it affects us all in a timeframe that is called “the next 30- 50 years”.

This is the only ONLY time you’ll hear me say this, but in an ideal world, I think the world needs a climate dictator, superior to none. Someone who can say “ok that’s it – you ain’t getting any more oil”. We need global action, people.

If I could change the world, I would like to see that the climate was putted on the top of the list of the political global agenda, by all leaders of the world. Call me an idealist, but this is going nowhere, the leaders are meeting at COP-whatever and I am wondering how many years will go by before we see that it’s becoming back to normal – whatever normal used to be. Normal just didn’t use to be monthly catastrophes around the world and melting icebergs. I can’t put my finger on the climate status quo- but it sure isn’t this.

So how can we fight this? What is our most powerful weapon ?

I think my most powerful weapon is my action and my voice. I will not tolerate that the earth will be completely fucked up when my grandkids and great – grandkids are born. I don’t want this to be a part of my generations legacy! I want you to do more. I want you to show up. I want climate demonstrations online and offline and I want the whole of the rightminded world there. I want to shout out to my friends on the internet and say “stop what you’re doing, this is so more important, it’s about survival of the species”. I want to take these tears and these tweets, facebook updates and prayers and I want them to change what you do and how you do it. I want the whole world to jump at the same time and say – this is enough. I want legislation to tell us what we can and cannot do, if we are supposed to be here tomorrow. I don’t want to be able to choose between have an oil heated house or a solar heated house. I need to have the solar heated house to save the climate – it’s that obvious to me.  I want you to ban stuff and choices that’s not good for me!

And still I’m searching for political action on a global scale. Im trying hard to find cases of companies that are doing something really good for the climate. Im sorry guys, but I truely feel that the time of choices is over, because we’re just not choosing what’s best for us on a global scale. We need leadership and we need action. I promise you I will do whatever it takes to get us there – and I am sure you will as well.

This morning in a danish newspaper there was a story about that the royal family of Denmark was looking for two interns (at a master degree level) to work for them for free. Think about that what you will. But the thing that struck me was that some of their tasks was to update the website of the royal family.

I understand why the royal family doesn’t need a strong online presence, in most cases they are not required or sometimes even allowed to have an opinion about stuff.  It was so clear from the interview that the internet was not portraited as something that could generate anything for them. The internet was a place where people went to a website to get information about the royal family and not the other way around. It’s very ancient and pre-2005 to me.

Anyway the question I want to raise today, is if students should be in charge of your online identity, meaning your brand and your contact with people online, and not solely that, but amongst a lot of other tasks probably as well. But the students isn’t my point either.

My point is that if you’re online identity is something that you don’t make a strategical priority, then the possibilities you’re missing out on, and the things you don’t prioritize from the top of the company might be the things that will make you be outcompeted in a couple of years. It’s a serious pitfall, that I can see, if we’re still, in 2011 having people updating websites as a part of a student job. And only updating websites. Not any form of dialogue or online identity apart from that.

On another note, wouldn’t it be AWESOME if the danish royal family (and their staff) started to take the internet seriously as a communication channel and made it apart of their strategy to communicate with the people ? I think it would.

I think the thought of a digital firstmover royal family would rock the whole world.

I mean for starters they could start to listen what happened about them online. A while back I wrote about the branding of denmark because of the birth of the royal baby twins and that blogpost get a lot of hits from google and from some closed fancommunities of the royal family.
If they would tab into that, I guess they could find out more about what people really think, and not just mainstream media and gossip magazines.

Update: From Edgar, on my facebook page I found out that the norwegian royal family (or more specifically the crownprince and princess) actually do have a facebook page and a twitter profile. Very nice and down-to-earth-ish. I just wished that they would interact more instead of just broadcasting, but it’s a start =)

Picture by Jeppe Liisberg

I used half my saturday mentoring Copenhagen Startup Weekend.  It was crazy cool and left me floatin’ on a creativity trip, just from spending around 5 hours at the venue, together with the teams and the organizers. I can imagine how much inspiration the team members have gotten from a weekend filled with executing ideas. Anyway I got to mentor 5 ideas and the concept behind all of them was great.  I’m hoping that they all would be executed well and be some of the cool startups of tomorrow – like some startups emerged from last year (cough Memolane and Planely cough).  So this was where I saw that the teams I mentored where heading.

Using “online” to create convenient offline services

Actually, when I think of it, most of the teams weren’t doing communities on the internet or social websites, they where using online connections to create convenience in the real world. The talk was more on apps, RFID tags and censors then on “building the next facebook for xx”. I was happy because I’ve gotten a bit put off lately by the amount of web services that saw themselves as the next facebook (or facebook for businesses).

The idea was all about the end-users

No matter if it was a business-to-business or a business-to-consumer idea, it was all about the end-users. Involving them in ways that could make you collect data from them, and create a win-win situation for you (smarter companies) and for them (more relevancy and substance in the interactions with the companies).

Most of the ideas were built on visions of making the world a better place

Again it was about convenience but the drive came mostly for making the world fitter and happier.  I love when it’s not all about the money – I mean, money is fantastic, but the love I have for people who want to change the world is enormous.

I left Startup Weekend confirmed in my own hunches for the future, inspired and filled with enthusiasm for the teams – I’m sure they will do extremely well.

The last couple of days there has been a discussion going on in the danish twitterverse about a blogpost where he was sad about the social media/technological revolution (in danish) -because it made him and his family sit in front of screens all the time. I think it raises some great subjects, so I couldn’t help but giving you my take on it.

I have always felt trapped in between technological revolutions. Seriously – when I was a kid I loved loved loved playing Civilization and Hero Quest – I could get completely absorbed in the game to the point where my family didn’t see me for a whole weekend – if they letted me. I remember being FURIOUS if my brother had to borrow the computer and play. I have always been drawn to the games. I can see my daughter is getting as absorbed in it, as I was.

I tend to make it into a family thing to play animal crossing on the wii (which she loves) as I tend to make her help out cooking, create stuff and as she has her “creative online workshop” (a blog) where we posts things that’s she’s build out of cardboardboxes and other stuff. She loves to build, she loves to be read to, and she loves to make stories/movies with a camera and her lego’s (maybe with permission I can post some of it here).

I posted Clay Shirky’s essay called “gin,television and social surplus” in my book “return on involvement” because it’s one of the essays that means most to me. I think it’s spot on to say that the media has changed, and they have become more active (as he does in the essay).

I think the active media and how we use it is all about choice. It’s what we choose to make of it -I sit in front of the computer all day, and there’s nothing that makes me more relaxed than to cuddle up with the family in front of a nice movie, or to spend my nights reading books or doing art. I don’t believe in technology/life balance as well as I don’t believe in work/life balance or family/life balance- I believe in life.

Seriously if you think you spend too much time in front of the screen – get a house, a garden get some kids and get a dog… and you will cherish your time in front of the screen. Set up an environment for yourself where you can’t get absorbed in it. You will love it everytime you get to go into your RSS reader and see what magic is happening in there, because to me, the technology truely is magical.

If you let the technology take over, if you let it separate you from the crowd you’re in, and where you spend you’re time sitting in front of screens.

Like letting your kids play DS all day long,

Like being at conferences – not being present but checking out stuff on the internet

Like playing wii with your best friends instead of being together with them

I think it’s your priorities around the technology that’s not set up properly, and you probably should set them up – otherwise you might miss out on a great deal of living =).

Technology moves SO fast these days, it’s important that you have your priorities set up about it, both from a business, personal and a family point of view. To me the technology is empty shells – it’s just tools

But it’s what you put in these tools and what you decide to create with it, alone or in a group, that counts – it’s not a life takeover – it’s fun, creative, narcissistic and full of possibilities (as well as threats) – make the best of it.