Saturday, January 27, 2007 5:36 PM
So, Davos* has begun. Has anyone noticed that world meetings/events like Davos, especially those which take place outside of the United States, have become much more accessible to the average person...in large part to the proliferation of weblogs covering them?
I searched the blawgosphere this morning, and didn't see much coverage. But, step outside legal into the wild and woolly blogosphere, and the coverage is overwhelming. There is no end to the 'official' type news coverage, but what I have found more interesting is some of the blog posts covering just the day-to-day storylines of what people in attendance actually do. Also, while I have read (over and over again) that "climate change" is the overriding theme at Davos this year, in reading through the blog coverage, it seems "social networking" might be equally apt.
For example, Desicritics is Blogging Davos, and noted:
Presumably, there is a lot more fun and booze at Davos, going by the blogs. The 800 company CEOs attending the show are encouraged to blog at the WEF online journal of its participants. A Davos delegate blogs of the night he went into his hotel bar to find something to eat, and ended up meeting some Amazon-based Brazilian social entrepreneurs - 'we ended up drinking beers and swapping stories well into the night.' Speaking of meeting people the blogger writes of the immense opportunities Davos provides. He reckons the best place to meet people are in the minivans (seating six) that shuttle delegates around various happenings spots in Davos.
The social networking effect is also online and on display at Davos Conversation, sort of an interactive commons for Davos.
And, the World Economic Forum's blog said Social entrepreneurs at Davos are attending in force, and are being well-received, alongside the following party report:
One great example of this was a major reception held last night with the following hosts: Marc Benioff (CEO of Salesforce.com), Prof. & Mrs. Schwab, Michael Dell, Peter Gabriel (rockstar and founder of Witness), Alan Hassenfeld (Hasbro) and Marilyn Carlson Nelson (Carlson Travel). The reception was held in honor of social entrepreneurs and marking the release of a new book edited by Marc Benioff entitled The Business of Changing the World, which is a compendium of essays about business people and their engagement with the social sector. I had some great conversations with people explaining what Benetech does.
Whether via blog, video clip or audio file, you can track Davos meetings, interviews and happenings (as well as follow links to more detailed reports, essays and studies) like never before [e.g., Jeff Jarvis is going strong with Davos content at BuzzMachine].
Obviously, I am just scratching the surface on this topic. You can dive in on your own, via any of the links above or your own queries at Google's Blog Search. Davos, up close and personal; it is almost homey.
*Davos is famous as the host to the Annual Meetings of the World Economic Forum (WEF), an annual meeting of global political and business elites, which is often referred to as simply Davos. [Definition from the Wikipedia] The World Economic Forum's website is here.