At the beginning of this month I was invited to the re:publica blogger conference in Berlin to give a talk on the Obama campaign’s use of social media: “The Power of the Digital Us: Obama and Beyond”. (See presentation below.)  New ideas and new people, not to mention my first trip to Berlin.  Heard a great talk from Cory Doctorow, who won applause for his harsh criticisms of media companies who threaten their customers for inappropriately using their content, and took part in a fun panel discussion with Esra’a Al Shafei of Mideast Youth on the fault lines in digital activism.

Hours-long dinners at cheap and delicious restaurants (I recommend Schwarzwaldstuben) spent with colleagues from Freedom House and with the hilarious Esra’a.  What else…  beautiful graffiti at the famous artists’ collective Tacheles, the first days of spring and everyone in a good mood, views of the Reichstag and its glass dome, full of the idealism of accountable government.

Slides from my talk on the use of social media by the Obama campaign:

photo credits: Daniel Seiffert (re:publica’09) and Mike 23 (Tacheles)