personal

I woke up this morning with around 10 missed calls, 15 SMSs and a truck load of emails about the tragic death and assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan earlier today Pacific Time. I cannot say I know so much about Pakistani politics, but I do believe that violence is not the right way to go and that it never has been. We need to as a global society understand that only through dialogue we will be able to sustainable move forward into the future.

Too many global issues we have at hand – global warming, the war on terror, the global economy – are now being controlled and their solutions are being directed by a smaller number of people trying to obscure the path to the future. I have said this before that it is not a political statement but a human statement for the future. We all need to realize that the only sustainable way to walk into the future is to start to shape a global society and thereafter behave as such. This is truly not an original thought. Does United Nations and European Union ring a bell? The difference however is that we today via technology can build these borderless friendships if we only learn to embrace our differences and realize that we are very similar when it comes to it. When it comes down to it we want to live a peaceful life, work, eat, have kids sleep and most of all be with friends and family without feeling threatened. This is so simple.

Events such as the assassination of Benazir Bhutto makes me sad not only because of the death of a person, with significance whether you liked the political agenda of her or not, but it also makes me angry because we are letting the bad elements of this world to control and to some extent shape our future. Why do we let them? It shouldn’t be that way. It can change. Call me naive, but I will continue to believe this is the right way.

A friend said it so well: “Sitting here catching up in a pine and aspen grove on the slopes of the Jackson Hole ski resort. Bhutto’s death seems so far away, and so discouraging…”

I agree…

Sitting in the comfortable environment in Palo Alto is also a bit strange as you think back on what is happening around the world right now. However we should all try to find our role here and see how we should influence the future. I believe my role is here now.

Personally and all my friends knows this, I am such a profound believer of the open dialogue and the true freedom of speech. The first step is to embrace the differences with your enemy but you should also always, always look into yourself what you can do, what your part of the issue is. We are all part of a global society and we should start to realize that. Call it butter fly effect, the “pass it forward”-effect, but all our actions have some effect and the best way is to start to reflecting on how our behavior influences other people and if we have the right to do so. When it comes to violence I believe this is such an easy answer – violence never work.

In order for us to move forward here we need a global dialogue between all the world’s citizens about every issues – huge, small, big or just the average everyday issue we face. This is how we will progress as a society and this is what I sincerely believe we can do at http://www.allvoices.com.

Therefore, please help me spread the word as a sincerely believe the only way to move beyond this endless violence is to promote dialogue between citizens across the globe. The future lies in the unedited dialogue between the citizens of the world so let us start this dialogue now.

Very much as I did for the events in Lebanon last summer I thought it would be good to get people around the world and in particular in Pakistan to share their views about what is happening there after the assassination of Bhutto. Please spread the word about the pages below where anyone can contribute their opinions, ask questions or just let the world know how you feel. We will not edit any content at the site so everything is unedited. It is a free, unedited, unmediated forum for everyone to give their side of the story and to tell the rest of the world about events that matter. If you choose to contribute via cellphone (SMS, MMS and email) use the following numbers: +45-609-91-0280; +61-427-22-9537; mms@allvoices.com (for images).

Here is the event page for the tragic death of Benazir where you will find news stories, blogs, first hand accounts, videos and images about the assassination showing you all the angles of the event, please give us yours.
http://www.allvoices.com/benazir-bhutto-is-dead

A page with any content related to Benazir Bhutto including other parts she was part of. Let us know what your feelings are about her and her work.
http://www.allvoices.com/people/Benazir-Bhutto

(A more general presentation of allvoices is found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAM1y_Qb9Do )

Lately I have been thinking of what forms the personality of a person. I daily meet people and I am constantly amazed by the diversity of peoples minds and their characteristics. I am also amazed how many people I meet who are totally unaware of their personality and how much it influences their behavior in different situations. My oldest brother once told me that the most important thing is to always look into yourself and see what part you played in any event. This is most likely the hardest thing to do as you have to face yourself. Your fears, your shortcomings, but also your talents and greatnesses about you. (I remember a song from a song group from Uppsala, Sweden called ViBaFemBa called Slutstrid (i.e. The Final Battle) that very much tells this story.) Many people do not get this at all and are suck in chasing the answer outside themselves. I understand why, but yet don’t.

What I have grown to realize is that we should always stay honest to who we are, and what we have become. We should always learn from what we face in life but we are who we are.

A good friend gave me a book with a collection of chronicles of Hans Bergstrom, the former editor-in-chief at Dagens Nyheter – one of the biggest daily morning news papers in Sweden. I read several of the chronicles and one struck me as very on point about where the web, media and the world is heading. He wrote it around 99’ and mentioned that it is as important to write as it is to read.

I started to write this blog Sunday evening, but didn’t get far as things got in the middle. I am however glad they did as it will now get I a slightly different touch.

Hans Bergstrom is right in a way, and wrong in another. What he is right about is that we all have a right to speak our mind and opinion. (User generated media is giving a majority of the internet population the right tools to express themselves, yet we have a long way to go when it comes to organizing this material.) Back to the points by Hans Bergstrom. However I would still claim that the most important thing is to listen, rather than to express your opinion or proclaim your excellence. Some of my Swedish friends will now say. “Erik, you are talking about the law of Jante, and that is something we all are not that fond of.” I am not sure though that it is purely a bad thing. I do think it is over-exaggerated in Sweden though.

The same good friend and also mentor who gave me the book said the very obvious to me last year when we worked together: “The most difficult thing is to listen.” It may seem like a very trivial task but most people only hear or read what they want to. The importance of this becomes more important as your responsibility and need for leadership grow.

I usually recall that moment often these days mainly as part of my work.

The hardest thing is to listen. To really listen. Wise words.

In a way I wonder why, and in a way I understand completely why. What amazes me is that it seems to me that people who claim to feel for others and would like to get their voices heard have a hard time to really listen. Or maybe it is me who is not really listening here. I guess it is as simple as the more you care about something, the harder it is to really see that thing in different lights, in the “true” lights, whatever “true” lights means.

The most important thing is to learn to listen and probably also when not to listen. Interesting enough this is a very important element in all stages of creating social media.

It has been almost two months since I blogged here. It has been an intense period and the last month and a half has felt like a lifetime. Anyhow, everything is great here and the weather is great for rollerblading. Yesterday after a smashing win over Johan in tennis (yet with a healing injury in my right arm), I, Johan and Georges went up in the surrounding hills and rollerbladed for two hours. We did a quick stop at Alpine Inn (more commonly known here as Zotts) for a diet coke in the sun, and then we headed back to Palo Alto. To summarize, a huge load of work, but life is really good.