The day most parts of USA and some parts of the world anticipated. The end of the presidency of George Bush and the begin of the presidency of Barack Obama. I dont know the last time I listened to a speech of a German politician like this, I dont know why I have the feeling, there is no such German politician…

What did Barack Obama do…so far…nothing…but he gave a convincing inaugural address (part  I and part II), gave hope, strength and optimism. There will be difficult weeks and months, maybe even years…what do people need in such times…politicians and leaders they can look up to and trust! Let’s just hope that this moment will be the starting point for real change in the USA and maybe even the world.

We dont know what will come, let’s hope for the best and give our best! 

Let’s fix our eyes on the horizont…!

…a long interesting night it has been…following live-streams on ZDF and CNN, commenting with friends on Facebook and following live-blogs and Twitter. It is amazing. History has happened today…! A year ago I was in New York and already, back then, you could see and feel that the U.S. was tired of the Bush-Administration. Now, finally, change has come — and what a change! Barack Obama is the first African-American president of the USA. It was just amazing to watch the election, and to  see people gathering together all across the US — people of different races, ages, genders, etc.– celebrating the hope they have in Mr. Obama, the change, and the new USA. It is amazing to see, that a lot of the votes came from young people — first-time voters…a generation which gathered, campaigned, and communicated mostly on the web and in social networks…Some analysts already say that the way of using the internet changed the face of the campaign and the election. It appears to be true, considering the surge in internet campaign fund-raising, the constant blogging, the exchange of information and personal opinions on Facebook and other social network sites. The young generation doesn’t have to meet in person, or go on the streets like they did in the 60s and 70s … the street is the internet, and it acts way more powerful, faster, direct, global and — most importantly — more personal and individual… just an amazing night!

Next week I will be going to the States again … I am already looking forward to it — it’s gonna be different!

Let me first apologize for not writing this entry in German. I could write something in German but it would be simple and lacking emotion and this entry needs to be representative of my stay here with Queo.

„The remedy is the experiance.“  Jason Mraz
Before my Queo-Media internship, I did not know for sure which career path I would travel down. This uncertainty was cured by my experiance with all of you, with Queo. I learned to love marketing and the open creativity experianced daily. The open and friendly atmosphere in the office allows comfortable learning for an intern and I thank each and every one of you for your respect and kindness you have shown me. You have, honestly, made this internship one of the most memorable and valuable learning experiances of my life.

What I have learned on my internship:

1. German powerpoint presentations are a hundred times better than any American college presentation.

2. Afri-Cola is the holygrail.

3. The daily marketing atmosphere contains long hours and many head-aches but those who do it love it and are motivated by the migraine.

4. Never, I mean Never, be willing to do a project for Tobi on Adobe Illustrator.

5. Creativity is important but being able to actualize creativity is essential.

6. Do not try an unfamilier item on menu at a restaurant in Germany. I did and I got Sülze. Lesson learned.

7. This is a small world and the commonalities between Americans and Germans are endless. However, there is one big difference for me, the language. Uh… J

8. Trains and buses are only useful when you get on the correct one.

9. A tourist only needs to be fluent with one sentence in German „Ich spreche nur ein bisschen Deutsch.“ The accent will give them away and will be responded to in English, every single time.

10. I learn more when I fail or misguide myself in a project. This amount of learning I experiance when I mess up is amazing, it feels good to be that much smarter. Therefore, I hope I continue to fail as long as I do not fail twice at the same thing. Abraham Lincoln lost every single election of his life until he ran for United States presidency.

Once again I would like to thank all of you for this experiance.
I will leave you with a quote by the same person I started this entry with, Jason Mraz.
„Go make your next choice be your best choice.“

Matt Chapman

Heute erhielten wir einen Brief von Ken Anderson, welcher mit seinem Hundeschlitten im diesjährigen Iditarod den 4.Platz belegt hat. queo hat ihn bei seiner Website bzw. Blog (www.windycreekkennel.com) unterstützt und wird dies auch weiter tun. Als Dank für unsere Unterstützung erhielten wir sein Journal und die DVD zum Iditarod 2008. Vielen Dank! Thank you very much, Ken!

Der Film wird sicher auf einem der nächsten Ideenkreise gezeigt.

…bei strahlendem Sonnenschein und blauem Himmel sitze ich in Tribeca in einem Café und habe nun endlich den neuen queo-Newsletter raussenden können. Danke an die heimischen Proggies, die den kleinen Error schnell gefunden und behoben haben.

Gestern abend habe ich mich in einem netten Café in SoHo mit Florian getroffen, eine Empfehlung von Prof. Sonntag (Vielen Dank an dieser Stelle nochmal dafür.)

(mehr…)

Hallo aus der Hauptstadt der Welt

nachdem zuerst ein paar ruhigere Tage in New Jersey angesagt waren, ist nun New York City dran. Downtown tobt das Leben wie eh und je und nach Jahren meiner persönlichen Abstinenz fühlt es sich wieder sehr gut an, hier zu sein. Das Treiben auf Ground Zero zwischen Trauer, Zuversicht und Aufbauwillen beeindruckt. Wobei man über das schier unglaubliche und vielleicht fast schon überhebliche Vorhaben sicher auch streiten kann. Abseits des touristischen Treibens sitze ich gerade im Stadtteil Tribeca in einem Café zwischen Studenten, Künstlern und vielleicht New Yorker Bohème mit Aussicht auf die Franklin Station und 40 Worth St. Nach der Hektik des Morgens und der etwas ungemütlichen Nacht im Hostel tut das mal ganz gut. Gerade sind 103 Emails eingetroffen, die mich erwartungsvoll ansehen, derzeit aber erstmal ignoriert werden. Interessanter ist das Treiben im Café und die unterschiedlichen Leute vertieft in ihre Arbeit, Bücher oder Laptops. Man kommt leicht in Gespräche und erfährt interessante Infos oder Standpunkte. Amstrengend und inspirierend zugleich…wäre es nicht schön, solchen Input täglich zu verarbeiten und mit europäischen Einflüssen zu vermischen und daraus etwas Neues zu kreieren. Vielleicht irgendwann… queo New York…klingt gut.