French food for dreams

I'm off to Cannes for an intense week in April, as I'm attending the MipTV and Milia. The main themes for the five conference days are known but the speakers are yet to be announced.

And right outside Cannes, there's a lovely paeonia garden, La Villa Noailles. I do hope I can arrange time for a stop there! It's my dream to run a lush, green, quiescent garden where peonies would grow throughout the season starting early spring and ending in autumn. I'd run a small café with sherry, gâteaus and orange liquor, with tables only for two or three parties maximum. It's intentionally not a very profitable enterprise, rather it's the spirit, l'esprit of it. Hopefully, I get a bit of nurture in Cannes for my dream.

Notes from Ebba von Sydow's talk

Her talk treated mostly trends in young women's media consumption, behaviour and taste.

• The internet is as such no biggie for young Swedish women. It's like any other medium, it's considered a carrier of other media, such as radio, TV, news papers...
• Many are more comfortable with expressing emotions and opinions in front of a computer screen or via sms, instead of face to face. Young women of today are afraid of making a phone call and talking to someone, instead, they prefer electronic communication.
• Ebba von Sydow dislikes the claim often heard today, that young people lack engagement, that they don't care. They do care, and they engage through clothing, fashion. The means of expressing the engagement is new, she stresses.
• As for the environment awareness, young Swedish women seem to think: "That's great, but I won't...". A t-shirt made of organic cotton every now and then may be ok, but making a long-term commitment is out of the question.
• She mentions the importance of involving the user in online sites and communities, the two cases she talks of are Ellos and Lego.
• Finally, the brand is of minor importance for teenagers online. They're extremely disloyal and unfaithful to brands. What counts is what buzzing at the moment, what others are talking about.

Ebba's blog is here (in Swedish).

The night prior to inspiration

My expectations of the coming weekend are high. It's the first conference for this year, and it's a good one, Mediespråk (media language). Two years ago, the chief editor of a Swedish evening newspaper, Bo Strömstedt, made fall in love with language and poetry again. On an early Saturday morning no less. I completely forgot the hangover and instead, I came to terms with the grudge against classic French literature (long story). I'm still impressed by the man. This year's main speakers are the journalist and fashion blogger Ebba von Sydow and the award winning journalist and author Mustafa Can.