Konstantina Zoehrer, is a 27-year-old dreamer, social entrepreneur and a “so-called web fairy”. Born and raised in Vienna but based in Athens, she studied Political Science and History, worked for several companies in different sectors. She finally found herself perfectly suited into being a dedicated freelancer for cultural and social projects, expressing her creativity digitally and doing communication from a “human point of view”.

1. Tell us the story of your latest project / occupation.

Besides bouncing ideas off with and for the Jelly coworking community in Greece, I am working on different projects. One personal: a podcast series for inspiring voices talking about several topics under the motto «People make Ideas Happen». One social non-profit: Coordinating digital communication and digital content production for a cultural platform that is aiming to create awareness and engage on environmental issues. Its debut project will take place in Athens in June 2011.

2. What are you doing and how did you get there?

Somehow I slipped into digital communication and the social sector, and somehow I have the desire to find at least one solution for any problem. I am dreamer and passionate believer in a vision of a human world.

3. Tell us about the biggest successes and failures in your life. What worked, what didn’t, and what did you learn?

Big failures lead to big successes. It does not matter if you fail, it matters that you recognize, learn and improve. Most people are afraid of failing. I try to see it as a chance to improve and to take responsibility. Biggest failure: Not hearing to that inner voice, we all have, the heart. Biggest success: Loving what I do, with the people and for the people I do.

4. What do you want to achieve in a) the next week, b) the next year, c) the next ten years?

In the next week – Spend as much time as possible with family and friends, meet new people.

In the next year – See my projects inspire others to do things. Being on the way to achieve my MA.

In ten years – Be free and responsible enough to work for a more human world. Being seriously in love with what I am doing.

5. What was your most inspiring moment during the last two weeks?

Walking through Athens after a long time and enjoying a take-away coffee.

6. How could other Sandboxers and the outside world support you and why would that be exciting for them.

I love meeting new people and coming across new ideas. What I also love is giving well-intentioned, encouraging input to others to help them to make the next step. Ask me whatever you want, whenever and I will try to find a way to help you the best I can.

7. Your twitter/facebook account

Drop me a line on Twitter or Facebook and we will find a more personal way to get in touch.

Konstantina’s favourite:

- book: The Royal Game by Stefan Zweig

- movie: A touch of spice

- place on earth: Where-my-heart-belongs

- travel destination during last year: Madrid, Santorini

- food: Pasta, chocolate

- drink: Coffee, Wine

- quote: «Before you talk, listen. Before you react, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you quit, try.» ~ Ernest Hemingway

Every day, our community manager Katrin Winiarski, reads through her feed of all Sandboxers’ blog posts. Every Thursday, she chooses the most inspiring, funny or brilliant one and reposts it on this blog. This post has been written by Sandboxer Edward Harran. This is only a shortened version, the original version can be found here.

Sunday being Valentines and the Chinese New Year, I tried to find a theme somehow connecting the two – ultimately settling on our love affair with the internet. Google’s first TV advertisement in the US captures the sentiment quite well.  The internet enables and initiates almost everything, from information sharing to  something potentially much more.

Ironically, as the ad tells the story of the internet being woven into our personal lives, Google threatens to withdraw services from China while Iran bans email and nearly shuts down its own internet.  Similarly, in more progressive countries, workplaces and schools seek to limit private communication, ranging from blocking social media to enforcing penalties for texting. The collision of interests is cultural as much as it is political.  Stefana Broadbent, an ethnographer studying the way social habits and relationships function in the digital age, concludes the internet facilitates modern intimacy.  Efforts to regulate this intimacy will be strenuous and short lived at best.

This exposes a deeper cultural dynamic. As the millennial generation merges the physical and virtual worlds and as ubiquitous, borderless, and instant communication become the norm, authorities with outdated worldviews will fall.  Fearing limits on their ability to maintain control, institutions corner communication technologies as a scapegoat, sometimes even blaming external powers for stirring domestic affairs.  China, for example, believes that the west is “wielding communications innovations from malware to Twitter to weaken it militarily and to stir dissent internally.” 

It’s true, online communication amplifies the collective (sometimes critical) voice.  Instead of silencing this voice, figures of authority must engage in conversation and establish a dialogue that demonstrates genuine concern. If the government or workplace can’t trust its own people to communicate freely, the problem is rooted much deeper.  Last week’s Economist Special Report on Social Networking briefly discusses this topic in relation to the workplace.

Image thanks to ivoryocean on Flickr.

Limiting access to communication won’t work for a generation of ‘digital natives’.  Online communication, in many ways, is an extension of and facilitator for physical interactions.  Connectivity is the new cultural norm and it’s woven into daily routines.  As younger people enter public service, the number of supporters understanding and championing this cultural norm will grow (Alec Ross and Jared Cohen being great examples in the US) — hopefully the trend is similar in other parts of the world.

As we celebrate the Chinese New Year and Valentines day, let’s hope China and all other countries with questionable internet policies realize that just as physical walls failed in the 20^th century, virtual walls will fail in the 21^st.  The internet must remain uncensored, information must move freely, and countries need to embrace the cultural norm valuing connectivity.  It’s time for internet lovin’.

Paul Gleger previously worked for the International Office of Communication and Information Policy at the US Department of State.  Among other things, the office was tasked with promoting internet freedom.  It was successfully lead by Sandbox Advisory Board member David Gross.

At Sandbox we’re fortunate to interact every day with some of the most inspiring young innovators around the world. Our members are constantly driving new ideas and exploring untouched opportunities. Observing patterns within our community and studying trends of our clients, we identified six major themes to watch out for in 2010 and beyond:

1. Unique and Genuine Corporate Cultures

Many young people today are afraid of becoming “corporate slaves” limited to standardized work without any meaning. To be successful, companies increasingly don’t only have to be efficient, but must also create genuine corporate cultures that attract and retain employees, customers and shareholders.
Read more >>

2. Create Meaningful Relationships

Being connected to others is crucial to our personal and collective success. The evolving “social web” phenomenon has made these interactions easier. In turn, creating and sustaining meaningful relationships will become even more important and valuable.
Read more >>

3. Hippies 2.0: Do What You Love and Get Paid for It

More than ever, young people have a strong desire to do something meaningful in their lives. We see twenty-five year olds having their “quarter-life crisis” and asking themselves about their purpose in life and how it impacts society. This new “passion generation”, as we call it, mixes their drive for meaningful impact with another old concept: capitalism.
Read more >>

4. Linking Data to Objects

The term “augmented reality” has been around for some time. It describes technologies and processes that add digital data to real-world objects and places. Now, finally, we think that all the pieces are in place for these technologies to spread widely, become more developed, and dramatically alter our lives.
Read more >>

5. Social Business Design

The internet is more than a tool, it is an evolving user-powered organism that creates and manages vast information. The trends seen in the evolution of the internet can be leveraged by organizations and translated into new structures, processes, business models and cultures. “Social Business Design” makes organizations more agile, more connected and more transparent.
Read more >>

6. Emplotment: The Skill of Making Sense of Stuff

Historically, the most natural form of communication is story telling. Then came the ideals of rationality and objectiveness and banned stories to the realms of fiction. Today, we experience information overload. As the vastness of data around us increases, the value of storytelling multiplies.
Read more >>

In many ways, the six themes overlap and share the following properties:

• Emotional Innovation: In pursuit of happiness, we are creating innovative living and working spaces that give sense of purpose and reflect our passions. We also had intense discussions about this topic at the recent Palomar5 summit in Berlin.
• Blending Virtual and Physical: Technology is no longer just an instrument, it is deeply integrated into the heart of society, amplifying the individual voice and shifting social dynamics.
• Social Everything: The internet was the start, but today everything is connected through the social web, from organizational structures, corporate cultures, product development, marketing, problem solving, and the human experience.

We would love to hear from you: What do you think of these topics? What are your big trends for this year? Let us know in the comments!

We are excited to announce the support of Tashi Lassalle and to welcome her to our Advisory Board!

Tashi is a communications strategist with ten years experience in politics and private enterprise. Today she focuses on the transformative power of the emerging markets as a Director at Actis, a global private equity fund with US$4.8 bn under management.

Her previous work has focused on the intersection between talent and technology. As Vice President of Strategic Development for Heidrick & Struggles she initiated new ventures, and built collaborative partnerships with organizations including the World Economic Forum, World Bank, NASDAQ, and Tomorrow’s Company. She has also been featured on Management Today’s 35 under 35, a yearly ranking of the highest-flying young businesswomen in Britain.

With professional and personal experience that spans the US, Europe and Asia, Tashi now lives with her young family in Copenhagen. We’re excited and proud to have her on board and are convinced that she will be a great addition with her experiences in  leadership, communication and recruiting.

Welcome on board, Tashi!

That’s why we’ve decided to start a new series on this blog documenting the small innovations we encountered when traveling. We’re calling it “Why don’t we have that at home?”, because this is exactly what we think every time we see something really cool abroad.

I just returned from a trip to Finland (Elina, Maija, Riku and Kirill, if you’re reading this: Thanks a lot for everything!), so we’ll start with two things I’ve found in this beautiful nordic country:

1. Supermarket salad that’s actually fresh. I don’t like salad from the supermarket; it usually looks old and doesn’t taste like much. At home, I make the effort to go to a real market to buy salad. But the Finnish supermarkets showed me that there is another way: They sell their salad with the roots still in a tiny bucket of earth. Very simple, not expensive (the salad was one euro apiece), but works very well: I’ve never had salad from a supermarket that looked and tasted that good.

2. Mobile phone booths in the train. In every Finnish train coach, there is a small mobile phone booth. The mobile phone-crazy Finns use it to make calls because reception in the booth is better than elsewhere in the train. The great side effect is that fellow travelers don’t get disturbed by all the phone chatter.

Now over to you: What are the cool innovations you’ve encountered while traveling the world?