Bloggers Join Davos Elite
Annalisa Burgos
It’s this mix of entrepreneurs, corporate giants and political and civic leaders that makes the Davos experience unique.
“You’re always hearing amazing things about Davos,” said Sifry of Technorati. “Unlike other conferences, you’re not learning from someone who was paid to speak there. You’re learning from a Nobel Prize winner.”
Netomat’s Gershenfeld said the learning goes both ways.
“It’ll be interesting to see how the people in power look at the people who are responsible for the shifts in power,” he said.
For five-time participant Gillian Caldwell, “Davos is a place where a lot of conversations happen that otherwise would never take place.”
Caldwell, executive director of Witness, a human rights group co-founded by musician and activist Peter Gabriel, speaks to attendees each year about various topics, including corporate accountability and human rights issues. Last year, Caldwell persuaded actress Angelina Jolie to get involved with the group’s work.
“I’ve learned to expect the unexpected,” Caldwell said. “You never know who you’ll be sitting next to on the shuttle.”
It’s this unpredictable atmosphere that permeates Davos and has attendees eager to return.
Last year, economist Nouriel Roubini chatted with the heads of Google about the economics of information aggregation on the Web.
