A few weeks ago I got a random email from greek journalist Matthaios Tsimitakis, wanting to interview me for the Athenian newspaper Kathimerini. He said he was passing through Brooklyn, and could I meet that afternoon. After work, we went to a bar and talked. I had no idea what it was he wanted to ask about, and was surprised when it turned out he wanted to talk mainly about Grafedia. He, in turn, was very surprised at who I was - or so I suspected. He was expecting, based on Grafedia, to meet a tech artist, a subversive, definitely not someone talking about his current startup and the business world. I’m pretty sure I was disappointing him at first. But as we talked and had a few beers, we hit on some really interesting topics that touched on all of my work over the past four years, and where it may be heading. I was genuinely surprised with the outcome of the conversation, and felt like it gave me a new sense of direction.

The article is titled The Internet as a Model of Modern Cities. I can’t find the translated page, but here are some occasionally bizarre, sometimes indecipherable excerpts from a translation by Babelfish that get the general point of the conversation across:

The Tz. Gkera’tsj believes that the season of Web 2.0 finishes, but to us bequeaths interesting new ideas that were acquired without cost. “The Jnternet existed a enormous field of research for how we can organise the things. The cost of this research but also her failure was very low. In the Jnternet we learned to make very effective systems of management of all types of information and now I believe that it should we transport this experience in the real world.”

“Our cities contrary to the network, collapse. With the network of transport you want mja’mjsi hour in order to you go down from your house in the centre. If this were website, simply him we would close because it would not be enough good. I believe that odey’oyme to the season that we will take models from the Internet and him we will apply in our cities “.

In the question an it belongs in tehno-optimistic that see the technology as means of social development, his answer is unambiguous: “Yes. It is heard somehow idealistic but him I believe. I worked in many pro’tzekt that me helped I remove end with the jigsaw, city, Jnternet, social interaction coke. Now I try to put in the equation (city-technology) the parameter of balanced growth and the protection of environment. And believe that the Jnternet can play decisive role “.

Excuse my pidgin english there. And I’m not sure what that reference is to Coke - maybe Babelfish gets paid for product placement in its results?

Anyway, it was a stimulating discussion for me, and it has been generating a lot of ideas for me since then. If you can read Greek, you can read the full article here.

Posted on Friday, October 5th, 2007. Filed under Random.
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