Traveling with Rolf to Emerce e.day

Rolf Skyberg, Disruptive Innovator here at eBay, recently returned from a whirlwind trip to France and the Netherlands. Back from his travels, he gives his take on Paris, Rotterdam, high-speed trains, humor that doesn't always translate, as well as the exotic (and to some, inexplicable) appeal of mayonnaise below. Enjoy!

-Delyn

Rendezvous'ing with Max Mancini, the director of Platform and Disruptive Innovation in Paris, we first met with our French team to discussion innovation, web trends and how business gets done. We learned quite a lot from them including how they manage their projects and all the exciting things they are developing. Again it reminded us how truly a global company eBay is.

Taking the high-speed "Thalys" train from Paris to Rotterdam in a short three hours brought us within walking distance to the primary reason for our trip, Emerce e.day. Billing itself as the "premier event of 2007 where inspiring speakers and innovative companies shed light on the latest technologies and trends," I had been invited to speak after my presentation at the Web 2.0 EXPO in San Francisco. After enjoying a speaker's dinner hosted by Rotterdam's city council, I returned to my hotel room and really set about revising my presentation for a European audience.

When I'd presented my Web 2.0 presentation earlier to our Paris office, some of my slides were unintentionally hilarious while other jokes fell flat on their face. Apparently some things don't translate well across languages. My new presentation for e.day included references to windmills (a Dutch favorite), a little bit of American history, and a new message overall: "Web 2.0 is an era, not a thing." The morning of my presentation, my message carried well as I presented to the packed audience in a renovated Dutch Koffie factory. Whipping through 477 slides in only 35 minutes, I drank the three bottles of water that had been placed on my podium while the group of international business people quizzed me about community, Web 3.0, and what to think of the internet in general. Max explored the conference floor visiting our Marktplaats team and attending other sessions while I talked to some small groups throughout the day. We left the conference inspired by the enthusiasm of everyone in attendance.

I think the biggest message that I took from the e.day conference and meeting with our worldwide teams was that we all have the same basic needs. Languages and cultures may be different, but deep down we all want and fear the same things. Business is important, but the connections we make with our loved-ones is stronger. Everyone wants a place to call their own, but to be invited to share in someone else's space. We fear that change will bring turmoil, but it's too exciting to turn back now. The world is a big place, and friends help lead the way when the path gets dark. I know that by embracing these learnings and accepting them as simple truths, success will surely follow.

PS: I also learned that around the world, everybody likes fried potatoes, and the Dutch like theirs with mayonnaise.

- Rolf Skyberg