Elisberg Industries
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Products
    • Books
    • Movies
  • About Elisberg Industries
    • Our Corporate Board
    • Information Overstock
    • Elisberg Industries Entertainment Information
    • Elisberg Statistical Center of American Research
    • Consultancy Service
  • Contact
    • How to Find Us
  • Kudos
  • Good Things to Know
    • The BOB Page
    • Sites You Might Actually Like
Decent Quality Since 1847

Wie Gehts

7/12/2014

0 Comments

 
As some of you may recall, I've gone to the IFA Berlin tech trade show the last couple of years.  It's basically like the European version of the Consumer Electronics Show, though it focuses more on appliances and innovation that tech products that are necessarily coming to the stores next quarter.  But they're similar.
'
And you may recall too that I've written about how the show is massive, interesting, but a tad disorganized in its rambling spread, and other ways.

(One of my favorite photos I took, for instance, was this one, which helps explains the difficulty of getting around and finding the hall you're looking for.  If anyone can decipher their numerical sense of direction you're a better explorer than I am.)
Picture
IFA Berlin is coming up soon, and I've begun preparing for this year's extravaganza -- and so, too, is Messe Berlin, the organizing group.  Though the "organize" part might be a bit misleading.  Though "Messe" is so perfect that I believe proves the existence God and His sense of humor.

Anyway, throughout the year I get press releases from the good folks there.  (At least I think they're press releases.)  But they come more in droves as the show nears.  Here's one, for example, that I received just the other day --
Picture
Right.  Pretty interesting, eh?  Now you know why I so look forward to going every year.  How do you pass up something like that?!! 

There are a lot of times, I know, when Americans get blindly xenophobic, not just insisting that the rest of the world speak English, but expecting that everyone does.  But this isn't a case of that.

IFA Berlin is a world exhibition.  And it wants to be seen as perhaps the leading world tech exhibition.  And if you're going to accomplish that, I'd think that Rule One is that you accept that there is a world out there.  And it's not just Germany, and most people in it don't speak German.  And they do speak English.  It's not that Americans don't speak German but do speak English.  It's that the French, Italians, Turks, Japanese, Chinese, Venezuelans, Indians, Russians, Spanish, Israelis, Nigerians, Libyans, Australians, Egyptians and Lebanese don't speak German, but do speak English.

And they're likely just as bewildered when they get information sent to them like this, as Americans are.  And British, South Koreans, Uruguayans, Mexicans, Taiwanese, Canadians, and...well, you get the idea.

I've been told that there are warring factions within Messe Berlin -- one group of traditionalists who want to carry on the legacy going back over 90 years when the IFA exhibition was indeed just in Germany for Germans (and largely promoting radios...), and those who want to focus on the world market they're trying to attract.  This battle can be seen in the press room, where the press table is covered in piles of official documents almost exclusively written in German during the first few days of the show, but more and more bringing out those in English as the event goes on.  

And to be clear, I don't only get press emails written in German, since half the time they'll be in English.  But it's not like I'll get one of each at the same time, hedging their linguistic bets.  It's random.  German one day, English a few weeks later.  But that's not the bizarre thing.  You see, this isn't a case of "Well, we don't know who'll be receiving these emails, so lets just send them in German because we're German.  The bizarre thing is that you do know who'll be receiving them.  After all, it isn't hard to know which countries' emails are German-speaking and which aren't.  German email ends in ".de" -- you can see it right there, in the presse-information above.  You can't miss it.  "Stehle@gfu.de."  And "Vonerropp@messe-berlin.de."  Perhaps in Austria they have a lot of people speaking German.  Fine, send German-language email there.  But most everywhere else?  Seriously, why would you send a press release written in German to Malaysia?  Or Peru?  The show organizers (ah, that word again...) have to be able to figure out how to filter email -- it's a tech trade show, for goodness sake!  Someone there has to know how code software.  Or group together bulk email.

Ah, but no matter.  The mess is somewhat part of the fun of Messe.  It might be a convoluted show, but it's an enthusiastic one.  And there's fascinating technology and products.  There are other problems about IFA Berlin that aren't great.  But at a certain point, you learn how it runs and accept it for what it is.  And with this being my third year ahead, I've begun preparing and am slowly getting the hang of it, I think.

And if there are any especially intriguing new kühlschranks there, I will be sure to let you know.  You can never be sure when you'll need a new one to store your milk, vegetables and cold cuts.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture
    Elisberg Industries gets a commission if you click here before shopping on Amazon.
    Picture
    Follow @relisberg

    Author

    Robert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. 

    Elisberg is a two-time recipient of the Lucille Ball Award for comedy screenwriting. He's written for film, TV, the stage, and two best-selling novels, is a regular columnist for the Writers Guild of America and was for
    the Huffington Post.  Among his other writing, he has a long-time column on technology (which he sometimes understands), and co-wrote a book on world travel.  As a lyricist, he is a member of ASCAP, and has contributed to numerous publications.



    Picture
           Feedspot Badge of Honor

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    Animals
    Audio
    Audio Land
    Books
    Business
    Chicago
    Consumer Product
    Education
    Email Interview
    Entertainment
    Environment
    Fine Art
    Food
    From The Management
    Health
    History
    Huffery
    Humor
    International
    Internet
    Journalism
    Law
    Los Angeles
    Media
    Morning News Round Up
    Movies
    Music
    Musical
    Personal
    Photograph
    Piano Puzzler
    Politics
    Popular Culture
    Profiles
    Quote Of The Day
    Radio
    Religion
    Restaurants
    Science
    Sports
    Technology
    Tech Tip
    Theater
    The Writers Workbench
    Tidbits
    Travel
    Tv
    Twitter
    Video
    Videology
    Well Worth Reading
    Words-o-wisdom
    Writing

    RSS Feed

© Copyright Robert J. Elisberg 2023
Contact Us    About EI    Chicago Cubs
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Products
    • Books
    • Movies
  • About Elisberg Industries
    • Our Corporate Board
    • Information Overstock
    • Elisberg Industries Entertainment Information
    • Elisberg Statistical Center of American Research
    • Consultancy Service
  • Contact
    • How to Find Us
  • Kudos
  • Good Things to Know
    • The BOB Page
    • Sites You Might Actually Like