MF On The Road

A great day at Vodafone Mobile Clicks

Vodafone gave 150,000 EUR to mobile startups yesterday at the PICNIC conference and I had the honor and pleasure to host this event, called Vodafone Mobile Clicks.

After the awards ceremony I was interviewed up close and personal by Dutch internet personality Vincent Everts. Later I found out that whereas the CEO of Vodafone Netherlands was presenting with me, the CEO of Vodafone Ireland shared a stage with Dita von Teese. You decide who got the best part of that deal, but I know it wasn't me.

What is this?

Mike has cooked up something that looks like a drumstick, covered in chocolatesauce, covered in ketchup and topped off with cheese sprinkles.

He is trying to make me eat this but won't tell me what it is. Help me out: what is he serving?

My poetic side finally comes through

I recently interviewed the woman that outsold Harry Potter in Holland, diet guru Sonja Bakker, but she wouldn't start until she had written her motto for her new magazine. So I looked at the picture and said 'Here is your motto: serenity around you, creates serenity within you.' Sonja loved it so here's picture proof that I am now officially a poet. Or a diet guru.

The world needs a crisisclown

Introducing The 925 Crisisclown and The Swedish Twins.

This is our superhero with his aides getting kicked out of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.

And this is them spreading joy, laughter and comfort in front of the ING Headquarters. Watch the video at 925 on Monday.

The theme is rapid transport

Filmed our first car test at Zandvoort.

A little car that flies, if Jeroen Bleekemolen sits behind the wheel anyway. See the result here.

Durk has a special parking spot at the office.

Jet set parking, Amsterdam style.

This is our 925

The office is almost done. Which usually means we'll move soon.

I hope we stay here the next few years, because I like it.

High ceilings, view of the canals for, well, for me.

The arrows help us locate the hidden door.

Home away from home.

It's all about believing in yourself

The way I wish I would feel on the back of Ottie's bike.

The way I actually feel on the back of Ottie's bike.

The new new view

I like our view from the new office.

Hosting eDay 2008 was no Picnic

I hosted eDay again this year in Rotterdam. Here I welcome Wired's Jeff Howe, the inventor of the phrase crowdsourcing, to the stage.

During a quick break and filming for our own report on 925 (online next week), I was interviewed by a Dutch marketing website.

And back on stage with Brian Kalma from Zappos, an incredibly successful e-commerce company from the US: a billion $ revenue!

And as the other 1499 attendants roamed the hallways talking to friends and business associates...

... I was in the main hall for almost 10 hours.

It looked lonelier than it was on stage.

I got help from a few nuns handing out awards for Holland's most popular website.

But in the end, your favorite host started showing signs of fatigue and resembled a news anchor from a small town in eastern China. Overall a good day with fantastic presentations from Lawrence Lessig (Stanford) and Dan Lyons (Newsweek), better known as Fake Steve Jobs.

Anna got married!

Our lovely assistant Anna looks like an angel and sings like an angel. It was only a matter of time before some lucky SOB would make an honest woman out of her. Okke did and we wish them all the health, love and happiness.

Their friends and family made this very entertaining video - but it's not the same without Anna singing.

We discovered Ottie and Stef around the campfire.

Nice day for a 'Lenny Kravitz meets the Kelly Family'-wedding, as the invitation said.

I'm a giver.

I took a picture of Helena and Stef, when suddenly this so not Lenny Kravitz meets the Kelly Family man stepped into the picture. That's what happens with an open bar.

I gently got rid of him.

Meanwhile, back inside Wouter and Marijntje were getting into the groove.