I am a writer and technologist, based in Berlin.

I work at the intersection of journalism, technology, and business — on theory, digital strategy, and on how to build next-generation media products.

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AboutII — V

I have spent two decades in the media industry, as a writer, editor, strategist, and product person. Media products are what I do best — I especially like things that cut across the editorial/tech divide.

As a journalist, I have worked in editorial and management roles at DIE WELT, BILD, VANITY FAIR, and NZZ. My writing has appeared in DER SPIEGEL, DIE ZEIT, CAPITAL, and elsewhere.

As a product manager, I have worked for AXEL SPRINGER, BUSINESS INSIDER, SAMSUNG NEWS, NZZ, and FUNKE — on apps, websites, CMS development, AI recommendation and personalisation, messaging, and newsletters. I also coach organisations on setting up and running product teams.

I am, or have been, a mentor at HACKS/HACKERS, LSE GENERATE and the NEXT MEDIA ACCELERATOR, and an alumnus of CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY and the LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE.

Selected workIII — V

I have a strong interest in the macroeconomic, political, and philosophical dimensions of technological change, and in the role that media plays in shaping them. What transpires when a ‘Leitmedium’ changes? How does capitalism work when growth is decoupled from labour? Can universal truths and cohesive narratives emerge when public discourse splinters into tribes on Twitter? That sort of thing.

Most of my writing deals with topics like that (and some, occasionally, with tweed), and is also mostly in German.

  • Essay · DE DIE ZEIT

    Der Mensch braucht eine Story, damit er nicht durchdreht

    Without an idea of tomorrow, society loses faith in today. There is not much time left to understand this — especially in Germany.

  • Essay · DE DIE WELT

    Kartell der Verlierer

    Why the political centre has become a cartel of losers — and what it would take to make the state capable of acting again.

  • Essay · DE NZZ

    Elon Musk und Twitter

    Political discourse increasingly works like a Google search. What does that mean for the world’s most powerful media machine in the hands of an eccentric?

  • Essay · DE DIE WELT

    Cancel Culture

    The most important cause of online outrage may be neither the identitarian turn of the left nor the authoritarian revolt of the right.

  • Essay · DE DIE ZEIT

    Das Digitale ist politisch

    Facebook, Twitter, and the other tech giants are not merely corporations — they shape society, politics, and citizens. They should be treated accordingly.

  • Essay · DE NZZ

    Digitale Geopolitik

    The internet was meant to connect people across all borders. Ever less of that remains — the old vision is being replaced by fragmentation and technology as a weapon.

  • Essay · DE Medium

    Das Internet frisst Parteien

    Election victories no longer require a party at your back. How do political organisations deal with that?

  • Essay · DE DIE WELT

    Die EU und das Netz

    Europe is often alien to its citizens, sometimes uncanny, mostly a matter of indifference — partly because the EU lacks an idea that moves people. Here is a convincing one.

  • Essay · DE DER SPIEGEL

    SPIEGEL-Zeitungsdebatte

    An essay for Cord Schnibben on the future of the “newspaper” in digital space, how the internet develops a language of its own — and why, in the end, things might not be so bad. (Aged moderately well!)

  • Essay · DE DIE WELT

    Der Islamische Frühling

    An Islamic enlightenment can only come from below. The Arab Spring will either be the beginning of an electronic reformation — or the end of the idea that the net can pacify the world.

  • Essay · DE DIE WELT

    Von LSD zu HTML

    The Pirate Party’s core problem is its hippie ancestors’ conviction that technology solves problems all by itself. That goes wrong.

  • Essay · DE DIE WELT

    Pegida und Facebook

    Extra-parliamentary opposition without media mouthpieces has existed throughout history. With Pegida, it takes on a new quality — because the internet makes it easy to create a counter-public. A game changer for the party system.

  • Essay · DE Int. Politik

    Europa als Software

    Digital infrastructure could become a defining capability of the European Union. New momentum, smart standards, overarching purpose — Europe can do this, in principle.

BooksIV — V
Cover: Fortschritt

Fortschritt

Kohlhammer · Author · DE · Coming soon

How we lost the future — and how to get it back.

Pre-order ↗
Cover: Die Radikale Mitte

Die Radikale Mitte

Kohlhammer · Editor & author · DE

The institutions of the 20th century have become overwhelmed by the challenges of the 21st — this volume collects ideas on how to fix that.

Order ↗
ContactV — V

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