TAKEAWAY: Philipp Riederle was born in 1994 in Germany, does not have any recollection of life without the Internet and is proud to proclaim himself a spokesperson for the digital generation. Publishers and editors are listening—-and so was I when I met him recently.
_Cover of Philipp Riederle’s book: Who we are and what we want: A digital native explains his generation_
We were the boys in the back of the bus during a recent late summer night in Belgrade, the Serbian capital, on the way to a gala dinner at the White Palace, guests of His Highness Crown Prince Aleksandar II.
That’s how I met the young Philipp Riederle, a sort of royalty of his own, the crowned prince of the digital natives.
At 18, Philipp, who looks younger than his digitally documented short years, is all the rave in Germany and beyond. He became famous when he started his podcast, My iPhone and I, at the age of 13.
He has matured into a digitally savvy exponent of all things pertaining to his generation. Most recently, he has documented it all in the appropriately titled book, Who We Are and What We Do (available in German only so far as Wer wir sind, und was wir wollen: Ein Digital Native erklärt seine Generation).
As luck and serendipitous bus seating arrangements would have it, Philipp and I were the youngest and the oldest speakers at a recent gathering of Ringier executives in Belgrade. He was there to tell editors and publishers what an audience of his age wants (“You are not likely to sell me a printed newspaper”), and I went on stage to remind them that it is not just digital natives they need to appeal to, and that through the media quartet they may sell information to a larger group, which might include Philipp’s parents and grandparents as well.
Philipp and I definitely hit it off, this young digital native who drinks only Coke and has a particular preference for pizza margarita, and the guy 48 years his senior, who does remember life way before the Internet. The more we chatted the more we realized that, in discussions about the media landscape of today, we had more agreements than disagreements.
Seven questions for Philipp
The night I met Philipp in Belgrade, Serbia, during a Ringier Axel Springer gala event
Mario:
What is a typical Philipp day like?
Philipp
Currently there’s not one day like the other. Usually I get up early, and depending on my calendar I’m heading to meet one of my clients, or I do some creative work at home or just enjoy spending time with my friends and loved ones.
Mario:
What inspired you to start the podcast? Did school have an influence?
Philipp
I have always been very interested in technology - and when Apple announced the iPhone in 2007 I thought, that I really needed to try it out. So I persuaded my parents to allow me to import one from the US, because it was not sold in Europe at this time. To make it work in Germany I needed to hack it, but there were not much information out about the iPhone and how to make it work in Europe. I found out how to to so and thought that maybe there are other interested people out there. So I took my dad’s video camera, sat down in front of it and uploaded it to the Internet. The only influence school probably had is, that I was a little bored there most of the time. I was so overwhelmed when I recognized that by now each of my videos are have been seen by more than 100 000 people.
Mario:
How do you see your role in conferences such as the one at Ringier where we met?
Philipp
There’s a strong paradigm shift taking place in so many fields, within my generation, caused by the digitalization and changing values. I see myself sort of like a wake-up-call, a translator or a guide for the managers’ generation to understand the mindset and the changes caused by the “Digital Native” generation.
Mario:
When was the last time you read a printed newspaper?
Philipp
This morning, in fact, when the cabin crew in the plane forced me to turn off my digital devices for take off. Those stupid laws are probably initiated by the print lobby!
Mario:
Is your book available in a digital edition?
Philipp
Of course! Although the main reader group of the book is rather the generation which mostly prefers printed books.
Mario:
Where do you see Philipp in five years, when you are 23…..a time when most people your age are graduating from the university?
Philipp
Tough question! Maybe I will have published my next book, maybe I will be still at university or maybe I will still do my consulting work. Let’s see! Right now, after I graduate from high school, I will take at least one year off to concentrate on my consulting work and next year I’m going to decide about the next steps.
Mario:
Philipp, are there any tips from your book or your lecture that I could offer my readers, most of whom are journalists?
Philipp
In the era of Twitter and social media, there is no money to be made with simple news. News can be provided by everyone. What mostly cannot be provided by everyone are sophisticated, detailed and simply great background stories. And in my opinion that’s what real journalists need to focus on again. And doing this kind of work, a journalist’s role is not to research the topic within the first three Google results, it is to consult sources which are more specific and usually harder to reach.
So first of all: make sense! Provide background information, use benefits of being a journalist, support the individual opinion making, offer special / regional information and provide additional value.
Of related interest:
The Philippe Riederle website