Lilia on doing a PhD from Elmine Wijnia on Vimeo.

Especially the struggle she describes with the part of doing a PhD and acquire research skills to become an academic ressonates with me. I’ve long thought doing a PhD would be great, as long as I can delve myself in a topic that I want to research. However, most PhD’s here in The Netherlands are focussing on becoming an academic with proper knowledge on research methods, rather than topical expertise.

Quotes from this part of the interview:

“Doing a PhD was a way to give myself time and space to explore and to work on something for a long term and have time and hours and also choices that would be mine.”

“In an organization, how do you manage things that you cannot control? How do you create conditions for people to be passionate about work, because this is what brings business benefit, but this is something we cannot tell them or put in a job description?”

“If you would ask me if I would do it again [a PhD], I don’t know, but I am who I am today also because I went through the process.”

“Being an academic there are certain rules of the game and part of doing PhD is learning about those rules and either comply or breaking or stretching them. [...] If you work in an organization or business or whatever environment there are rules of the game and unless you’re very happy with the game and very happy about the rules you still have to find your own path given the circumstances.”

Packed for an inteview with James from Elmine Wijnia on Vimeo.

And I attached a tripod to the side. It was heavy!

I’ve met James through the Dutch Connection, a network of expats and locals living mainly in Amsterdam. Over the course of a couple of years the network transformed into a foundation of which James and I were co-founders together with 7 others. Sadly, the foundation went nowhere, but the connections are still there.

James is a warm and wonderful guy. He now works as an interaction designer based in Amsterdam, but he was brought up in England and went to university in America. Before his current work he was a cook and despite his current occupation, food is (still) his big passion.

It was a lovely interview and I hope to be able to publish snippets very soon.

Lilia’s interview was very reflective on her life and how things could be related (she’s an introvert) , Henriette was just talking about what happened in her life (she’s an extravert) and Peter was somewhere in between.

I started out each interview without a clear goal. There are some general topics that I address, but am not working towards a conclusion in the conversation.

The question I asked myself last night was whether this approach is a proper one. Do I get the most out of my interviews going in with a relatively blank slate? Should I pursue a story line to find my red thread? What is the better strategy research wise?

What do you think?

I was in the position to hitch a ride to Copenhagen and I took the opportunity to schedule an interview with Henriette Weber. Before we started working together on a project we took an hour and a half to set up the studio lights and camera and taped an hour of Henriette talking about her life.

It was a great interview and hope to be able some snippets of the interview soon. If you want to get to know Henriette a little better, and why she’s part of my tribe, read my introduction to her and watch her talking about her and her daughter’s education.

I love to notice that each person I interview has a totally different way of reflecting on oneself. It only makes each interview more exciting!

I met Andy at the very first BlogWalk in Enschede, just as Flemming. The theme of that workshop was “Weblogs and Knowledgemanagement in a corporate context”. As a knowledgemanager of Shell thinking about how blogging would fit corporately, of course he was there. At that time he worked together with a group of Telematica Institute (now Novay), including Lilia Efimova.

After that day, Andy and I met at several conferences (first BlogTalk, then Reboot) and social gatherings around the Telematica crew and over time I got to know more about him. I can remember very well how he once told me how he likes to work around the political games often played in big corporations, something that scares the shit out of me.

In know Andy as a very humble person, balancing between being a corporate and a creative guy. His creative side becomes most tangible when making furniture. He is very dedicated to his family and that’s probably why he has so much to tell about their daughters’ Montessori-school (6 and 9). Watch what he shared with me during Reboot 11.

Stories on our kids’ education – Andy from Elmine Wijnia on Vimeo.

I got to know Stowe as a member of what I call the ‘travelling conference circus’. Just as Lee and Euan, he presents at numerous occasions, a lot of European conferences including. I’ve heard him speak several times at Reboot and Next, always with something new to share.

Speaking at conferences is only the result of what Stowe does for a living. He works as an independent consultant and like to call himself a “software product theorist“. He focuses on the impact of social tools on business, media and society. He is a well known and respected blogger (since 2000).

I got to know Stowe as an open, warmhearted and smart guy. He likes smoking cigars and I’ve rarely seen him without his cap.

He spent quite some in Europe in the past and that’s what he would envision for his two sons to do as well: spend time abroad and learn a different language. Watch and listen to his story on college education in the US.

Stories on our kids’ education – Stowe from Elmine Wijnia on Vimeo.

I got to know Lee over the course of several conferences, starting with BlogTalk in 2004. He gives talks all the time, and somehow he always comes up with a new story to tell, no matter how much sleep he misses to create the slides.

He’s a co-founder and director of Headshift. When I first met him it was still a small group of consultants, but now Headshift is one of the leading companies in Europe on social business consulting with over 40 employees.

When we visited London earlier this year, Ton and I were invited to his (new) home and had a lovely dinner with him and his wife. I finally got to hear more stories on his time in former Yugoslavia during the war (where he met his wife). It proved to be a good opportunity to get to know his rebel side as well.

This is the story he shared with me on his daughter’s (8 and 4) education.

Stories on our kids’ education – Lee from Elmine Wijnia on Vimeo.

I’ve met Peter at some point in time during one of the Reboots we both attended. The actual connection came through Ton, my husband. Read the wonderful story Ton and Peter both blogged on how they met up in the hotel lobby, late at night.

Peter works independently as a computer programmer. He lives in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Last year I had the privilege to travel all the way to this island on the east-coast of Canada. Peter was one of the two reasons visiting PEI, Robert Paterson being the other one. It is so insightful to have a look at the home-environment of someone you’ve only met at conferences. And how lovely it was to meet Peter’s wife and son.

Peter’s son is now eight years old and he shares a story with us on how he and his wife get more involved with his son’s teachers and education.

Stories on our kids’ education – Peter from Elmine Wijnia on Vimeo.

I got to know Jonathan in 2004 through the Dutch Connection (later IFCCC), an online group of people based in The Netherlands on Ecademy (one of the first big online business social network sites). The group held regular meetings in Amsterdam and evolved into setting up a foundation with the nine of us, including me and Jonathan. Sadly that foundation didn’t go anywhere, but Jonathan and I still bump into eachother every once in a while. At Reboot for instance.

Jonathan is a true traveler. He speaks and does projects all over the world. Most projects are paid for, but some are “paid in smiles”, as he often told me. I like that attitude.

I was lucky enough to do an audio-interview in 2006 for the foundation we were both part of and that’s how I got to know him a lot better. I re-listened to the interview and actually we talked a lot about education back then.

Jonathan has three kids, young adults now. Watch and listen to the story Jonathan shared with me on what’s lacking in at his son’s university.

Stories on our kids’ education – Jonathan from Elmine Wijnia on Vimeo.