2021
30 November 2021

Twenty-Twenty-One. What are you on? I am sitting on a train back from Hamburg. End of November. Rising numbers. Yet another virus variant. The mask is glued to the face. Waiting for shut-downs and lock-downs and break-downs. What else?

2021 proved to be quite productive. I published three papers on TikTok, my newsletter Understanding TikTok became a featured Substack publication, I helped to develop and run a crisis podcasting curriculum for Deutsche Welle Akademie in Kenya and Malawi, not to forget 57 other workshops, a bunch of interviews, three kids, seven dogs and three cats. Okay. No animals. But a short national television appearance right in front of the Reichstag.

Looking back 2021 marks a transition. As always. This time it hits my long-time occupation. Mobile Reporting. At last. Have been doing workshops in this field since 2009. Ages. If you want I can recite an entire workshop on that. In latin. End of century. Oh, it is nothing special. I will quit some other workshops too. In order to buy myself some time.

I signed a contract. On the 13th floor. In a building made of solid concrete. It was grey. And wet. Rests of nail polish on my little finger. Starting December 1 I will start as a research fellow at HAW, Departement Information working on a three-year research project tackling disinformation, supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Let’s see how that goes. I even started yet another little Twitter stream for bookmarks and stuff. The rest is about to happen on Zotero for now.

My plan is to focus on TikTok consulting besides that. Of course I will continue a handful of assignments for some dear longtime clients. And if you want to work with me. Just let me know. That is it. That is the plan.