Music moves. And music lasts. Memories ingrain. If you were to choose one song to represent your personal or professional brand right now, which one would it be? Which song would you have us singing or dancing to? Which emotion would you want to give us?

Last week Google invited all its employees and their one guest to attend the new Cirque du Soleil show, Michael Jackson the Immortal World Tour, at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. It was a fantastic show; at times breathtaking and at some level deeply moving.

I was lucky to be invited. Our soon to be Herringbone team member was also there. I welcomed her to the “Herringbone team building event” and she laughed. For the moment we are riding on the wave, it will take at least a couple of years for us to rent the Oracle Arena.  The question is: which artist will we choose then?

Right now, we are jamming with Michael Jackson, visualizing ‘impossible things’, like performed by Cirque du Soleil. Join the ride!

Here is a link to the Herringbone Spotify Michael Jackson Immortal playlist.

Enjoy,
Johanna

The week-long event is sponsored by the Swedish Institute, which is a public agency that promotes Sweden around the world. And that is exactly the purpose of Innovative Sweden, which is a worldwide tour to generate interest in Sweden. The first stop is Stanford University before it travels on to Toronto, Washington DC, Rio de Janeiro and other parts of the world.

 Traveling around the world and increasing awareness around Sweden will help the Swedish Institute to reach its goal: the creation of “mutual relationships with other countries around the world, whether the issue is culture, politics, trade, or development cooperation.”

Its website also reveals that the Swedish Institute:

• Puts Sweden on the map by using strategic communication,

• Creates intercultural relations through meetings, exchanges and the building of networks,

• Focuses on culture, society, education and science,

• Has some 90 members of staff in Stockholm and Paris,

• Receives annual government funding of approx. SEK 300 million.

Innovative Sweden emphasizes all the great inventions that have come from Sweden (the safety belt, the zipper, tetra pak, the pace maker… the list is long) and the fact that we Swedes still are world leaders of innovation in a variety of fields.

Innovative Sweden offers an event focused on the fields of Information and Communication Technology, Clean Technology, Gaming and Life Science and is filled with exciting speakers such as Rikard Steiber, Global Marketing Director – Mobile & Social Advertising, Google and Barbro Osher, General Consul of Sweden in San Francisco.

Twenty Swedish companies and startups, such as Solvatten and OrganoClick, are showcased in the exhibition and many of them will pitch for VCs tomorrow.

Stay tuned!

- Anna

Don’t forget to follow my tweets @herringbonefm. #InnovativeSweden

Watch an introduction video from Innovative Sweden.