Since I came back to Sweden from spending almost five years in the US, I quickly realized that I had to make a significant change in my life. It concerned a major alteration of my core habits and values. I had to put my identity to test. You see, I was a Mac-user – but in Sweden PC was the standard. Every time I sent a document to anyone I was confronted with the fact that I had a Mac. So I switched and joined the society of PC users stating that Mac users obviously are way too attached to that brand/product. Talk about lack of flexibility. They are almost ultra conservative. Now I was allowed to question everybody with a Mac.

Lately though, the up north people are switching to a Mac. First my boss – then Carl Bildt (our Minister for Foreign Affairs). Bildts defend to this huge step goes: ”Den nya världen är alldeles definitivt bättre än den gamla.”, and translates ”The new world is definitely better than the old one.” I have a comment to him and all of you other novel Mac-users. In the new world the Mac and the PC actually understand each other, so please let’s have some respect for all societies and the choices that are made within them. The old world is still up to date and might even have one or two things to offer so let’s just stop ranking groups material habits in to “old and new”, “first, second, third”, “ better, worse”, and so on. But – enjoy your new Mac, I used to love them in the old days.

Whenever I ask women of the same age as me how they met their new boyfriend they say: “On the internet of course. That is the only way to meet someone these days.” Matchmaking through internet is not an alternative any more, it’s the standard.

It is time to take your money out of the bank. The financial crisis will get you, or at least affect you, one way or the other. And we´re all going down.

The other day I was at the library sharing a small study room with two strangers, an elderly lady and a middle-aged man. Suddenly the man gasped out loud and exclaimed: “I can’t believe this!”. He called on us, pointed at his computer and said: “Look here guys. (Very unusual behavior in Sweden where you are considered crazy if you talk to strangers.) I have been studying the Swedish krona for the past few days. Compared to the euro the value is going down drastically. This is a disaster. LOOK!”

The old lady nodded and said: “I know. Everything is going downhill. It is just like it was before WW2.” Then they looked at me, which was unfortunate because I was smiling, enjoying a critical discourse analysis of their conversation in relation to the financial crises. For a second I was contemplating if I should explain the theory to them, but they seemed upset (holding their breath waiting for me to say something) so I didn´t want to disappoint them. Instead I nodded and said: “Yes, it is all going down.” They sighed, relieved and satisfied.

Normative behavior is still a social force to be counted on. But is it genuine?

I am cynical towards ethnical marketing. There is something with that concept that´s just not right. I mean, its sounds right but it´s not – or is it? It´s like when Kanye West sings “You could be my black Kate Moss tonight.” When I first heard it I thought, go Kanye! But when I gave it some thought … I sort of know what he mean but isn’t there better ways of going about it? Returning to the subject. It makes sense that some people want different things depending on their country of origin and “It’s ok to be different”, as a Swedish marketing lady who specialize in ethnical marketing, claims. I am with her so far and again I am thinking, go lady! But then she continues with “If I am targeting Africans (in Sweden) I have to know how they think.” Hmm … I am sure there are better ways of going about it ethnical marketing lady.

Did you know that Sweden is one of Europe’s most segregated, marginalized and enclaved countries? The public opinion usually talks about the financial weaker suburbs as the Swedish problem child (yes in singular – that is förorten). You seldom hear anything positive about these housing areas unless it’s from some dedicated inhabitant that know the areas well enough to disregard its social stigma. Somehow they feel safe and at home and that’s what it’s all about. These places have great potential but “whoever is in charge” keeps looking at material aspects instead of the social ones – the ones that actually matters. But still, what is to become of the Swedish problem child?

Yesterday I held a lecture at Etablera, a company committed to inspire and support new entrepreneurs in the province of Gästrikland, Sweden. (Doing constant fieldwork gives good hints about future scenarios.)

Entrepreneurship is a tricky question in Sweden since it is commonly associated with pessimistic assumptions like: an enormous amount of work, complex systems of taxing, expensive to grow, high cost on recruitments, basically a time and money consuming undertaking. In connection a lot of people – especially young ones – lack confidence in their own capacity. Consequently, it’s a lot easier and safer to be employed. This mantra is so common its becoming a part of Swedish culture. Not so good for the local trade and industry.

The other day I read an article by Johan Steal von Holstein, a successful Swedish businessman, reporting from Techcrunch 50, a conference on business growth in San Francisco. He was amazed and inspired by the positive attitude associated with entrepreneurship in San Francisco, reinforcing that everyone could and should succeed. Pretty much the opposite of what he experience in Sweden.

To create an enterprise culture in Sweden, values and attitudes has to change. This is more of a Durkheimian project including tracing hidden social influences on thought, rather than a pinpointing risks, responsibilities and economical advantages.

This month, papers all over the world spread the news about the first halal car insurance launching in the UK. Needless to say, much appreciated by the somewhat 1, 6 million Muslim UK inhabitants. Coincidently, Sweden is simultaneously getting lots of attention for a similar act. Since last week Avanza is offering a global fond attuned with the laws of Sharia and Folksam, who has been offering insurance that adheres to Sharia law for a while, is now pushing this further by trying to cooperate with a major bank. It is always interesting to study public reactions to major social and culture changes in our society. When financial institutions change their core business idea, such as usury, it’s much more than a simple business opportunity that’s occurring. It’s a significant token for the fact that sociocultural forces will impact concepts that always have been regarded as fixed. That’s exciting!