Walk through Kreuzberg or Friedrichshain on any given weekday at 2pm and you’ll see the cafés buzzing with business.  It didn’t take me long to understand that 9-5 was not the grind people followed here.  Instead, freelancing is the main name of the game, with a slew of graphic designers, choreographers and DJs among the strangers I bump into here.  Aside from feeling increasingly artistically illiterate with every encounter, I was getting used to this trend. With the arrival of spring, though, I’m beginning to think that’s so 2009.  The new sensation?  Online start-ups.

Yes, Silicon Valley, meet your newest rival: Technotown.  I have to admit this sounds strange but with Berlin-based online newbies like Daily Deal and eDarling popping up around town, “freelancer” is no longer the only catchphrase round these parts.  Though the folk I’ve met connected with these sites are admittedly party promoters and metal musicians, it shows that my digitally illiterate side will also see more sun this Spring.

It seems, too, that my cybershock is misplaced.  It tuns out Berlin isn’t an e-wasteland at all.  With globally recognised and reputable sites like Soundcloud based here, it is far from being a simple village, it’s a fully fledged e-town.

So the 2010 Spring collection isn’t being exposed on catwalks with the paparazzi snapping outside but on the information superhighway with the twitterati blogging inside.  This place is a lot more than minimal, it’s technical.  Time for me to stop thinking CSS is just a band and get clicking with the crowd.

image: thx.