One of the most interesting panels at DLD 08 (don’t worry - my last post on the subject) was “Smart Boys on New Markets”. The original title had referred to “old boys” apparently, but someone had objected, although “wise old boys” would probably be the one I’d have gone for.

The panelists included:

- Dr Hubert Burda, who heads Burda, one of Germany’s largest media companies and whose idea the whole DLD thing has been

- Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO and Founder of WPP, second largest largest marketing services company in the world

- Joe Schoendorf, of Accel (one of the VCs investing in AdMob, by way of disclosure)

- Joseph “Yossi” Vardi, arguably the most connected technology businessman and investor in Israel, which punches well above its weight in the tech world

- Richard Wurman, a veritable polymath (and scarf wearer), who has done everything from found the TED conference to become a Guggenheim Fellow, and still find time to write 81 books on a diverse range of subjects.

- Banquo’s Ghost, or DLD’s faintly embarrassed conscience, was that there were no women at this top table.

The best joke was made by Yossi - I’m in awe of a person who can make jokes in another language. In his introduction, David Kirkpatrick, said that Martin Sorrell started off by buying a company that made supermarket wire shopping baskets in 1971 (WPP stands for Wire and Plastic Products) “which means that he invented the ‘wired’ movement” according to Yossi. Well, maybe you had to have been there.

There was a lot they talked about and I could write all day, but I’ll just share a few key thoughts.

Schoendorf: “If you’re lucky enough to live long enough to see your grandkids grow up, there’s nothing about their lives that you’ll recognise from your own childhood”.

This may well hold true for today’s grandparents. But with change accelerating all the time, just think what that means in the context of your grandchildren.

Schoendorf (again): Assuming that the new President serves two terms, by the next serious election (2016), there will be one surviving European member of the the G7 - the UK. Today, there are 5.

China’s economy has just overtaken Germany’s, by the way.

Burda: Media is the “economy of attention”. I have heard this before (and maybe he invented the phrase) but anyone in media or marketing should take time to meditate on it.

Sorrell: There are three major macro-trends that concern us all.

1. Geographic power shift

Obviously, China and India - China alone has 600 million mobiles now, with a million handsets sold every day. But let’s not forget Goldman Sachs’s N11, that I’ve written about previously.

Western Europe is in slow, inevitable decline. Yikes.

Someone else said (in a different panel - Andreas Weigend, I think) that if we think we can keep China in line via trade pressure - think again! Today, US exports account for just 1% of China’s GDP, so that’s deadend thinking. We must find other ways to influence them, if we are to influence them at all, which remains questionable.

2. Technology

Well, MobHappy readers probably realise that technology is causing fundamental changes throughout business and society, so let’s not dwell on that.

3. Recession

Sir Martin remains relaxed about 2008 and the economy, relying on the US elections and the Olympics (and European Championships, to an extent) to pull us through.

2009 is a different case though, so be prepared. We have been warned.

So that’s my round-up of DLD 08 for this year. I appreciate that I haven’t done justice to the scope, subjects, wisdom, stimulation and excellent roster of speakers. If you can get a ticket next year - or better yet, become a speaker - you should definitely do so, as it’s one of the best agendas in the world.