People of Sofia Against the Grayness and the Limbo
“Sofia today is a boring city to photograph,” says… Vihren Georgiev, the creator of the People of Sofia project. You may never have heard his name, but it would be strange if his remarkable photographs had never moved you. He is a wonderful photographer of the new, digital age, and his shots are at once art and a chronicle of the day. They win attention without running from the laws of art or chasing easy beauty. They simply show the people of Sofia as they are. Let me, in turn, try to present to you, as he is, the man who for almost a decade has been catching them in their true light.
42The Living Museum of Bulgarian Technology
“These are the last years in which something serious can still be done to save the vanishing history of Bulgarian technology. Now is the time for concrete deeds,” says Anton Orush. And his deeds are astonishing. Over 12 years of enormous effort, he has assembled the most complete collection of Bulgarian technology in existence, along with a whole sea of information about its past and present. At just 30, he is a living encyclopedia, and his home is a remarkable library of stories. Let us set off on an unforgettable technological visit.
43“The Hunger for IT Specialists Will Keep Growing for a Long Time”
Ivaylo Hristov is the creator of dev.bg, the venture that lets software specialists keep their watches in sync and easily find work where they feel at home. He knows very well how much that matters: he walked away from a dream job at Microsoft to start his own venture, which became a serious success. Which Bulgarian software companies are poised for a breakthrough, where are we strong and where do we lag behind, and how did programming go from an exotic pastime to the most sought-after career in just 20 years?
44The Last Gift and the Magi
On the eve of the holidays, we instinctively want to steer clear of uncomfortable subjects. Sometimes, though, the holidays are exactly the right moment to face them. The Last Gift of Man is a stunning multimedia project by two exceptionally talented young journalists: a deep, personal and professionally told story worth hearing, reading and feeling right now…
45“People Don’t Trust Politicians. And Nothing Good Comes of That…”
What place do social networks have in today’s politics? When do they help the process, and when do they turn toxic? Does artificial intelligence help or harm politics? What kind of people should take up this calling? And why… do you need to start renovating your home so you don’t lose all hope in politics? Ivo Bozhkov is the man who brought social networks into Bulgarian politics. Here is what he has to tell us after several years in a field that matters enormously to all our lives.
46Vu, the Laptop Called “Grandma,” and the Bet That Made Him a Programmer
The digital story of Vu(nyo) Nguyen barely fits on one planet. Born in Vietnam, he landed in Sofia as a child and later left for the United States, where a short but dizzying career at outlets like The New York Times and MSNBC followed. His older son Adi had never seen his relatives in person when… one day he called the laptop “Grandma.” In that moment Vu and his wife decided they had had enough of America and came back to Bulgaria with no plans at all. So what happened next?
47The Fake News Hunter
It is called Tanbih, it comes from Qatar, and it promises to rescue us elegantly from fake news and disinformation. We meet its creator, Dr. Preslav Nakov, a world-class specialist in natural language processing with artificial intelligence. How can an algorithm tell that a news story is fake… before it has even been written?!
48When Not!News Makes the News
Few pages on the Bulgarian web offer original, unadulterated content that makes you laugh… even if the smile is a sour one, born of the irony of Bulgarian reality. Since 2009, Samuil Petkanov, the creator of Not!News, has been serving up his version of “the news as it could have been.” What does he think of the way we get our information? Does he manage to predict the future? How is it that we are all experts on influencers’ nose jobs and cryptocurrency fluctuations, and where is this taking us? The answers are in this interview, garnished with a small helping of Not!News inspired by Digital Stories.
49“Empathy Will Save the World”
Kris is the strongest person I know. This time we talk about literature and the media, two of the most important universes in his life. About the obstacles people with disabilities face and their encounter with society. And about how the rest of us should treat them without offending or hurting them.
50Maria, MasterChef and Life's Recipes from the Stone House
Should we watch not only what we eat but also what we feed… our soul? Maria Zhekova won MasterChef. She is a photographer and an influencer… just not like most of them. Glossy photos leave her cold; what moves her is a return to tradition and the restoration of the stone house where her heart lives. How did this young woman bring the glossy show and the old traditions together?
51“Google Is Far More Dynamic and Chaotic Than It Looks from the Outside”
Minko Gechev works at Google as a senior developer on the Angular team. What is it like to be part of Google? How is studying at Sofia's Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics like studying at MIT? Why are programmers often more “closed off” people, and what does it take to succeed in the profession? Answers from a programmer with an impressive résumé and a curious outlook.
52“How Do You Spell It?” “Idunno”
How Do You Spell It? is a cult website for every Bulgarian online who cares about writing correctly. We meet its creator, Pavlina Varbanova. How do we write in the digital world? Which mistakes are searched for most often? Is it time to drop the needless rule of the full definite article, and why does it matter to take care of the words we load with our messages?
53“To Succeed Online, You Have to Put a Piece of Your Heart into It”
Marina Shiderova is a person of both art and technology. She and her team at Fram Creative studio create next-generation digital design that turns opening a web page into convenience, aesthetic pleasure and adventure. Together we look for one more valuable perspective on the technological present and on success online—from the standpoint of design and art.
54Uncle Dan and the Ugandan Children Who Dance the Horo
You have seen them online or on television, and they are unbelievably moving: focused, serious and artistic, whether they are singing “My Country, My Bulgaria” or dancing the Danube horo, and looking nothing like the usual performers of these songs, just smiling, talented… Ugandan kids. The bridge between cultures is thrilling, and so is the uplifting story of Uncle Dan and his 100 children.
55The Strange Story of Bulgarian History
Time for the thrilling story of Bulgarian History! These young people love nothing more than debunking clichés. A few examples: – The new generations don't care about Bulgarian history. – Publishing is a dying trade with nothing in it for the young. – Patriotism has been irreversibly emptied of meaning after a spin through the centrifuge of politics. The Bulgarian History association is that likable group of young people who tour schools to charge children with the magic of history. You have surely come across some of their impressive books from recent years.
56“Success Online Belongs to Those Who Know Who They’re Talking To”
Digital marketing is a significant part of all our lives, whether we notice it and whether we want it or not. We venture deep into its thickets with the most fitting guest, Vassilena Valchanova, to talk about the many faces of success online, the ethics of marketing and whether it is a craft of creativity or simply a set of rules.
57Levski's Handwriting Comes Alive Online
Stefan Peev is a philologist who has also been working in typography for two decades. His impressive project, the first freely available digital font based on the handwriting of Vasil Levski, was presented recently. How was the font created? What will it be used for? And what makes the Apostle's letters so distinctive?
58Kris, Google and the Art of Car Maintenance
Kris Mladenov founded his Das Auto Academy to share what he knows with auto mechanics, and in doing so to help develop a sector that in Bulgaria has clearly fallen far behind. Little by little, his academy has “moved” online. Recently it won $1.5 million in backing from Google to become a regional leader in its field.
59Estorium: A Digital Treasury of Stories
A treasury of meaningful stories, told online. That is Estorium! A digital anthropological archive where people stay alive forever, captured in a small piece of their everyday lives. The idea is as inspiring as it is real.
60Rumen the Cat: The Internet Egzists to Give Peepl Akses to More Katz
The time has come for Digital Stories to give the floor to influencers. Today's guest rarely gives interviews, and it is safe to say that without our digital present he would never have given a single one. That would be the reader's loss, because his thoughts are sincere, colorful and delivered in a rather peculiar way.
