In the aftermath of a scorching summer, we are back in the office. And so are probably you if you are reading this. Because most of our readers are indeed working, and it seems like they are doing most of their WorldTempus reading from a laptop or stationary computer during working hours.
Thankfully, they are real readers. I know that you are real, and it is for people like you that we work. But hey, did you hear the recent news in June? That there are more bots than humans reading websites. In June it was roughly 58 percent bots, 42 percent humans, on a global scale. In Europe there are still more humans than bots. Apparently, this bot traffic comes mainly from Artificial Intelligence agents looking through websites to deliver an answer.
So, what are we going to do with that information? From my side, not too much. Of course we will carefully analyze it, and see how it can make us better and stronger. But just like watchmakers keep making their anachronistic timepieces simply because they can, and because there is a passion for them, there is also a passion for knowledge. There is passion for reflection and analysis, and there is passion for words shared between human beings, regardless of which channel we use. And in an era where we are to say the least overwhelmed with information, there is a need for expertise and curation. There is also a need in the world of watch lovers for both objective expertise and subjective passion. Reading expert publications is not only about to growing an interest. The expertise that we offer is also important for our readers to make an informed choice once they stand in the watch boutique, be it by brick and mortar or online. There is also a need for meeting up locally to discuss global tendencies in the watch industry. So, we will keep working with our expert journalists in Switzerland, France, England, and the US, and we will keep hosting our Salons.
It is with that certainty that I am happily looking forward to a gazillion brand visits, a Salon and WorldTempus 25th birthday party during the Geneva Watch Days. A global event, which has marched on to become one of the most important weeks on the international watch calendar. Now being a Genevois myself, I feel both grateful and proud about the global visitors’ generosity of time; the visits are both aplenty and long. And this is a city that thrives on its visitors. Don’t forget that just as Geneva gives you watchmaking, visitors give so much to the city. You coming here make it possible for Swiss Made to survive, you coming here makes it possible to sustain an international network of friends and acquaintances of fellow curious people that have all more than peeked down into the rabbit hole of watchmaking. So, thank you for coming to Geneva, see you soon.
By the way, speaking of global and international, we are also aiming to expand our net of freelancers to better cover the extremely interesting watch market in Japan. If you feel like I am pointing at you, drop me a line.
Best,
Anders
