In early January, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales once again made headlines by going online with the prototype of his search engine “Wiki Search”. As in the case of the unique and worldwide biggest internet encyclopaedia, Wales banks on the user: “We have already more than 20,000 registered users,” the former securities dealer proudly announced on Monday at the Digital Conference DLD in Munich. And these users are delivering content.

Search engines are a booming industry and so far Google is at the top of the field. Nevertheless, Jason Calacanis is working on developing a new idea as well: His service “Mahalo” is also user controlled but unlike Wales he counts on full-time staff. “They monitor every new link, because I want an impeccable product.” Calacanis therefore considers it important to pay for this kind of work. “People should be able to claim copyright for their work and make money.” Whereas Wales trusts in an independent community that compiles the content matter out of sheer fun.

At present, neither project can replace Google, and Calacanis claims that he does not intend to do so: “Google is a partner, so I’d hardly jump in front of their moving train.” Google manager Marissa Mayer knows what it comes down to: “Users rely on expertise. They want results they can trust.”

Another key issue on the agenda of DLD08: climate protection and sustainability. Once again, participants of panel discussions and members of the audience at the climate neutral conference included a large number of eco pioneers.

A major challenge is making use of renewable energy sources so as to replace oil and other commodities in the long term. David Faiman of the Ben Guiron University’s National Solar Energy Centre in Jerusalem and Roby Stancel of Nanosolar presented new developments in solar research. Daimler’s chief environmental officer Herbert Kohler talked about sustainability in the automotive industry.

“Future City” was a panel that discussed the urban future and the influence of climate change on the planning of sustainable cities: TED founder Richard Wurman and the architects Patrick Schumacher, Charles Renfro and Bjarke Ingels showcased their current projects. SAP board member Shai Agassi is also committed to the cause of environmental protection. On Wednesday, he explained how the logistics of commerce and transport could be sensibly planned without unnecessarily burdening the environment.