Many things are changing and now we can say that we live in an age of “new normalcy”, so in accordance with that, this year’s conference Days of Internet Domains Serbia (DIDS 2021) organized by RNIDS was held completely online on March 17, 2021.
We all know how important the Internet has been to us this past year, literally as a “window to the world” and a means of socializing and working, because in the circumstances of a pandemic, we all tried and did avoid direct contact with other people.
DIDS 2021 conference
DIDS 2021 was held under the slogan “Servant. Master. Internet ”with the aim to present the topic of this year’s conference, which is the role of the Internet in private and business life in the past year.
It is clear to everyone that caterers and tourist facilities recorded the biggest drop in profits, but there are also entrepreneurs who have successfully switched their business online and recorded a significant increase in earnings.
The DIDS 2021 conference offered speakers and participants who talked about current and upcoming trends, and specific advice on how to improve websites, the online aspect of business and improve communication with visitors.
During the conference, visitors had the opportunity of a live chat in which there were both comments and praise, to the organizer and participants.
DIDS 2021 Opening Ceremony
Appropriate to the topic and content, the conference was opened by Milan Dobrijevic, Assistant Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, with words about the importance of the Internet and telecommunications, especially in the current circumstances.
Danko Jevtović, a member of the board of directors of ICANN, followed, who explained how this organization works, which is crucial to management of domains and online identification, noted the importance of RNIDS, which is responsible for domestic management of the national domain and accessibility.
The next speaker was Dejan Đukić, director of RNIDS, who, among other things, pointed out that Serbia has as many as two domains: .rs and .srb, and they occupy two thirds of the overall domestic domain market.
Central topics and participants of DIDS 2021
Kei Shimada, Head of Digital Makers Lab, IBM Japan
The first speaker at the DIDS 2021 conference was Kei Shimada, an American entrepreneur and an investor who provides funding for small startups and entrepreneurs (angel investor), currently the head of the Digital Makers Lab, IBM Japan.
The key topics of his lecture were the trends brought to us by the pandemic:
- Work from home
- New services and applications that provide an easier way to work from home
- Distance learning
- Exercise and physical training at home
- Online commerce
- Contactless interface
- Technology in the field of medical care and hygiene
It can be said that most of these trends are not unknown to the domestic public, but Shimada emphasized that domestic companies do not need to invent innovations, but only to apply innovations that have already been introduced in the world, to follow experiences, adjustments and applications in their own market.
Peter Van Post, General Manager of CENTR
The next guest lecturer was Peter Van Post, General Manager of CENTR (Association of European National Registries of Top Level Domains). He talked about the increase in the registration of domain names during the pandemic, due to the increased access of companies to the Internet, but he also referred to frauds over the Internet, and broke some such myths.
Among other things, he emphasized that national domains lead the growth of the domain market and that there is a very small number of those domains that deal with criminal activities and fraud.
Panel (Good) servant – (Bad) master: the Internet
The slogan of the DIDS 2021 conference – (Good) Servant – (Bad) Master – is aimed at companies and entrepreneurs who have managed to turn a globally unfavorable situation to their advantage, that is, to transform their business in a pandemic, and not only survive but thrive.
The panel was moderated by Vladimir Radunović, while the participants presented their experiences and opinions on said topic:
- Branka Petronijević, Marketing Manager at Crowne Plaza Belgrade,
- Branimir Đurović, General Manager of Glovo Serbia and
- Momir Đekić, Digital Transformation Consultant and General Manager and IT company Symphony.
Recommended focus topics with DIDS 2021
Vojislav Žanetic: Communication c. 2.021: healthier after a pandemic
Vojislav Zanetic, a satirist and screenwriter, a communication consultant, presented his vision of what communications will look like in the world after the pandemic. His view shows us the division of communications into analog and digital depending on the position of the individual in the structure of society.
Dimitrije Ostojić: Website optimization for better conversions
Dimitrije Ostojić, digital marketing expert, director of the Default Design agency, in his presentation gave excellent practical advice for better conversion of sites with a focus on clarity, intuitiveness and clear messages.
Paul Snoxell: Fake Choice – An Introduction to Dark UI
Paul Snoxell, creative director of Wunderman Thompson in London, explained the “dark” tricks used by site creators to persuade a visitor to leave information they did not plan to share with others, or buy what they did not intend to.
He concluded his presentation with a question that is at the same time a message to all viewers – would you as an individual agree to the conditions you planned to offer to your users?
Marko Mudrinić and Ivan Tanasković: E-commerce in Serbia (E-commerce association of Serbia)
Very important data coming from the domestic market was presented by Marko Mudrinić and Ivan Tanasković, members of the board of directors of the E-commerce association of Serbia – the year of the pandemic accelerated e-commerce on the domestic market for 5 years.
Namely, according to the data of the National Bank of Serbia, although increasing since 2013, in 2020 the growth of e-commerce, ie card payments on the Internet is 103.5% compared to the previous year and the increase in the value of transactions over 80%, with so that the total value of all transactions paid by card is 33.3%.
All this means that the trend going forward is a large number of small value transactions.
Panel: Small manufacturers online
Panel: Small producers on the Internet were led by the moderator Milica Čalija, owner of the Andjeli brand, who shared her experience of going online with the sale of oatmeal cakes, in accordance with the slogan of the conference – good servant, bad master.
When the movement became limited due to the pandemic, the Internet was important, and sometimes the only source of income for small producers, said Ana Nešic from the Small Producer platform, who is optimistic that this trend will continue.
In the continuation of the panel, Marija Slović, entrepreneur and owner of the Domaccini store (also known in jargon as Domaćini) explained how they are now working to improve delivery, and that they feared whether customers would be interested in buying products without being able to try them on the market.
Panel: E-commerce 2021 in Serbia – the possibility and obligation to be different
The final panel of DIDS 2021 was led by the moderator Vladimir Kovač, an Internet entrepreneur, and his interlocutors, like himself, give opinions, advice and warnings for success and sustainability in e-commerce, which has already become a “new normality” and will not be less important after end of the pandemic.
Aleksandar Ilić, the executive director of the Roman Bookstore, emphasized the need to differ from the competition in a positive sense.
Ivan Tanaskovic, head of the internet sales sector at Planeta Sport, provided important information on customer care, payment security, and trust that has been building for a long time. His final message is that nothing should be left to chance.
The path of the DIDS conference 2010-2021, growth and the future normal
The RNIDS Foundation has been organizing DIDS since 2010, and this year the first completely “digital” conference is in the given circumstances the nature of evolution, but in the new decade also the announcement of the future, what will be expected from now on as “normal” and “natural”. in accordance with the possibilities but also the needs.
This year’s DIDS (2021) could not have been organized differently and in accordance with the “March tradition”, and our opinion is that the organizers deserve all the praise both in terms of technical performance and in terms of organization, topics and content presented to domestic audiences.
