Faust's blog : Is there a GOOD way to communicate on Internet ?

This is a post in mourning

2008-11-25T10:38:00.000-08:00

About two weeks ago, I wrote a long post about a beautiful and moving advertising campaign made by the French publicity agency TBWA / Map (Paris), to fight against "Pain Without Borders" ("Douleurs sans frontières"). But, because of a terrible use of an evil computer (damn it!), it was deleted... And I can tell you that instantly my pain did not have border !

However, I will do it again, and even better, because I find this advertising campaign really poignant and I want to talk about it to make people aware of this...

Since for now I don't have time, let me just show you the 3 posters that were made, and the striking video : youtube

Next coming soon, with a parallel with Alain Souchon, a French singer who got involved in this OGN with his song "la vie Théodore" ("Life Thedore"), in reference to the great ecologist and humanist... Théodore Monod (theodoremonod)...

> youtube

"Wearing fur is wearing Death"

2008-11-25T09:40:00.000-08:00

This advertising campaign, that you can see in Paris and in most big French cities, is the new one that Brigitte bardot's foundation made to protect wild animals as well as pets. Her foundation, as associations are generally used to do about one month before Christmas, shows us a vicious campaign, almost violent, with shock images made to question people, even those who do not feel concerned by this topic.

When being fashion rhymes with death :

The aim of these ads is to make people aware of the fact that wearing fur is actually extremely cruel since, to make for example one fur coat, one need 10 seals. I let you imagine the carnage... This advertising campaign is based on the emphasis and... it works ! Don't you feel sorry for these animals killed for their fur ? What's more, it's not only cruel, the posters make the thing be sordid. According to me, this ad campaign is really striking ; you can't avoid it and walk on the street or the subway without noticing it. A huge photograph, purified, really beautiful, one animal which has just been killed, one armed person near the animal and 3 catchphrases, that is the way the poster works... Unfortunately, I can't find which publicity agency made this advertising campaign.

In addition, this advertising campaign is going to be declined on TV, on the radio, changed into postcards, and an advertising video film which lasts 12s will be made to be broadcast in 149 cinemas ! Still, for this occasion, a website was created : fondationbrigittebardot.

Christmas and Fashion :

If these ads rather show young adults wearing fur (plus an old hag...), it is not a chance. I think they are the first people to be reached by fashion but in time enough independant (contrary to adolescents) to think in a responsible way, so that they can stop buying fur clothes by themselves.

What's more, Christmas is coming soon. And Christmas makes arise christian instincts, such as empathy... Thus, we can see that people give more money to associations at this period of the year than during any other one !

In this way, at the same time, the SPA ("Société Protectrice des Animaux", ie Society For the Animal Protection) created an advertising campaign to push people to adopt an abandonned animal for Christmas. Not so stupid !...

At the moment, we can thus notice the proliferation od ads in favour of gifts to humanitarian associations... just have a look in the subway !

It remains to be decided if the economic crisis will not make people be less generous than the past years...

Sell your baby on Internet !...

2008-11-23T12:20:00.000-08:00

This is the last lesson about how to make money on the Internet, and certainly the craziest one. Lesson Number 10 :

How a Belgian surrogate mother sold her baby to a Dutch couple :

Everything began in April 2004 when An Blomme, a young Flemish woman, makes a contact with Bart Philtjens and Geertrui Praet, a broody homosexual couple. She proposes to be a surrogate mother for them in exchange for €8 000. In June, after an artificial insemination of Bart's sperm, she is pregnant. Until the 7th month, everything is ok but suddenly, in December, the homosexual couple receives a letter saying that the surrogate mother has lost the child because of too much stress... Actually, An Blomme, who wanted to make more money, offered to sell her baby to the highest bidder ! It is another Dutch couple who "won", Wim and Nathalie Janssen, for €15 000.

When traffic of human bodies is allowed :

Later, the first couple learnt the lye and appealed to Justice who gave reason to... the highest bidder ! The Utrecht court thought that the little Donna (name given by the biological father and his partner...) needed her adoptive parents because she had only known them. Moreover, she was well-treated...

In France, to be a surrogate mother is forbidden by the law. In Belgium, it is allowed, but no law supervises this status. Nevertheless, this terrible story opened the debate...

Sell your old stuff on Internet

2008-11-23T11:52:00.000-08:00

This is the Lesson Number 9 to make money on Internet :

Everybody has old knick-knacks at home that they have always wanted to get rid of...

Unfortunately, your wife / husband, disagrees ? Don't worry, the solution is on ebay.fr !

A pair of shoes you never wore because you hated them (but your mother / wife forced you to buy them at a time) ; an old blue bicycle (Motobécane-branded, of course...), which still works but that you don't use anymore because you got a new one for Christmas ; a pair of trousers you can't wear anymore since your childbirth (a Levi's one, too bad !...) ; rollerblades that your child don't use anymore since he got a skateboard ; a trumpet you hardly ever used since you have understood you would never be the new Chet baker... It is endless, as you can imagine !
On eBay, you can sell anything, and every object has got its buyer, somewhere... Remains for you to wait for him / her ! Fortunately, e-bay is made like the bidding. Once your object is on-line, there is a sell-by date so that you can be sure it will be sold, whatever happens.

What is crazy about e-bay is that you can really find incredible objects, like brand new things sold at very interesting prices, such as motos, clothes, vinyls, computers, books...

Write for an on-line magazine

2008-11-23T11:14:00.000-08:00

This is the Lesson Number 8 :
This is another way to make money on the Internet. If you are keen on a particular topic, such as jazz, literature, philosophy or any other like a scientific one, you may find on-line magazines or reviews who would be ready to pay you to write an article from time to time. You are afraid not to make enough money ? Then, you can also create your own e-newspaper if you are already a journalist but displeased of your lot, either you may be underpaid, or too much controled, censored in your writings...

"Rue 89" :
In that case, I will take the example of some journalists of the French newspaper « Libération » who prefered to leave and create their own blog (or e-newspaper, if you prefer) in order to avoid any manipulation from the advertisers who more and more controle the newspapers content... It is called rue89 and was created on the 6th of May 2007. Symbolic day since it was the day of the second ballot of the French presidential elections which opposed Nicolas Sarkozy to Segolène Royal. It is an information website on which you can read debates about the news and participate to them. They created this blog because they were weary of coming out with clichés and wanted to be independant in order to have their own editorial line, without any pressure from the advertisers. In addition, this impulse was made at the beginning of the web 2.0 : the notion of participation was overwhelming and everybody was talking about it, especially in media. More and more citizens showed their will to express their opinion on any subject, and more and more collaborative platforms emerged, little by little. This motion was even more true in politics. The citizens did not want to be left out anymore.
In this way, the originality of this website lies in the way it deals with information. It is a kind of "3 voices information" : there are contributions of journalists, experts and Internet surfers.
According to Médiamétrie-NetRatrings, in September 2008 Rue 89 is placed 10th compared with the other French general information websites, if we look at the frequenting.

Create your own on-line store !

2008-11-23T09:44:00.000-08:00

This is the lesson Number 7 :
What if you created a fashion shop on the Internet ? There are many advantages to sell clothes on the Internet. Indeed, no need to move around to your shop if it is « virtual » ! Stay at home and manage it very simply. But how, will you ask me ?

You can find a good website to host you for example (you can be part of a big website which sells other brands) and then try to find advertisers to earn money in a different way from just selling your fashion clothes. It is good to be able to rely on several sources of revenue.
However, let me tell you that generally it is easier to « open » a clothes shop on the Internet if your brand is already known thanks to a « real » store. I'll take the example of a big shop like the « Galeries Lafayette », which is a very famous French one.

The "Galeries Lafayette" opened its shopping center on Internet in April 2008 :
Recently, they decided to create their own website to sell their products on the Internet. And it works...

This is their 61st shop dedicated to clothes and accessories. It is another way to earn more money and the clients who buy on the Internet have reductions and other advantages (for example they can buy some clothes early). What's more, having such a website allows the « Galeries Lafayette » to reach other segments of potential buyers like young people who like surfing the Net or on the contrary old people who can't move around anymore ; we can also think of workers who don't have time to do shopping or, who knows, even misanthropists who prefer the calmness of their home to the agitation and the crowd of big stores...At the moment, 3 000 products are available on the website, deliverable in 48h everywhere in Europe and in 3h in Paris.
About 55 brands federated around this project, amongst them Diesel, Zadig & Voltaire, Maje, Sandro, DKNY, Antik Batik, Swarovski, Mac Laren, Hugo Boss, Paul Smith, Ralph Lauren...

American and British stores already well set up on the web :
French shops begin to understand the importance of e-commerce, including in the luxury sector. galerieslafayette.com's ambition is to earn €3,5M before the end of the year, and more than €100M by 2015. The e-store would thus become the second store of the group, after the Boulevard Haussmann's one.

Internet and my older myself

2008-11-23T09:33:00.000-08:00

Internet is so present in everydaylife that we even don't wonder how we would do without it. Currently, I'm used to use Internet as a tool to (e-)communicate, mainly to send e-mails, to write this blog, of course, and to do researchs, for school or to go out with my friends. Indeed, it's sometimes more comfortable and quicker to look for things in the Internet rather than in books. Even if in one hand I can't help thinking it is a pity, on the other hand I would say that it is the in-thing, I guess...

Internet VS books :

(Trinity College old library, Dublin, Ireland)

Anyway, it is well-known that the Internet will never take the place of books. There is a time for everything, certainly, but different times can also « live together ». What I mean is that at the beginning of television, people wondered about its function, and thought it was redundant with cinema. But with time, people realized that both had different roles and gave different roles too to the audience ; indeed, television implies much more participation for the audience than cinema does. And, with time, television made progress and the diversity of its programmes definitely proved that it was pretty different from cinema.

The on-line library is not born yet :
What I mean by this digression is that books have a different role from the Internet. We don't use them in the same way as we use Internet and even if Internet is trying to be the place where all the knowledges are gathered, according to me we can't really say that yet. For the moment, it is quite rare to find whole books on the Internet ; you just find extracts and explanations about them...

Internet and my older myself :
Later, when I am an adult (well, according to the law, I AM a grown-up, but I don't really feel so since I'm still going to university...), I mean when I have a job, a real job, ie my first job, I think I will keep using Internet in the same way. But since I don't know what I want to do yet, I can't maintain it categorically either.
I may work at a distance, alone in my house, and be more dependant to the Internet than any other person, because I will have to send my work by e-mail, but I don't know. It's hard to say it right know, but I give you an appointment with me in about 2 years if you want !...

Earn money selling your photographs or graphic creations

2008-11-22T09:54:00.000-08:00

This is the lesson Number 6 :
One way to make money on the Internet is showing your photographs in your blog for example and sell them.
But, to my mind, you must be very carefull, because if you don't protect them as your private property, one can steal them... So, don't do like me !

Anyway, this is just an example : would you buy theses photographs I made ?

I called this one "The Hope" and made it on the 15th of November 2007 in the Père Lachaise cemetery.

I titled this one "Rain and Communism" and took it on the 8th of December 2007.

And this one just got a new name : "The Old Woman and the Sea". I took it recently, around the 11th of November 2008.

Earn money thanks to advertisers

2008-11-22T09:39:00.000-08:00

This is the lesson Number 5...
An easy (easy, really?) way to make money on the Internet is to create a good platforme, a good website or a good blog so that advertisers want to come on your website... So, ensure that your website becomes popular and the place to be, and advertisers will come to you !
Find an original concept like viedemerde ;). Then, if it is worthy, more and more visitors will come and finally, if your website becomes really famous, advertisers will want to have their ads on it.
But, how to make a good website, will you ask me ? That is another question...

The overwhelming Internet...

2008-11-22T09:01:00.000-08:00

The Internet issue is really a big deal if you think for a moment that it may never disappear and that you will have to use it during all your life, especially at work.
Indeed, it has become a necessary tool in most jobs, and not having Internet today would be really disabling. However, I can't help myself think that our parents did not have it and easily dit without it. The matter is that when you are used to something, it is really hard to do without it...
The French humourist Coluche used to say, to caricature politicians who did promises (especially to poor people) but did not keep them : "Tell we what you need, I will tell you how to do without it!"

We use Internet in our jobs for several things, I will enumerate the 3 more important ones, according to me :
1) To send e-mails and be aware of important things right away, ie what I'll call "constant interaction".
2) To work at a distance with foreign partners.
3) To easily do researchs : Internet seen as the place where all the knowledges meet.

But, who knows ? Internet may disappear one day... for a better tool, of course ! What could it be ? Damn, I can't imagine a more powerful "matrix" right now...

Young Internet surfer looking for a job...

2008-11-22T08:13:00.000-08:00

Viadeo is a professionnal social network created in 2004 by Dan Serfaty and Thierry Lunati.
viadeo.com counts up about 5 million members all around the world.
Viadeo allows 6 different things.
You can :
1) Find clients, suppliers, business partners or colleagues.
2) Increase your visibility for recruiters, business partners and colleagues
3) Exchange information in professional forums
4) Set up appointments and organize events
5) Discover the background and skills of people with whom you work with
6) Get back in touch with former classmates or colleagues

I often receive invitations from friends to create an account on viadeo, but I don't know why, I don't want to subscribe now... Maybe because I don't feel I'm ready for that : it's too early because I am not looking for a job yet. Only trainees.
Anyway, in one year and a half, I'll be there !

2008-11-20T05:27:00.000-08:00

Reading and Correction Test :
Correct the text below, paying special attention to words or phrases that are mistakes commonly made in translating from French to English. Cross out the mistakes and write in the correct English above the word or words.

Actually (Currently), I work (I am working) at (in) a society that has 65 salaries (a 65-employee-society). She (It) is located at (in) Paris at (in) the 15th arrondisement (arrondissement) in the (on a) street called Rue Maubert. Her (Its) reason (activity) is to (consists in) commercialize (marketing) children’s logiciels (software for children).

She (It) receives a subvention (a grant) from the state to embauch young stagiaires (to take on young trainees). That is how (why) I received my post which is titled commercial (I got a job as a sales representative). In the first time (First), my job title was responsible of marketing, (I used to be a marketing manager) but I changed jobs (then I got another one / I switched jobs).

We sell a gamme (a range) of products with the mark (branded) Youngsoft. We have many charges (projects) associated with (related to) marketing. Our posting (poster campaign) in the metro (/subway) is one of the most expensive budgets. Our RP (PR) department also has a very large budget. We realize our own pubs (ads) with our redaction (editorial) staff, and we do our own edition of user manuals (user text books).

Our trimestrial (quaterly) results for this year have been all very positive. Our market is very interesting right now (has been recently expanding), and that is why we gain funds (make profits).

We want to commercialize our products in Tahiti (to put on the Tahiti market) because we think metropolitan customers (overseas customers) would be interested in buying them.

In resume (All in all), because of (thanks to) our (/a) positive deontology (professional code of practice) and (/an) interesting (relevant) market niche, we are have (easily can envisage) a rosy (rosy-looking / bright) future.

2008-11-18T07:01:00.000-08:00

This is the Lesson Number 4 :
Sell your intelligence on the Internet...

Several websites offer to students that need help to do a work on a special subject documents that others did at school, like summaries of read books, class talks, essays, dissertations, lectures, in whatever field it may be : Literature, History, Economics, Philosophy, Law...
I know at less 3 websites which can buy your work or make you "meet" on the Internet potential clients :

Thanks to
Academon, you can earn €10/published document. In addition, you earn 50% of the price your document is sold at each time somebody buys it. (academon.fr)

With Oodoc, it's quite the same thing, you can earn money from €5... (oodoc.com)

Same thing with this web site : you can earn until €10 and 20% of royalties each time somebody buys your document. (oboulo.com)

Being another woman in "Second Life"...

2008-11-18T05:40:00.000-08:00

This is the Lesson Number 3 :

"If you had several lives, like cats have, would you be a prostitute during one of them ?..."

No need to wait for another life, live two lives in one thanks to virtual worlds !

secondlife (SL) is a virtual community that is built by its almost 1 million residents. There are opportunities for the residents to make money. Becoming an escort is one of the numerous ways to make a fast buck. There are always people willing to pay for sex and interactive pornography, even in the virtual world.

You have to know that virtual prostitutes actually make real cash. Indeed, escorts can earn up to Linden$10,000 a week from a few hours' work - approximately $30 -, although the exchange rate fluctuates. It's not something that a brand-new character would be able to pull off, though; an expensive wardrobe of realistic avatar clothing, skins and animations is an asset, as are gender verification and a location in which to practice. The industry supporting the sale of these items, and arrranging escort encounters, seems more profitable than actual on-the-street work.

Here is a confession of Henig (http://www.slatev.com/), a girl who created an avatar and visited the red-light district inside the online world of Second Life... Not so easy to "penetrate" vice subcultures !

"Sooo, to answer the question, yes, I may be a prostitute if I had time, in virtual life, or in another one, who knows ?..."

When Pain is not only the Poet's muse...

2008-11-13T01:48:00.000-08:00

Refer to the "Post in mourning"...

(Strip) Poker...

2008-11-06T06:40:00.001-08:00

This is the lesson Number 2 (personal) :

Do you know to play Poker?

Hand-in-hand with television in the recent surge in popularity of poker is the opportunity to play poker on the Internet. You can find an online poker game any time of the day or night. You can play for free or for real money against players from all over the world. There are thousands of ring games at virtually any level as well as thousands of tournaments ranging in size from ten entrants up to thousands with buy-ins ranging from free up to thousands of dollars.
Right now there are more than 200 Internet poker rooms. The largest Internet poker room has over 50 000 people playing at the same time during peak playing hours. Just do an Internet search for poker and you will quickly find many places to play and thousands upon thousands of pages of information.The following games, and others, are readily available online: Texas Hold'em, Omaha/8, Omaha High, Seven-Card Stud, Pineapple, Razz, Five-Card Draw, Triple Draw.

The (non)Benefits of Internet Play
The online poker business is highly competitive. The more players a site has, the more revenue it will generate. For this reason, it seems as though every site has bonus offers to attract new players.
However, on the other side, you easily can become an addicted player and lose... everything !
>> pokerchanneleurope

76 powerful ways to turn your website into a Money-Machine.

2008-11-06T05:45:00.000-08:00

This is the lesson Number 1 (business type) :
Do you know Gil Carlson ? He dealt for many years with Internet marketing.
I don't know why but to me he looks like a swindler. Anyway, here are 4 of his building blocks of websites secrets...
1# PERCEIVED AVAILABILITY: You have to be the one they need to go to for this product you offer. They must feel that you are the best or only one that has it! And, what about your design? Your color scheme? Your writing style? Even your website name?

2# YOUR AUTHORITY : What right do you have to be making those claims on your website? Why should you be believed? What about your location? If you are a film critic, a Hollywood location is instant authority. Of course you have to play up those locations on your website. Your authority could also be built on the quality of your products. Of course you have to let your authority be known on your website. Also consider featuring a celebrity spokesperson or someone skilled in your field. A column or a few facts from an expert will give you credibility.

3# VALUE, PERCEIVED VALUE: This means the right price for your particular audience. Of course there are things you can do to make the values easier to perceive. How? You tell them! Explain to them what a deal they are getting. Compare to other sellers. Explain why if you have low prices on some items. Or maybe you have regular prices, then weekly specials. Give reasons.

4# SATISFACTION, PERCEIVED SATISFACTION: Since they aren’t buying in person, as in a store, they need to be convinced. You have to convince them that you are going to live up to your end of the bargain and that your products and service are what you say they are. That powerful guarantee is so important. Explain how important customer satisfaction really is to you. How you live and breath customer satisfaction.

>> Finally, I would like to say this looks like a hypocritical way to make money selling products even when you do not believe in them !
Let's salute this world of hard consumerism : Heil !

The greedy side of the Internet...

2008-11-06T05:25:00.000-08:00

Internet has turned to be a really powerful machine in many different ways : for the freedom of speech in what concerns jounalists for example, for the possibility to express oneself on any subjects, for the way it makes you closer from your family and your friends even if you live at thousand miles from them, for its opening on the whole world (the metaphor of the window is very famous) and also for the way it can make you become richer than in your craziest dreams !

Do you want to become my Money Grabbing Friend for a few minutes?...

The topic of today is : How to become rich thanks to the Internet_in 10 lessons.

A Poet-Donkey or a Donkey-Poet ?...

2008-11-06T04:20:00.000-08:00

Obama the poet...

Toni Morrison, a Nobel Price of American Literature, told the great American writer Richard Ford and the Chilian writer Ariel Dorfman that Barack Obama is a poet. Indeed, the way he uses the English language and uses all its subtleties is really striking, above all when comparing to George W. Bush linguistic disaster. Obama, the first president provided with a "creative imagination" (Tony Morrison) ?

See the way Barack Obama speaks to his voters : he is so calm ! What presence and charisma !

This is an election which can give hopeness to all Americans : indeed, the significance and scale of his victory was recognised today by the outgoing president and commander in chief, George Bush. He added that Obama's "journey represents a triumph of the American story".

He was carried to victory by record voter turnout across the country, giving him a wider margin over his opponent, John McCain, than any other president in the past two decades.
At least 134 million Americans participated in the election, according to early estimates, representing more than 60% of eligible voters and shattering the previous record of 122 million.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer," he said in his acceptance speech.

>> dailymotion

When George W. Bush makes origami...

2008-11-06T03:59:00.000-08:00

Have you ever dreamt of a world where politicians do manual things and don't spend their time to speak about complicated things, too serious topics ? What if they stopped a few minutes thinking about economics, making war, strategies ?
Amnesty International dreamt about this world and hardly made it come true !

"We can change what they do !"
>> youtube
Amnesty International wants a break !
Thanks to this campaign, realized by the German agency Scholz & Friends, Amnesty International shows that Future is into our's hands, in a very humorous way... ! Indeed, in this editing video we can see George Bush, Vladimir Putin et Mahmoud Ahmadinejad having play activities.
The message is clear : Let's stop making war, let's take advantage (a little bit) of life...

Does not the pursuit of cybercriminals attempt the ordinary Internet user's freedom ?

2008-10-30T03:42:00.000-07:00

The development of the information technologies and communication networks entailed a rise in cybercriminality, ie offenses committed by electronic medias. Actually, cybercriminality is increasing as it's becoming more lucrative. The FBI estimates that American companies alone lose more than 70 billion.

I'll take one example of cybercriminality : pedophilia on the Internet. The initiative in the fight against pedophilia is interesting because it is based on the civic responsibility of Internet users. However, its application is very limited in time and space. In particular, as the content of Web pages is extremely volatile, a notification at a precise moment in time risks losing all legal value if the incriminating photos are removed from the server before the competent administration visualizes them. More troubling, what powers of intervention do national police forces truly have concerning photos that are published on anonymous servers in distant countries?

Concerning the international Convention on Cybercrime, European countries did their utmost to include an article aimed at combating Web sites with xenophobic or racist content. But there were confronted with the refusal of the United States, invoking the first article of their Constitution.

As for the measures concerning cryptography and the control of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) connection files, they raise the problem of individual liberties and the respect of anonymity. The current projects risk penalizing above all the ordinary Internet user, without reaching the real cybercriminals who are often one step ahead in terms of ingenuity and technological innovation.

The new religion of the XXth century is still alive.

2008-10-30T02:39:00.000-07:00

The promotion of sects on the Internet are part of what we can call violence, like pornography, childish prostitution, racism, xenophobia...
If I tell you that this sect is growing at an incredible rate... will it scare you ?
I am going to give you some clues : it is in the news, it is talked about in the media, TV and the worldwide web. It has been attacked, venerated, questioned and praised. And last clue, the main tenets of this Church are : you are an immortal spiritual being, your capabilities are unlimited, even if not presently realized. So, have you guessed what I am talking about ?
The answer is... scientology, founded by L. Ron Hubbard.

"We of the Church believe that man is basically good." If you look at the scientologist website, all that you find is believes in human kindness and human rights. We are explained the way humans should and can help each others to be somebody good and to achieve him/herself thanks to the others. They tell they help us in finding our own answers to life questions. And they praise a better a better education and literacy. Sounds interesting, isn't it ?
But, just read "Another day in Scientology-land" by Catarina Pamnell : my_story and you will see how she started on the road to total freedom to end up to in a Scientology labor camp ! "When you follow the path of blind belief, there is a risk you will end up doing things which are very, very much contrary to whatever good intentions you started out with."
However, Scientology is really powerful, with a lot of adepts, like stars... Can young influencial
people distinguish what is good and bad in it ?...>> youtube.

Who is afraid of the Big Bad Hacker ?

2008-10-30T02:05:00.000-07:00

In September, the president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, has had his bank account hacked into, according to security researchers.

Crazy story, isn't it ? But true !

A "small sum" of money was taken, prompting the French government to investigate the case. Secretary of State for consumer affairs Luc Chatel has also called for online banks to tighten their security. Apparently, The French President is the latest political figure to fall victim to hackers - last month we reported that Sarah Palin's email account had been compromised, while Barack Obama was the subject of a malicious spam campaign.

What is interesting is how the cybercrooks managed to steal the password to access what should have been a secure account. This latest incident highlights the fact that no one is safe and that everyone should take the necessary precautions

The most probable origin of Sarkozy's identity theft is 'carding'. Dump tracks lists are for sale by the thousands, and many hacked credit card readers are on the market. Perhaps one of them involved Sarkozy's credit card during one of his numerous foreign travels.

What is really striking and amazing is how swollen the 2 hackers were to do such a thing ! They had to be really confident to do it and not afraid of the severe consequences they could undergo afterwards...

Internet and the Financial Crisis

2008-10-09T06:34:00.000-07:00

Does the Internet have positive or negative effects on the crisis ?
Quick, go on Youtube, to listen to the experts Clarisse and myself ! :)
>> youtube

The web in favour of pro-social purposes : blogs.

2008-10-07T08:25:00.000-07:00

In the path of Bill and Melinda Gates, we (you, I, them, everybody who feels concerned by such issues) can act to help people in difficulty. To begin small to get bigger.

I chose to act in an individual way. Is it a good solution ? I really wonder if it is a good idea to help individuals in order to help and to give to charities. Indeed, the money or the time we will spend in one charity or another will be (I guess) better used than if I give this time or this money to one person I meet in the street. Who can know, however ? Because, sometimes, some people who do need help, will never go to meet organizations because they do not want this kind of help, for some different reasons.

I will talk again about this topic later refering to my personal experience.

For now, I would like to talk about "Action Contre la Faim" (ACF) or "Action against Hunger". Next Wednesday (not tomorrow), the 15th of October, that is to say in a week, there will be a really big general mobilization in 19 cities of France and in Paris, under the lenses of the media in order to sensibilize people to malnutrition problems in the world.

If you have time, go to before the stairs of the arch of the Defense : then you will participate to a big performance, kind of Freeze Mobs. The event will be created in a few minutes, simbolizing the opposition to change this scourge.

To support this Action, download your placard on the ACF website : actioncontrelafaim

Join the FB event : facebook

Or post the banner on your blog : http://acf.b-r-m.net/

Let's use the word of mouth to serve a cause !

So, here is an exemple of a small scale action...

Open Office vs. Microsoft... No hesitation.

2008-10-02T03:21:00.000-07:00

I think that Open Office, Firefox and others are not the match for Microsoft and the commercial software groups. Don't you ?

2 years ago, I bought a laptop, and it was sold with OpenOffice. The assistant insured that it was exactly the same as MicrosoftWord. I wanted to believe him. Sure, why not ? Moreover, it was free, so I really wanted to believe him. I tried. I swear.

But the reality can sometimes be very cruel. And I had to admit that Microsoft worths a lot more. It is handier and some details and subtleties do not exist in OpenOffice, which is more crude. And some applications are limited.

So, I think next time I will choose to pay in order to have a good commercial software rather than having a less good quality commercial software for free.

Google on the iPhone

2008-10-02T03:01:00.000-07:00

I've heard that Google had launched an application to compete with the iPhone and that it was less good than the iPhone itself. Google announced its competitor to the iPhone Apps Store, the Android Market, at the end of August. The market is a place where content developers can publish applications for Android phones, and Android users can go to discover and download them to their devices.

Let Google say a word :

"Developers will be able to make their content available on an open service hosted by Google that features a feedback and rating system similar to YouTube. We chose the term "market" rather than "store" because we feel that developers should have an open and unobstructed environment to make their content available."

I've read that there is a new Facebook app too. FB has launched a new iPhone application, that directly targets messaging service Twitter as well as for-pay mobile text messaging services. The new application is a mobile status service that includes instant messaging functionality. It builds on Facebook friend relationships, but ignores a lot of the traditional social networking features of the site, such as profile info about what your favorite movie is.

Are SMS appropriate for "proper" communications ?

2008-10-02T02:37:00.000-07:00

Let's discuss the matter about using the SMS text messaging alert.

Some people think that SMS text messages are used only for the "most inconsequential messages". Was Barack Obama right to use them to lead his campaign ?

This constitutes a very innovative way to communicate on his campaign and to make people aware of what he is doing. Indeed, tgaks to this strategy, he can catch the attention of young people. It is the world's most widely used data application (globally twice as many people are active users of SMS text messaging on their phones, than the total number of internet users).

So, we now know that the Obama campaign collected millions of cellphone numbers from interested voters (and media) and promised to send the official announcement of the Vice Presidential pick first to those voters. Sounds like a clever bit of using high tech, a gimmicky PR campaign to increase attention and interest in the VP pick, and to create suspense and anticipation to the selection (and dominate the news cycle prior to the announcement).

We know that SMS texting is definitely in every country adopted by the youth first. Imagine one moment that a simple SMS can influence voters behaviour ; this sounds crazy. A study by the University of Michigan and Princeton University, covering 4,000 cellphone users in America, found that when a prospective voter is contacted via SMS text messaging alert/reminder on election day, the likelihood of voting increases by 4.2%.

Comics : are they a media ? How are they used by enterprises today to communicate about themselves ?

2008-10-02T01:21:00.000-07:00

>> Imagine R, Season 2 ! (By Jeanclode - Sébastien Touache, Nicolas Barrome and Mathieu Julien -, represented by the Lézilus agency).

If you like reading Comics, then you will enjoy this post. I hope so, actually.

I love reading comics. Ever since. And, little by little, I discovered new forms of comics. When you hear about comics, your first think can be about French and Belgian comic books, like "Astérix", "Tintin", "Bécassine" (the firsts!), or "XIII", "Thorgal" etc.

But, since the 90s, a new movement has emerged in the comic books. Now, some can be understood and read like kind of illustrated novels, autobiographic illustrated books. There is more psychology in them and the characters are often quite real. Saying that, I'm thinking about comics writers edited by "L'Association" for example or "Atrabile", who chose to edit new writers, to give them a chance, like Marjane Satrapi, David B., Mattt Konture, Frederik Peeters and others...

Comic books serve the purpose of enterprise communication, publicity and promotion. Anyway, comic books have been praised these last years, and even thought as a teaching tool.

Besides, exist now some publicity agencies that are specialized in communication through comics, like "Corporate Fiction" or "Une bulle en plus".

>> corporatefiction

>> unebulleenplus

>> costume3pieces

Well, there are a lot of things to think about Comics and Communication, Comics and enterprises? Can Comics have the status of a media ? Can they convey messages to inform people about special subjects ?

This will constitute, I think and hope, the subject of my thesis this year.

>> By Thomas Baas, for a bedding brand.

Bill and Melinda GATES Foundation

2008-09-25T03:24:00.000-07:00

How is the web or the Internet being used for pro-social purposes ?

Bill Gates, pioneer in the field of microcomputing, is the most relevant person who can use Internet for a pro-social purpose.

Known as the richest man in the world, he created his Foundation in order to fight against poverty in third world countries. Just retired from Microsoft (since the 27th June of 2008), he now entirely devotes himself to his Foundation.

He created the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, with the objective to bring to the world population innovations as regards Health and Knowledge. Besides, he announced he will bequeath 95% of his fortune to his Foundation.

What is next is only one example of all to what his Foundation works for.

Mobiles classrooms reach rural Mexico

When Mireya Jimenez Rivera heard that Vasconcelos was coming to rural Cazones, Mexico, to teach computer and Internet skills, she thought it would be a great learning opportunity for her four children. But soon she was in the classroom herself. Vasconcelos helped Jimenez communicate online with her husband, who has been living and working in the United States for eight years. "I learned how to chat, how to create an email address, and how to search for information," she said. "I never thought that I would be able to learn these things.
The Vasconcelo Program : Jimenez is one of thousands of people who have benefited from the Vasconcelos Program, recipient of the foundation's 2008 Access to Learning Award. Created and managed by the secretary of education of the state of Veracruz, Mexico, the program provides computer access and training to underserved communities throughout the state. The Vasconcelos Program works to empower individuals and communities in Veracruz by helping people build technology skills that can improve their lives. Vasconcelos uses 24 all-terrain buses to bring computer access and learning opportunities to the state's underserved areas. These state-of-the-art mobile classrooms are equipped with laptop computers, self-directing satellite dishes with Internet connectivity, networked servers, video projectors, interactive white boards, and back-up generators.
Some Figures : Vasconcelos has provided education and support to more than 120,000 people. The program has also trained staff from 75 community technology centers, which are now thriving. To meet increasing demand, Vasconcelos plans to serve more than 200,000 people with nearly 50 buses by 2010.

"[...] This is a unique moment in history : Scientific and technological advances are making it possible to solve big, complicated problems like never before. In this century, our world has the opportunity to fulfill the great human promise that all lives have equal value." (Bill and Melinda Gates)

>> gatesfoundation

Allostreaming : free tv shows on-line !

2008-09-25T02:28:00.000-07:00

What is your most exciting or innovative Internet tool or site ?

I have to tell you something before you read this paper... If you go once on this site, you will never be the same person again, you won't be able to go back...

Are you ready ? SURE ?

>> allostreaming

That's done, now.

So ?...

How do you feel ? OK ?

To tell the truth, a friend of mine told me about this site which broadcasts on-line tv shows and even some movies, but I visited it yesterday for the first time.

I could not leave it ; I had a lot of other things to do, more important and urgent, but I prefered to spend my time in watching tv shows whereas, strangely enough, I've always "hated" them...

You need some explanation. My parents, they... (Dad, Mom, I love you, whatever I can say...;) Well, Let's jump into the water !

My parents more or less forbade me to watch tv shows when I was younger, because they did not want me to spoil my time watching stupidities, even more when there were recorded laughs in them. They were right, in a sense. The result is that, today, I love going to the cinema. To be honest, it is my favourite hobby. However, I don't go to the cinema to watch crappy blockbusters. Well, There are some good ones, I won't generalize this thought, but I prefer, by far, to go to watch old "classical" movies, the ones who entered the cinema mythology ! I won't spread out over time on it, it will constitute full articles, later.

But, my parents' error was to generalize what they thought about tv shows. If thanks to them I was led towards the cinema, I missed some good things on tv too.

And since I'm studying Communication and Media, I took a decision, this year : I can't not to be open to what's going on tv. It is a media ! And to know it, to study it, I have to know what tv spreads, broadcasts.

What's more, there has been a lot of progresses in the scenarii on tv, and nowadays many tv shows are interesting thanks to the way they are thought by the today scriptwriters (more about this another time).

So you go on Allostreaming.com and can make a research writing the title of a tv show you particularly like. All the tv shows are not available, but you can be sure to find some mythical shows, even old ones.

And, above all, this allows you to discover new ones, and those you have missed when they were broadcast on tv !

You can also make a research by genre : action, animation, aventure, comedy, documentary etc. There are plenty different genres.

I wanted to make you discover an episode of the IT crowd (look at the introductory picture!), but unfortunately there are no available episodes (I was told there were some, so I don't know why they are not available), but to compensate I offer you the first episode of "How I met your mother".

http://67.15.249.191/1925/view_s.php?idep=1336&cat=S&id=20

Fun insured !

Wonderful Lexilogos...

2008-09-25T01:40:00.000-07:00

What is your best English language learning tool on the Internet ?

The only real tool I use on the Internet and that helps me (but don't really teach me) is Lexilogos.

This is an on-line dictionnary, which is very usefull. I will not dare to say it is my best friend (oh God, I still have real friends, thanks... I'm not a geek yet!), but I'm happy and relieved if I can count on it to find a word I don't know in English and which is not in my paper dictionnary (which is not very complete).

The way to use it is very simple : you go on the page, you write the word you're asking for the translation, and you pick up one dictionnary amongst several like "Reverso", "Collins", "Cambridge", "Larousse", "Wordreference" etc. You can also look in special dictionnaries, like American ("American Heritage", "Century"...) or British ones ("Oxford", "Chambers"...). If you are not plenty satisfied with the one you chose, no problem, just pick up another ! Self-service... You can't be disappointed.

It also works if you are looking for a word you need to translate from English to French.

I don't know all the subtleties of this tool yet but one can find etymologies too.

Well, enjoy !

>> lexilogos

Internet or A place where Freedom is overwhelming

2008-09-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

Here we are ! I've been thinking for a long time I would never have a blog, but... Times change ! And since I'm in the CMM class, in Celsa-La Sorbonne, it was time for me to try this kind of "new" possibility which is a blog, to express oneself. Thanks to Bob Spaulding, my new english teacher, I've got new objectives this year ! waow. But the question is : How to create a blog and feed it in an interesting way without telling one's life to everybody, especially on Internet ? Well, the main subject will remain e-culture and communication. Let's go !