:: e-communication laboratory ::

Simon's Cat :"Let me in"

2008-04-21T07:32:00.003+02:00

I've never had a cat, I don't like them that much (cats or any other pet... smelly, drooling, scratching, losing its hair, eating your shoes and socks...) and I find in Simon's Cat series many reasons to go on thinking this way...

Coming back

2008-04-17T07:34:00.003+02:00

Here Am I ! After several week of very emptiness and absence on my poor blog, I come back !
You probably need some explanation :

- I went through a tough exam period on december / january... This kind of time when you keep repeating "I should have listened in class... I should have written it down... I should have begun earlier... I should have so many many things !!" But hopefully, I passed those #$@"#§#! exams !

- Last exam on Friday, first day of job on Monday ! Youpya ! I entered Rapp Collins Paris, the relational marketing agency belonging to DDB as a Project Manager Assistant (actually a 4-project manager assistant). Hummm what to say about it, knowing that I'm still working in there... Give me just 3 extra months till I finish my internship and I'll tell you ! For now, all I can say is it's a very "absorbing" job ! :)))

- And now, besides my job, I've got to write my term paper to end my "MASTER 2"... Youpya again ! I'm studying the different business models of P2P platforms that are "partly" used to share copyrighted contents... I don't care about if it's good or not, it's not the purpose of my work, I'm just trying to analyze the economical mechanism behind it... Any information about this subject is very very welcomed !

My Geek's place

2007-11-27T12:16:00.000+01:00

A short video to show you how technology affects my environment...

M. JEANNERET and The Page

2007-11-25T16:58:00.000+01:00

Here is a great article about pages and how to deal with page issues on the Internet :
Pagination Gallery: Examples And Good Practices
CELSA MISC students are pretty familiar with this issue thanks to M. Y. JEANNERET and his courses on the "Page" ... He was the former research professor in charge of the research group "The GRIPIC" at the Celsa. He's now replaced by M. E. SOUCHIER.

Beware of "la paââage"... ;)

Social Actions

2007-11-25T16:38:00.000+01:00

Like a response to the previous post on Prosper.com, Techcrunch (a fantastic blog for everyone interested in new technologies) talked,a few days ago, about a new website dealing with money lending and personal investments to help others : Social Actions.

It's a digg-like specialized in "social actions" developed by a Montrealer team ....
You can use the website to start an action or spread an existing action on the Internet thanks to a widget. Then, users vote for the actions they like the most (digg-it). The platform is aggregating the actions coming from : BringLight, Change.org, ChangingthePresent, DemocracyInAction, Firstgiving, Fundable, GiveMeaning, GlobalGiving, Kiva, PledgeBank, Razoo et SixDegrees... and Paypal is in charge of the transaction guarantee !

Source : Techcrunch

Mind mapping

2007-11-25T15:58:00.000+01:00

A little bit too long demonstration of what is mind mapping. (I did the video on my own using the following softs : Recordmydesktop, Avidemux, VLC and YouTube uploader... And all I have to say is that I hate codec issues !!!!!!!!!! That's why I didn't try to make a new shorter one... It will be for the next time!)

Two softwares :
- PersonnalBrain
- FreeMind (here is a very smart demo)

I choosed the free one ;)

My hardware

2007-11-21T10:06:00.000+01:00

Here is a picture of my real desktop... kind of messy ...

- Laptop : SAMSUNG Q35 - little, not heavy, reliable, not so that expensive....
- Webcam : a CREATIVE one - a gift from a previous internship ; it was an old webcam that we found in the depths of dusty cabinet. What's the matter ? It works ! (otherwise, I got some issues to make it work with Linux softwares ...)
- Headphones + micro : 5€ from Carrefour ; essential for Skyping..
- Speakers set 2.1 : CREATIVE-Cambridge SoundWorks - another gift from a previous internship (thanks AOL !)
- Mobile phone : SONY ERICSSON bright new mobile (I'm still learning how to use it !)
- Extra hard drive : waiting for its external box actually sent back to the after sales service.
- Pen and post-it because digital tools did not kill traditional ones yet...

Video in my car

2007-11-21T00:32:00.000+01:00

Here is a little home-made video in my car with my mobile phone during the traffic jam in Paris (due to the strikes.... ) Sorry for the poor quality of the image, of the sound and of the main character who was a little bit exhausted by the circumstances...

However, it's an opportunity to show you what can be done with the Mojiti Video Subtitles Tool.

For more testimonies, have a look at the No Strike Zone.

YouTube and young terrorists videos

2007-11-14T13:41:00.000+01:00

A little over a week ago, a Finnish student went on a rampage with gun after warning about this with YouTube's videos. It reminds us the grievous case in Virginia Tech... Who is to blame ?

The proper question to ask should be : who is not to blame ?
In my opinion, I should not blame :
- YouTube which is only a way used by those student to express their uneasiness and malaise...
- Video games despite that they're more and more violent and that we could have notice some similarities with video games heroes in their behavior and dressing...
- Media in general : some people accused the TV, series, movies, Internet to get young people more and more used to violent scenes etc... We've got here some example such as Silent Hill, Resident Evil, God of War, Carmageddon, Manhunt (this last have been prohibited for players under 18)... If those video games are as dangerous as some would say, there would be a lot of "Virginia Tech-case" more !

As a French citizen, I would blame the fact that in the US, carrying a weapon is legal... (classical accusation !) and I just ad a thing : nowadays, the smallest and insignificant current affair is so strongly forwarded and broadcast by the media that everybody focuses on it. I think that those incidents have already occurred before and will continue in the future... It's just not a new trend !

Google : bad or evil ?

2007-11-14T13:40:00.000+01:00

Do you know how much applications Google owns ?
Let look over them... So, we have :
- 3D Warehouse : Sketchup's functionality that allows you to search, share and save 3D templates.
- Accessible Search : Accessible Web Search for the Visually Impaired.
- AdSense : Google AdSense matches ads to your site's content, and makes you earn money whenever your visitors click on them.
- AdWords : You can display your ads on Google advertising network. You pay only if people click your ads.
- AdWords API : Google's AdWords API service lets developers design computer programs that interact directly with the AdWords platform.
- AdWords Editor : Google's free, downloadable account management application for your computer.
- Alerts : Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.
- Alternate Views : Google's technology extracts key dates, locations, measurements, and more from select search results so you can view the information in a different dimension. You can see results on a timeline, map, or in context of other information types.
- Analytics : Helps you learn even more about where your visitors come from and how they interact with your site.
- Android : Set of software for mobile devices: an operating system, middleware and key mobile applications. (Open Handset Alliance)
- Apps for your Domain : service from Google for using custom domain names with several Google products. It features several Web applications with similar functionality to traditional office suites, including: Gmail, Google Calendar, Talk, Page Creator, and Docs.
- Apps Premier Edition : it's the enterprises' version ; it offers 25 GB of e-mail storage and other special features. (It is 50 USD per year, per account.)

And I'm gonna stop here this terrifying alphabetically sorted list !!!! Help yourself in Google services and have a look at the 130 left Google services (in bold, the funny ones):

Audio Ads, Base, Blog Search, Blogger, Book Search, Bookmarks, Browser Sync, Calculator, Calendar, Catalogs, Checkout, Checkout API, Code, Co-Op, Current, Custom Search Engine, Daohang, Dashboard Widgets for Mac, Desktop, Documents, Dodgeball, Earth, FeedFetcher, Finance, Froogle Mobile, Gmail, Gmail Mobile, Gmail Notifier, Google Web Toolkit, Googlebot, GoogleGuy, Googleplex, Grants, Groups, Gulp, iGoogle, Image Labeler, Images, Jaiku, JotSpot, Labs,Language tools, Local Business Ads, Maps, Maps API, Maps for Mobiles, Mars, Measure Map, Mini, Mobile, Moon, Music Trends, News, News Archive Search, Notebook, OpenSocial, Orkut, Pack, Page Creator, PageRank, Patents, Phonebook, Picasa, Picasa Web Albums, Product Search, Project Hosting, Reader, Reader Trends, Referrals, Ride Finder, Scholar, Search API, Search Appliance, Search By Number, SearchMash, Send to Phone, Sets, Shared Stuff, Flight simulator (with Google Earth set up on your computer), SiteLinks, Sitemaps, SiteStats, SketchUp, SMS, Space, Spreadsheets, Store, Suggest, Summer of Code, Talk, Toolbar, Toolbar API, Transit, Trends, Trends, TrustRank, Video, Video Upload, Wallet, Web Accelerator, Web Search, Webmaster Central, Website Optimizer, Whack, Wifi, YouTube, Zeitgeist, Zingku …

Little video stuff from the CELSA

2007-11-14T13:36:00.000+01:00

A little bit of e-terminology

2007-11-13T23:27:00.000+01:00

Internet has created lots of new words... Here is Erin Jansen, author of "NetLingo The Internet Dictionary" and founder of NetLingo.com ; she explains Internet terms and brings online jargon to life!

Her YouTube Channel.

E-mailing : do's and don'ts

2007-11-13T23:24:00.000+01:00

E-mail is omnipresent in business and personal communications. But there are a number of pitfalls and ways to miscommunicate with e-mail. Here are some guidelines you can follow :

1. Ordering your e-mails
- Use tags to mark your e-mails ; one tag per category (person / event / task...)
- Create filters to order automatically your incoming e-mail (the filter using the sender's e-mail address seems to be the most relevant...)
- Create folders to save your important mail

2. Write e-mails
- The e-mail subject : use the words "Important", "Private", "Urgent" ... advisedly ! (some people may have created filters to automatically have alerts on "Important" mail) ; regarding professional mails, write understandable, short and clear subject ; use the same subject when replying to a first mail.
- The e-mail body : short sentences, use the bullet and other layout tools efficiently, not too much !
- The signature : write again your e-mail address below your name (you can add phone / cellphone / IM ...)
- The attached files : beware of its weight and name it properly.

3. Send e-mail
- DO NOT SPAM ! Check-out the recipient's list before sending your mail.
- Use the "To" and "Cc" fields properly : the first for the directly involved recipient and the second for the others.

4. Other tips
- Absence e-mail : it can be useful during long vacation to remind your colleagues of your return to the office.
- Return receipt : use it only for important mail unless it will spam your own mailbox.

.... and there are certainly many other tips ...

SMS

2007-11-13T23:19:00.000+01:00

Actual different uses of the SMS :

- phone communication improved by photos and videos (MMS)
- TV shows interaction (SMS sent during realTV programs to vote for the candidates)
- services of SMS alerts (online banks services, news alerts, purchase confirmation, birthdays reminders...)
In France, during the presidential elections, it was possible to receive by SMS the first results at 18 o'clock...

Here are interesting data and figures about SMS in Europe.

Future uses of the SMS :

- payment. It's one of the most important issue companies have to deal with. Here is an example of a company working on that subject and providing secure way to pay by mobile : SMS Kambi

"We are smarter than me"

2007-11-11T15:46:00.000+01:00

"Over a million students, faculty and alumni of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the MIT Sloan School of Management, as well as leaders, authors, and experts from the fields of management and technology were invited to contribute in a wiki-based community that coalesced at wearesmarter.org. Members were asked to develop and share their insights about why community approaches work or don't work when it comes to marketing, business development, distribution, and more, and what companies have to do to make them work better.

The goal of the project was to develop a book that addresses what other best-selling books on community have not. Wikinomics and The Wisdom of Crowds have identified the phenomena of emerging social networks, but they do not confront how businesses can profit from the wisdom of crowds."

Here is what we can read on the website dedicated to this new kind of work "We are smarter than me". This experience shows the ability of crowd to build a real project : a collaborative book. But it rises also two issues :
- What's about the author status and rights ? Can we apply a kind on copyright on this book ? Who is in charge of what is said ?
- Is that really means that a community of authors can write a compelling book better than individual experts ?

Those questions have also been raised about Wikipedia and yet, Wikipedia is storing more and more articles and is being consulted by more and more people...

Microbook or Facesoft ?

2007-11-07T12:02:00.000+01:00

Microsoft invested $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook what values the three-year-old social website from about $150 million in revenue this year at $15 billion.
(Source NYT)

As part of the deal, Microsoft will sell the banner ads appearing on Facebook outside of the United States, splitting the revenue with it. Last year, Microsoft struck a deal with Facebook to run banner ads on the site in the United States through 2011.

This deals is a way for Microsoft to show that it still having street cred and playing a part in the social Internet market. The management of the advertising sales is one of the main value of Facebook because it rely on the huge users database filled with personal datas... Targeted ads depending on users profiles can now be considered more seriously !

Do you trust the web?

2007-11-07T10:24:00.000+01:00

Prosper.com is an online marketplace that allow people to lend money to other people, even strangers...

This website highlights the issue of trust in the web and in the technical stuff developed to increase transactions' security on the Internet. Prosper.com uses several ways to make people trust in its services such as :
- pedagogy : the web site communicate a lot on its own use. See HOW TOs : "How to borrow" ; "How to lend" ; the Help page is very rich in information...
- ergonomic : prosper.com's layout is very clear, well-built, easy to read which encourage users in joining the community.
- relying on the community : people using prosper.com can rate each others which brings more credibility to users and at the same to the service provided by the website !

There are other website which play on trust : the most famous would be e-Bay !!!

Working together with Google docs

2007-11-06T22:35:00.000+01:00

We've experienced in class the work on Google Docs... It was really interesting ! It's obvious that all those online apps make easier and more accessible collaborative work but here are some point we (a 15 student-class all-connected) had to face :
- problems of connexion : we couldn't be 15 at the same time working on the same doc.
- problems of use : we didn't set up a working method before using Google Docs. Indeed, 15 students can't work together if they didn't set up rules to modify the document online.

Conclusion : we can say that 20% of the group have made 80% of the job. It was messy but very funny !

Advice for those who really want to work seriously collaboratively : ORGANIZE !

iPhone is everything

2007-01-16T17:34:00.000+01:00

iPhone is said to be the next "e-flop" of the year... only bought by Mac or iPod users... let see what will happen !

Thank you hidden avenger

2007-01-14T12:08:00.000+01:00

... notice the importance of the Internet reactivity!

The first time I've been involved in a parody

2007-01-13T09:48:00.000+01:00

It's me on the video (I'm not in PJ), it's my real voice, but subtitles are not from me !

2007 - The optician's year

2007-01-11T14:44:00.002+01:00

Here what we can read on the Internet about 2007 prognostics :
- Netvibes and Dailymotion will be bought by bigger ones. Will they reach the $1.65 billion spent by Google for Youtube ?
- Google will be the one who buys the most star-ups.
- Google and Ebay will be closer partners.
- Web TV will play the bigger part on the web. Today, the former Venice Project, a TV channel, has been renamed onto Joost...

Others are talking about the second dot-com bubble bursting...

In my opinion, Internet will be full of video content, so much that video search will play the biggest part... Youtube and Google Video will be here to help users, Daily motion too, but perhaps very specialized search engine will appear as MySpace developed MySpace Music... Besides, web TV will provide new contents but won't totally replace traditional TV (there are still people not addicted to the Internet !!) But it's obvious that we will spent more time in front of our computer (or our mobile.... who knows .. )

More than 143 million Americans work on a computer each day, with 88% of them suffering from computer eyestrain, according to estimates. In addition, nearly 54 million children work at a computer each day either at home or in school. Prolonged computer use can stress a child's eyes and impact his or her vision development. >> Opticians will get richer !!

Video CV and Video recrutement

2007-01-11T14:44:00.001+01:00

As video content increases in the Internet, traditional formal ways to communicate about each one's self capture Internet code and technologies to create new kind of content, hybrid content. Here is my own video presenting my studies at the Celsa :

A good video resume should be created and adapted for the core target to reach. It could be original, artistic, funny, serious, formal, expert... It really depends on what image you want to show to your future employer. The use of the video gives the opportunity of playing with images, photographies, sound.. Everything is allowed till your video cv remains understandable ! Sometimes it's not worth mixing too much video effects and different contents.. If you're afraid to seems ridiculous, choose simplicity!
Here are some video resume providers:
Job in Live
VoiceJob
Easy-cv
CV.TV
RecruitTV
JobBait
Virtual Career Agents

FaceBook stalking

2007-01-11T14:44:00.000+01:00

FaceBook is a social network website like MySpace or Flickr. It has become quickly very popular among college and high school students. Originally developed for sharing information between university students, the website FaceBook turned into being a real social network providing tools the create your profile, your own page and content, share photos with friends.
But what's really make the difference between MySpace and FaceBook is the fact that students log in the website with their real identity.
Such a database of student profiles attracted special kind of person who visit FaceBook users' profiles only to get information or look at the photos, even of person they've never spoken to or heard of. This can be regarded as voyeurism.

Data backup

2007-01-11T14:43:00.000+01:00

More and more data are recorded on digital disk such as memory sticks, USB keys, hard drives... This is clearly linked to the use of all new tools which allow us to keep datas into digital form (digital cameras, mp3 players, work on line, emails, mobile phones...)
That's why backup managing is becoming a real full time job !

Actually I have my data recorded on my computer. I save them frequently on my external hard drive. Them important data such as all the photographies and videos that I really want to keep are burned on CDs or DVD. Very important data (mostly work datas) are sent to my server account provided by my ISP. It allows me to get access to this data from any computer connected to the Internet !

One of data's backup issue is the fact that data get old and extensions files too. So mind the way you back up your data to be sure to be able to open it ten or twenty years later!

I think that the emerging model of maintaining a dependable backup of your data in the coming years will be an hybrid between usb key and external hard drive protected by digital user authentification, such as mobile's SIM card.... Or perhaps , another way would be Internet services providing a large memory space on secured server to backup personal data, it would be safer for the data but risky for privacy ...