E-Culture : a dangerous myth ?

> We now live in an over connected world. Everywhere we are, we think that we can be connected to our friends, our work, and being learning everything.

That’s what shows this painting for me. The prophet was done by Emil Nolde, a German painter, in 1912. To my mind, it represents the danger of prophecy. I don’t really see a kind of sadness in this face, but in the whole picture I see the strength of ideas. The lack of colours shows the despair, next step after too much hope.

I’m very serious here, and this post may be one of the most important of my blog. I’ll talk about Internet myths, and which kind of danger it creates.

But don’t misunderstand me : I’m not going to ban a culture that I’m a part of. I use Internet, and I’m proud of it. Here, the point is to remember limits to this huge, huge network. More precisely, I’m gonna explain in what extent e-culture can lead to poor culture and misunderstanding.

1/ Knowledge.

True, Internet represents an immeasurable amount of datas, about nearly everything. True, you can learn more about wild ponies in Mongolia than before. Or, okay, do your homework easier. Easier, and without opening no book.

>That’s the first problem : where do we check our information ? Who checks what we see on the Net ? The problem of a university research is that it takes time, and it takes time for you to read it. Internet is mainly, to my mind, a tool for quick activities, even if we (I) spend a lot of time on it. We do a a lot of quick things, sure, but we don’t read a blog as deeper as if it where a book. Internet is not the tool with which you are going to try to understand, reading 10 times the same sentence.

Be careful : I don’t say that you can’t learn things on the Net. I do learn everyday on the Net, thanks to news, thanks to write this blog, etc… But I won’t read and understand well William Blake’s poetry or Spinoza’s books on the Net. That’s not a shame, that’s just an inappropriate use.

> You might say, that’s the way I read and practice my Internet. You may be true. But let’s see the way one finds information through the Web.

First, you go on Google. 90 % of the Internet population goes on Google. And about the same percent never goes further than the 10th result. And many of us are used to choose the Wikipedia entry, because you know that in general you find clear information here. It’s easy. I do the same.

But once again, who check those information ? Is it the same thing if 90% of a population were consulting the same dictionary ? I don’t think so.

=> Conclusion ? Even if Internet is made of billiards of datas (at least), we mainly use a very small part of it, without wondering us if this information is true or not. Is that knowledge ?

Well, I know that Internet users are actually more intelligent than what I explain, but it’s a possible danger. And this video shows us the worst of it…

II/ Accessibility.

Now, the question appears to be : “Where is the next wireless point access ?”. We are hyperconnected. We can read our mails, nearly everywhere we want.

“We” ? “Nearly everywhere” ?

Yes, this is another danger of e-culture : believe that Internet is a web that goes all over the world, finding everyone. That’s not true.

Africa, for example, is the worst place to be if you want connect yourself to the Internet. But Africa is a continent. Africa is a million a cultures. Africa is 944 000 000 persons (found on wikipedia…).

=> Due to this, we can’t say that Internet covers the hole world. And we can’t believe that, since Internet spread in the West, the entire humanity is connected, related.

I know that this is not always told that way. But the idea of an hyperconnection easy for everybody exists, and believe it is forget about an important part of humanity.

III/ Mutual understanding.

Look at this picture. I won’t go one the pros and the cons, just to illustrate a fat : now, it’s hard to well understand a foreign culture.

Even if we have better technologies, even if we can effectively call someone in Japan while being in France, even if satellites can locate a car anywhere in the world, we don’t understand Muslims enough, and they don’t understand us enough to stop war.

This is not something idealistic, on the contrary. I do know that behind wars there are economic interests. But wars are made with peoples. Peoples are soldiers who go to the front. But, even if we can listen to Arabian televisions, even if CNN is received in Afghanistan, we still battle in Middle East.

=> Conclusion ? There is no real better international understanding with Internet. We are not able to stop fighting and start working together to save the planet. These are two main issues that we can’t resolve without union. I think that Internet can help. I don’t believe that Internet is the solution.

But, still, we can hope for a better understanding.

So, e-culture ?

> Believing that e-culture can save the world, we forget weaknesses of this Network. We believe that this technology can save us.

Actually, it is a problem of belief. Trust technology, whereas it’s just a possible means that we have to handle.

> Once we’ve explained all that things, we can start imaging how can Internet and e-culture can be the place where new social inventions can appear.

Examples ? A place where free systems of creation and organisation can be created. There are resistance movement on the Web, and they have sometime international form. With there weaknesses, they don’t change the world, but they can act inside it. That is the way I see Internet : a way to act in this world.

[This painting, from Matisse, is one of my favourite one. A kind of dance in a ring all over the world, but where you see passion, weakness, brotherhood. Indissociable from each other. It shows my dream, for humanity, better than I can write it.

Bob, this is probably my last post. Hope that you will understand the meaning of it !]

Connected Snoopy is working, yes Sir !

Last time, we were talking about how to find a job thanks to the Internet.

Now, time has passed, and you found your job.

But instead of Snoopy, you spend most of your time in front of your computer screen. Not facing the sky, unfortunately…

Nevertheless, your screen can be changed in a huge window open to the world, or at least to the Web. Of course, you use it to play games, see your mails, write your blog and buy uninteresting things on eBay… But you want argument for your boss to explain the time you spend on the Net ?

I mean, you want to know how to use Internet at work ? I got here three ideas, that you can present him, but be careful : respect the order.

1. Find information. One of the basis of capitalism economy is transparent information. Once you know everything, you can make a rational decision. That’s theory. Actually, you always need to find ways in order to get more and better information. And Internet can help you. That’s the reason why with appropriate tools, you can monitor competitor’s development & market evolution. Example ? WebSite-Watcher, which you can test as shareware. Professional use ? Try Digimind.
2. Collaborate with colleagues. The Internet makes easier your communication. I’m not talking about e-mails or video-conf’, but about sharing documents and co-work on it thanks to new technologies. And you can do it easily with, for example, GoogleDoc. It’s not very safe, but I use it for working group a school and it makes me saving time.
3. It doesn’t work ? You can also return to the last post : How to find a (new) job with Internet, but at work … 😉
   

Movie : Dead Man & William Blake

While I was working my English, I thought to that sentence I heard last week :

I’m William Blake, do you know my poetry ?

Taken from Jim Jarmush’s movie, Dead Man, it’s one of the main line of the film.

Why did I saw it ? Because I’m pat of the “77 img/s”, the film club of the Celsa. And we show it wednesday, for all students that want to discover it. For free, and with exchanges after the movie.

Let’s see the line in its context :

Another line ? I can’t resist to put here one of my favorite, taken originally from William Blake (the true one) poetry :

Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.

(William Blake, Auguries of Innocence)

[whole poem]

Not very funny, but so beautiful… which is not contradictory, in fact.

Hope you can appreciate this movie. Let you carry by Jarmush’s eyes, and forget about your notions of time and space. It will be different in this film, and Indians you’ll gonna see are Indians just in a theoretical point of view.

And last but not least : don’t forget to listen to that entrancing music done by the wonderful Neil Young…

How to use Internet to get a job ?

How to use Internet to get a job ?

> Last year, I had to find an internship. First, I thought that Internet can help me but when I came in front of my screen, I realize that it was not as easy as I thought : Google doesn’t give you a job as soon as you ask for it…

> But one day, I found a web site that saved my life, or my career at least : iQuesta. This website is very useful and instead of others of that kind, you’ll find there serious offers well selected. You have to create your profile, and put your CV on. Then you can look for a job or a internship with a well done search function.

Remember that the particularity of this website is to offer special offers for young people with university diplomas.

> Of course, that’s where I found my internship last year, and you know what ? Offices where at the same place, in an Openspace…

English test

Actualy Currently, I work at in a society company that has 65 salaries employees. She It is located at in Paris at in the 15^th arrondissement district in ON the street called Rue Maubert Maubert street. Her reason It’s goal is to commercialize sell children’s logiciels softwares.

She The company receives perceives a subvention subsidy from the state to embauch hire young stagiaires interns. That is how the way I received get my post position which is titled commercial sells man. In the first time At the begining, my job title was responsible of marketing marketing manager, but I changed jobs switched.

We sell a gamme range of products with the mark branded Youngsoft. We have many charges EXPENSES associated related with marketing. Our posting prints BILLBOARDS in the metro subway is are one of the most expensive. Our RP PR department also has a very large important budget. We realize CREATE our own pubs ads with our redaction editorial staff, and we do our own edition PUBLISHING of user manuals books.

Our trimestrial quarterly results for this year have been all very positive. Our market is very buoyant good at this time, and that is why we gain are in funds PROFITABLE.

We want to commercialize market our products in Tahiti because we think metropolitan customers would be interested in buying them.

In resume To put it short TO CONCLUDE, because of our positive deontology ethic and interesting growing market niche, we are will have a rosy great PROMISING future.

HTM2OI : 4 other possibilities (if you not rich yet)

After having read all my advices, you still remain poor and want to make fortune on the Net ? Let’s read those 6 ideas, Picsou !

1. Fulfil multiple choice question paper online. Some agencies work only on the Internet, and need you to answer questions for their studies. You won’t be pay a lot, but it won’t be long (does it ring you some political slogan ? 😉
2. Create a website with paying contents. You don’t get the widespread idea : pornography hum sorry, slovene literature in the 12nd century.
3. Invent a new and revolutionary application, that nobody can live without. Example : netvibes. (What ?! You live without netvibes ?! Let’s see here what’s about)
4. Hack banks. You’ve always been dreaming about westerns, but you know that you can’t shoot an elephant at 6 feet ? Use your brain, and your Internet abilities to break the bank ! Ideas here… (illicit content)

> Guess you’re rich, now !

HTM2OI : the funny way

Back again with the question of money, but today we’re going to study it the funny way …

[Believe what you’re going to watch, it’s taken from this marvelous website]

If you wanna make money with Internet, one of the funniest way to do so is to play on-line. You have two main possibilities, that I am going to detail :

1. Have chance, and play poker on-line. Well, the first proposition is not the easy one, but there’s a lot of web sites that allow you to ply that way.
2. Become a hardcore gamer, and play international competitions. Now, some people are sportsmen on-line, they get in training, and they earn a lot of money, at least when they win.

> Let’s try this funny way, but be careful about Internet addiction …

HTM2OI : Google AdSense

Google AdSense, maybe the easiest way to earn money on the Internet if you got a blog.

> You have a blog ? You publish regularly on the Internet, on your blog ? You got a quite important visibility, and you want to make money with it ? Let’ try GoogleAdSense.

> Principe. You suscribe on this site, and then ads will appear on your blog. They always will have a link with what your post is talking about. You earn money each time someone click on the add.

> Be carreful. You may think that you just have to put ads without content. But this is totally wrong, because without content, nobody will go on your blog …

HTM2OI : Veosearch

Most of Internet researches start with Google. And Google, we’ve seen it, earns money without making Internet users pay. Veosearch uses this idea for social commitment..

> Veosearch is a new website, using Google research technology and the same base of business model. Veosearch uses advertising to earn money, but the specificity is that it doesn’t only go to the company, but also to NGO. It has been founded 1 year ago by two young French entrepreneurs.

> Advertising for social causes. By clicking on adds, the half part of the money given to the company goes to an association that you’ve decided to support. You can also support your association by adding it in the site.

> Advantages. Veosearch tries to be attractive by two main ways.

1. Make a community. Veosearch is not only a search website, it is also a blog where you can see information about Sustainable Development or NGO. There, you’re invited to comment posts, taking part to the Veosearch company.
2. Offer better services. For example, the research “Travel” which helps you to find information about traveling. But it’s not already very relevant to my mind.

> Want to try it ? Let’s go on their web site.

HTM2OI : Google business plan

Going on the Internet is going on a search website. That’s the way Google makes money, offering you a free service…

> Offer a good service. Internet has opened a new field for economic issues. “Pure players”, companies which business plan is only based on Internet, understood this  idea about 15 years ago.

Google service is basic, but primordial. And they do it well, that’s why a lot of people start their research with this website.

> Find a way to finance it. Once you got your service, you have to see how to make people pay for it. Google’s good idea is not to make people pay but to use advertising. In that way, by seeing ad contents, you “pay” for google’s information.

> Google business plan. Google has two way to earn money on its website, but both use the same base : to appear in relation with user’s request.

1. Advertising on the right hand side. Lot of companies pay to appear their, but it’s not very expansive for them.
2. Advertising just before the results. When you arrive in the Google front page, there is no ads. It’s pleasant, but it just makes you more receptive to ads you’ll see before seeing results. Those ads are well integrated in results, in order you to be disoriented. In that way, you can click on there thinking that’s it’s a Google result …

So Google found an original business model, because founders understood that nobody wants to pay directly for basic information on the Net.