IdTGV

IdTGV is outsourcing to the cutsomers ebcause it is not necessary to meet salesman in order to buy a ticket. the customer have to find, choose and print himself the ticket that he want to buy.

In a certain way, IdTGV is also cannibalizing its own market because the tickets are cheaper than the others. I think that this strategy could be an example of the "marketing long tail strategy" consists on decresaing the prices in order to reach new niches.

With idTGV, the SNCF treats the customers as a market segment of one, because it offers different kinds of services. If you like to play games, you can do ti, if you are fond of videos, you can watch a DVD, etc.

IdTGV creates different communities of values because the persons who want to sleep are in the same wagon of the other persons who want to sleep and to be quiet. The persons who want have fun are with other persons who want it. So, anybody disturbs the others because everybody have the same values.

IdTGV ensures continuity because a kind of control has been created for the idtgv tickets and this control is made before the people go into the train.

The SNCF websites offers a lot of informations about the train, you can register to receive a newsletter, to receive the good prices etc.

News

According to the ARCEP the degrouped phone lines is estimated at 2,82 millions at the 31 December. It is a big increasing than last year and than the other European countries.
This week, you can find in the French newspapers some interesting titles like "France Télécom the hemorrhage is continuing" or « France Télécom : l’ARCEP is expecting to an important cancellation. ». The French people seem to go faster in the adoption of new technologies...

Recommended book : Fear and Trembling

I recommend a book (in particularly for you Bob, that lived a few years in Japan).
The title of this book is Fear and Trembling and it was published in 1999. It has been written by Amélie Nothomb, a Belgian woman, whose personality is very strange. For example, she says that she loves eating rotten fruits. You can find more about this woman on Wikipedia here.
This novel deals with an occidental woman that discovers the Japan. She is employed in a Japanese company but she's becoming crazy because of the cultural differences. According to this story, the Japanese life seems the opposite of the European life (as we said last week), and it is very difficult to adapt oneself to it when one is expatriated. You can find an article on Wikipedia about this novel here.

Useless websites on the Web

I find that the personal pages on the web are often useless. Indeed, it often deals with personal informations that concern only the persons who write them. For example, the websites where people explain their lives with their cats. It is the same problem with the websites where we can see some photos of a family that we don’t care. In these cases, I think that the Internet is not a place of communication but a place of simple expression. Anything is really shared. The persons who do that don’t think about the interest of the Net surfers "lambda" that could find their websites. You can find an example here (you can find in this site all the informations concerning the two kids of a family : their size in the birth, their favorite toy etc etc!)

But, in an other way, this kind of websites allows to show or share what you want with a lot of persons that you know. It is simpler than to send the same e-mail to each person saying "I'm interested, can you send me the photos of your baby?" or something similar. For example, I published the photos of my travel in China in order to show them more easily to all of the persons who could be interested (family, friends, etc.). Instead of writing a lot of e-mails (in which I can't attach a lot of files, it is more limited than on a website) I just have to communicate the web URL.

IdTGV and e-culture

IdTGV is an example of the e-culture because :

First, the way to buy a ticket for this kind of TGD is on the Internet. You have to go on the Internet in order to buy the ticket and to print it. It implies that you have an Internet connexion and that you are open-minded enough to appreciate the fact that you don't do as usual.

Secondly, the characteristic of an IdTGV is the range of services that are proposed in the train. You have two choices :

-> IdZen : it is some wagons of the train that are reserved for people that want to be in a quiet place (in order to read, to sleep etc.).

-> IdZap : it allows the passengers to watch DVD or to play games. This service concerns particularly the e-culture because it deals with new technologies. Indeed, the fact that the SNCF proposes DVD is a demonstration of its modernity. The company modernizes, renews its image. Moreover, the name "IdTGV" is also choose because "Id" sounds like "idées" . It underlines the fact that the company is creative, inventing and innovating.

Finally, we can notice that on the website there is an animation that explains what mean these two propositions. The style of these “cartoons” is funny, so we can wonder ourselves if this is not a kind of viral marketing (viral marketing is typically used via Internet because the way to send the address of funny videos or images is very easy and often done)

Level Five

Find another wiki application that exists on the web other than the popular one mentioned in Level Two

The wiki can be use for blogs. So, in this kind of blogs, anybody can edit content and there is not a number of persons that is limited by the author of the blog.
For example : the Ubuntu wiki that deals with the Ubuntu version of Linux and where anybody can freely add, modify and remove articles. It is useful because if several persons have had problems with the software and solved it, they can collaborate to create an article that explain a general solution. We can also find advices about how to install and configure Ubuntu and there are French translations of the original Ubuntu documentation which is in English.

Level Four

What new use of a wiki could you propose? How would you apply this to a learning situation, for example?

It could be good to build a virtual space where the students could work collectively. The advantage is that it could let a trace of the work that the students make together and everyone can contribute to this. For example, when we have to do a collaborative work, it could be the way to write the report together.

Level Three

Choose a subject from this application (Level Two) and propose a edit for a page and subject that you are familiar with. Do not vandalize the actual page,0 but suggest a real edit. Explain what subject you would like to edit and post your discussion of that edit on your blog. For this Level, the words and page that you propose to edit can be from the French edition.

As you asked me before the holidays, I wrote an article about the “Frankfurt School” that I studied last year at the Celsa.

The context of the emergence of the “Frankfurt School” was the rising of Hitler during the year 1933. This School of thinking was composed of intellectual people exiled from Europe to the United States because of the escalating of the fascism. They established in Los Angeles and almost lived in autarky.

The main persons of this School were Adorno and Horkheimer whose ideas about the life in the “new world” was very pessimistic. They felt melancholy about the “old Europe” that they were forced to leave.

On the political side, they were very influenced by the ideas of Marx. So, they were against the capitalism that they discovered in the United States.

According to the Franckurt School, the mass media implies negative effects on the society. With the mass media the culture is in danger and the ideas of the people will become standardized, homogenous, uniform, like the small houses in the suburb of Los Angeles. The worst is that people are passive when watching the television, they loose their appreciation, they are no more able to formulate objection and to have real opinions. The members of the Franckfurt School named that “alienation”, because people are conditioned to think and consume the same things without questioning themselves. The mass media prescribe their behavior

About Adorno:

• In French
• In English

About Horkheimer

• In English
• In French

I think that this school is symptomatic of the difference between American people and European people concerning the adoption of the new technologies. Perhaps, American people are more attracted by the future because they would like build their own History while European people are more linked to their rich past.

Level two

What is the best known application of wiki on the internet ?

The best known application is Wikipedia. There are a lot of articles in the Press about it.

Do you use it, when and how ?

I often use it because I find very useful and serious (there is a lot of moderators). Sometimes, the problem concerns the persons who write articles in which they make judgements. I also use it for answer to the questions that you give.

Why is it helpful to you ?

I find it very useful because it gives other ways to explains things and it is faster to search informations on the web than in a real dictionary.

Why does it have such a strong international impact ? What is inherent in it that makes international diffusion faster?

It has a strong international impact because it is a new kind of encyclopaedia in which everybody can contribute. Moreover there are a lot of languages. The fact that is on the Internet makes the diffusion easy : people of different part of the world can access to it.

Level One

What is a wiki ? What is used for ?

It is a piece of software that that allows users to add content in some pages. The term wiki also refers to the collaborative software (wiki engine) used to create such a website (see wiki software). So, the documents can be written by many persons, collectively.

Where does the word wiki come from ? Why does this meaning apply to the way it is used and applied ?

The word comes from Hawaï. Its means “quick”, “fast”. Some people say that it is also the backronym for "What I know is", which describes the knowledge contribution, storage and exchange function. This word fits for this thing because with the wiki we can add some contents very quickly and very simply.

Review questions for November 30

1. The exercise we did in class this week involved finding information. What was your best source of information to answer the questions? Why? What other strategies did you use to answer the questions?

I used Google in order to find different sources of information. I also often went to Wikipedia that I know to be a serious and useful website.

2. At the end of class, we had a collection of answers available to all of you in the form of each student's blog. What is this effect called and what does it do? How can it be useful to you? Did you use it? What types of situations or tasks can it be useful in?

I think that it is very useful, because we can read all the things that the others did find. It is very interesting because it gives some ideas that we didn’t find alone as well as the different points of view in the class. Finally it is like a “brainstorming” but online. Moreover, I appreciate the fact that it lets a trace and that we can go to the blogs later, when we want.

3.What is the difference between the attitude and approach of French people (in general) and Americans (in general) to technology and the adoption of new technologies? Should this change? How? What would help it change?

French people seem more suspicious than the Americans. They seem more skeptical about the changes. They consider new things like a potential danger while the Americans see them as positive things that will revolutionize the future, they are very enthusiastic. According to the stages of the adoption of new technologies, the Americans would rather be the "Innovators" because they like the change while the French and the European in general are more traditionalists... (we can remember to the "Ecole de Francfort" that was very pessimistic about the mass media for example). We can also say that the difference is more important between the French and the Japanese!

4. In more and more professions, the application of e-communications skills like we are developing are increasingly important. Give three examples of professions you are interested in where this is the case.

Because of the globalization, the companies have to be in different countries, working with different kinds of cultures. The Internet allows to meet the employees of the company that live in different parts of the world. It is cheaper than the telephone, more interactive than the fax and with this media, we can really work together in real time. For example, the documents that we send can be modified and sent back by the others, etc.

5. Concerning the practice of ripping: what is your point of view on this practice? Is it illegal? Is it unethical? What are the moral considerations? Do you consider it normal? Why?

The question of the practice of the ripping creates a lot of debate in France. For example, the music companies like BMG, Universal etc. want to forbid this practice. But in France they face to a difficulty that is the right for private copies. But they introduced some technical measures that make the ripping impossible. I think there is a tension between the freedom of the users and the profits of the authors and the companies. In a way, I approve ripping because it allows to create your owns playlists of your favorite songs : the new media gives such possibilities that are very useful and it would be a pity to loose that. On the other hand, I think that the real problem is sharing ripped songs because it is no more private copy and it has bad consequences on the industry.

6. What are three things you learned from this exercise, two things that interested you, and one question you still have about the subjects mentioned?

I discover what Tivo, DRM and EULA mean. I was interested in the Alternative journalism on the web and Tivo. In general, I find this research very enriching because it enlarge my e-culture. I didn’t really understand what long tail marketing strategy means…

Midterm Exam Exercises

Level One

1.Give an example of true generosity as an organizational or business model on the web.

Linux is an operating system that is free. Anybody can download it and use it. I think it is a good example of generous business model because the companies make money from the services but let people use their product for free.

2. Give an example of outsourcing to the customer.

- On the website of the theater “Gaité Montparnasse”, we have the possibility to choose our seats and we can buy tickets in order to go to the shows.
- We can quote the example of the French national library too. The website of the BNF offers a search engine that allows to find the documents that we need. We just have to enter the title, the author or some keywords and the program displays a list of documents corresponding to our request. It is an example of outsourcing because we can work without the help of the archivists. On this website, we can perform what they used to accomplish.

3. Give an example of cannibalizing one's own market.

- The website of the French magazine Lire gives the same contents as the magazine Lire but online and it is free. The issue could be why Lire creates this website if it offers the same content as the magazine but free ?

4. Give an example of creating a community of value.

An example of a community of values : the website whose name is "think geek"

“Geek” is the nickname of a person who is interested in technology, especially fond of computing and new media. A geek has a technological obsessiveness and a difficulty with conventional social interaction (often he prefers reading books than meeting other people, that’s why there is a lack of social life) . You can fin more information about the geeks on Wikipedia.

5. Give an example of a podcast that helps you learn English and how.

Last time, I choose a podcast about Shangaï because I'm interested about tourism and news.. I think that the best way to improve our English is to listen and to speak regularly. So, I will listen podcasts in the metro, when I'm going to the Celsa, because it takes me one hour. It could be a good occupation.

6. Give an example of an old media organization using podcasting.

Lonely Planet, the guide books, offers on its website a new kind of contents : podcasts. You can hear them here.

Level Two:

Define and explain the following terms, and give examples

Intellectual property. Give at least five examples.

It means that anobody has the property of his own productions. It is a law that defends the creation of the authors. It prohibits the copying of their productions.

For example, if we rewrite the text of someone, we have to quote his name. When somebody discovers a new technology, creates a new software, makes a movie, takes a photo, or writes a book, it belongs to him.

EULA, or end user licensing agreement

I found this definition on Wikipedia : an EULA is a legal contract between the manufacturer and/or the author and the end user of an application. The EULA details how the software can and cannot be used and any restrictions that the manufacturer imposes (e.g., most EULA’s of proprietary software prohibit the user from sharing the software with anyone else).

Not every EULA is the same. Some contracts stipulate acceptance of the agreement simply by opening the shrink-wrapped package; some require the user to mail back to the manufacturer a signed agreement or acceptance card; some require the user to accept the agreement after the application is installed by clicking on an acceptance form that appears on the user’s monitor. This last method is typical of applications that can be downloaded from the Internet. In all instances, the user has the option of not accepting the EULA, subsequently surrendering the rights and ability to use the software.

DRM, or digital rights management

Because of the easily of copying with the digital media, DRM was created to allow the publishers to control any duplication and dissemination of their content There are a lot of technologies that can use to be sure that the copyrights are respected. For example, TRM are technical measures to control the uses of the data.

pay-on-demand TV

It is the possibility to choose a film that we want to watch given by the digital TV channels. It is like a video rent but we have not to go to the shop neither to take the video. In fact, we have just to pay the broadcasting. For example, Noos (cable) offers this service : you choose a video, you pay with your credit card and you can watch it one time.

time shifting

It is the digital technology that allows to listen audio or to watch video data when we want. For example, podcast are time shifting because we can listen it when we choose to do it. I remember also the advertisement where a father is watching football on the TV and his baby begin to cry. He is saved by the time shifting that allows him to give the to his baby without missing the match.

TIVO

TiVo is a popular brand of digital video recorder (DVR), a term synonymous with personal video recorder (PVR). It is a consumer video device which allows users to capture television programming to internal hard disk storage for later viewing (sometimes called "time shifting").

FTP server

It is the where we can send the data to the Internet. For example, when one creates a website, one has to send the content via the FTP server in order to see it on the web.

prime time TV and radio

It is the moment when the most of the people are watching the TV. Consequently, there is a lot of advertisements that are very expensive for the announcers but it allows them to reach a maximum of people. For example, The Star Academy is at the prime time.

long tail marketing strategy

As it is said on a blog : it’s a way to increase sales while decreasing the cost per sale by developing and selling to thousands of niche markets.

Click and mortar company

Contrary to a built and mortar company, a click and mortar company has a build but also a website. It is present in the “real life” and on the Internet. For example, you can buy DVD or books by La Fnac in its shops but also on the Internet.

Ripping

It is the process of copying the audio or video data from one media form (like DVD, CD etc.) to a hard disk. The copied data, called "rips", are usually encoded in a compressed format such as MP3 for audio or MPEG for video in order to conserve storage space.

There are different uses of ripping. Somebody use it in order to listen or watch in an other media that allows things like making customised playlists or to be played on portable digital audio players Others people share the files with other computer users over the Internet.

Alternative journalism on the web

It differs than the classical journalism because there is not an editorial staff. At the Celsa we study the blogs and we conclude that it is a kind of journalism, often an alternative journalism. For example, “Reporters Sans Frontières” helps the people living under the censure to create their blogs to inform the world about what is truly happening in their countries. RSF has created a book where we can learn a lot of things very useful for the security of these courageous people how to publish on a blog without giving information about his identity etc. You can find more informations here.

Level Three:

Explain what “monetize an Internet model” means, and give an example of this from the history of the Internet, or an imagined example that you personally might do.

At the beginning, there were a lot of values associated with Internet. The ideologies of sharing and freeness were very important. It came from the founder communities of the professors, who wanted to share their works and from the hippies who wanted to create a free world where everybody could be equal and could access to the same things (the knowledge, etc.) as the others and could express themselves without censorship. I think that the pop-ups in the web browsers are such a model because in this view the users can't control the advertising that they receive...

This blog

Here is my first blog. It will deal with the Bob's english class.