Dear blog,

This is the end of the English class for this year, but not the end of this blog.

I want to continue what I’ve started during those 3 months.

I just have a break, because this is a busy period of the year : my exams begin in a week, and I really need to work for it. After, I’ll have a break and take some holidays for Christmas. But if you come back on this blog in January, there will probably be new articles, and perhaps a new blog design, new photos,…

So… stay tuned ;-)

This year, with the class of e-culture and communication, I’ve learned a lot about Internet and new technologies.

First, I’ve opened my first weblog in English, the Electronic Village. I had much pleasure of writing about various subjects related to e-communication.

I’ve also made a short video to present myself and my work experiences. I put it on Youtube, and it’s also available on this blog.

If you want to have a look to the other students’ videos, you can visit the e-culture Youtube Group. Some of them are very creative ! 

I also regularly update information about this blog on the Wiki. 

On the section “e-portfolio”, each student made a short presentation. If you go to my page, you will find information about who I am, my video of presentation, and my online CV.

 On the section “how to do things”, some students posted articles about, for example, “how to use photoshop” and “how to create buzz”. In this section, I’ve put an article about “how to enter the electronic music world on the Internet”. In this entry, I present Beatport, one of my favourite websites. It’s a very original online music store specialized in electronic music.

 On the section “best of blogs”, each student gives a selection of his blog-posts. If you click on “Zelie’s blog”, you will find a summarize of my seven best articles.

 On the section “Yes we can”, we explain how Internet can solve a huge national or international issue. As far as I am concerned, I’ve wrote an article about how Internet can contribute to freedom of speech in Cuba.

On the section “News from CELSA”, there are many links to our e-culture Youtube group, to the video of a debate between the students about how the Internet affected the financial crisis, to our Facebook group, and to our teacher’s blog (in which he explains who he is. You can also find his online CV).

Internet has an extremely important role in my life. I connect to Internet daily, for both personal and professional uses.

First, for personal use, I check my mail at least two times a day. I also have a mobile phone with which I can connect to my webmail account. I often visit Facebook, which permits me to keep in touch with my friends, particularly with those who are abroad. I also use Internet to listen music at home. I’m keen on electronic music. To listen to tracks, I connect to websites like Deezer. And when I want to download electronic music legally, I visit Beatport which is a reference for me.

I also use the Internet for my studies. Internet is a huge database where I can find information for presentations or for my memoir. Wikipedia has been very useful Of course, I don’t plagiarize what is written on the Internet. It’s only an excellent starting point to lead a reflexion about various subjects. I also use Internet to communicate with other students when we have a work to do together. Creating a GoogleDoc is a good example of shared work. Creating a Wiki is an example of shared work. And creating a Facebook group with a work team facilitates information exchanges.

At work, I also use e-communication. One example is the intranet. I’ve told about collaborative intranets in this article. This kind of tools allows employees to work better together and to exchange ideas. It’s also a good way for a company to manage its in-house communication. Moreover, webmail has become a norm in all companies. It saves a considerable amount of time (although it can also reduce physical communication).

I hope that Internet will be part of my job. Indeed, my professional project is to work in the field of online communication for a big company. It includes managing corporate websites and intranets. I think that online communication offers many opportunities to the brands. Indeed, it’s a customer relationship management tool. It’s also a way to communicate the company’s values and to develop the brand’s identity.  

In order to study how Internet and e-communication can be used at work, I will focus on one tool : the intranet.

That’s the definition of an intranet given by Wikipedia : “An intranet is a private computer network that uses Internet protocols.”It allows the employees to share information and, as a consequence, to work more efficiently.

During my internship in SFR, I made a report about MY SFR. It’s the company’s intranet, that has been recently created. The specificity of this tool is that it’s a “collaborative intranet”. First, I will explain what is a “collaborative intranet”. Secondly, I will show how it can help people working together, and how it improves the collaboration between employees. Thirdly, I will demonstrate that an intranet represents a real advantage for in-house communication.

What is a collaborative intranet ?

My SFR’s creation is an answer to the wills of two different departments. Firstly, the Communication department wanted to replace the old intranet (considered as too static) by a new one. Secondly, the Human Resources department wanted to accelerate the innovation in terms of internal mobility.

That’s why the company decided to create My SFR, an intranet that have the features of “Web 2.0”. It means a more participative tool. It permits to convert the old intranet which was an informative place into an expression place.

This intranet includes three sections :

-       YOUR BLOG allows all employees to write articles about the company, its competitors, and the market, and to comment its.

-       YOUR IDEAS is a kind of “ideas box”, of brainstorming. All employees can propose ideas and vote for it.

-       YOU invites the employees to complete their profile (like you can do in Facebook for example). This section also includes a space dedicated to Human Resources, where workers can evoke their progression wills.

A tool that helps employees working together

This kind of collaborative intranet modifies the information stream in the company. It’s not a top / down or a bottom / up information, but a circular one. It gives the company more flexibility. Moreover, it encourages the employees’ visibility in the company.

The fact is that one employee, who was in an trial period, contributed a lot in this intranet, by writing articles. It was a way for him to reveal some talents.

But we have to qualify this idea. Indeed, there are some impediments to participation. Firstly, employees can be reluctant to reveal their personal life by filling their profile. Even if it looks like Facebook, the workers know that they still are in the company. So they pay attention to what they indicate in those profiles. Secondly, they have to learn how to use the tool. As a consequence of those technical impediments, they are more young and technophile employees who express themselves on the blog. Thirdly, they have to know editorial techniques. That’s why the majority of contributors are from the Communication and the Marketing department. Indeed, expressing themselves is a component of their work.

A real advantage for in-house communication

But a collaborative intranet like My SFR is a real advantage for in-house communication.

First, it feeds the company’s image. It appears as more dynamic and innovative.

Secondly, it helps information exchange. Indeed, workers from different departments can communicate although they weren’t used to meet for their work.

A good example is that, thanks to this intranet, a technical problem in SFR was solved by two employees that worked in different places, separated by many kilometres !

Moreover, My SFR was particularly useful for the company, because it was the period of the merger between SFR and another company (Neuf Cegetel). This is an article announcing the merger between the two companies. The announcement of this merger lead to a climate of anxiety, because of some vacancies’ suppression. That’s why a chat was created in My SFR. In this chat, employees can ask questions to the executive committee about the merger. It helped the workers to have all the important information about this point.

Moreover, the collaborative intranet evoluated after the merger’s authorization. In its intranet, SFR put a link to the other company’s one. The graphic codes changed, integrating the other company’s ones. And the workers of both companies could meet before being gathered in one place. In this context, this collaborative intranet was a very efficient tool to anticipate the merger and to help the employees to adapt to the future situation.

Before, to find a job, applicants had to buy newspapers and to look at classified to know vacant positions.

But with Internet, looking for a job has become much easier. Currently, I’m a student and I had the opportunity to do many internships (this is my video presentation in which I give details about my experiences). And I found all those interships using the Internet.

The first tool I use was my school’s website. Indeed, many companies send internships and jobs offers, in the fields of corportate communication, media, multimedia, human resources, journalism, advertising or marketing. You can make your own selection by giving information about the field you want to work in, your availabilities, the area where the company is located, and the length of the internship you’re looking for. All these requirements help you to gain time. Then, on the internship offers, you have a direct link with the webmail adress of the recruiter. You just have to click on this link to send your application by mail !

The second tool I use is specialized websites, like kapstages, hobsons or iquesta. You can also make your own selection, with criterions. The first advantage of those website is that you can suscribe to webmail alerts which warn you when a new offer suits your wills. The second advantage is that you can put your CV online. You also write a short application letter to explain your search. Your CV and your application letter can be consulted be recruiters. Moreover, some websites offer reports with news about professional sectors.

The third tool I use is the companies’ websites. Of course, if you want to use this tool, you must have a very definite idea about the company you want to work in. The strength of using a company’s website is that it’s the most reliable way to know the job offers. Often, there are much more details on the company’s websites than on other websites. And of course, it permits you to  inform about the human resources department and the recuitment policy. Anyway, even if you find a job offer on another website, you will have to visit the company’s coporate website to prepare your job interview. This is one example of a very complete recruitment website, l’Oréal’s one.

Next year, I would like to find an internship abroad during a whole year. And I’m sure that Internet will be a useful tool to find internships offers, to contact the companies, and more widely to prepare my exile.

Currently, I work in a company that has 65 employees.  It is located in Paris in the 15^th district on the street called Rue Maubert. Its activity is commercializing software for children.

It receives an allocation from the government to hire young interns. That is how I got my position which is called “sales person”. In the beginning, my job title was marketing manager, but I changed my job. 

We sell a range of products with the brand Youngsoft. We have many costs / expenses associated with marketing. Our billboard in the metro is one of the most expensive. Our PR (Public Relations) department also has a very big budget. We create our own advertisements with our editing staff, and we do our own publishing of users’ manuals.

Our quarterly results for this year have been all very positive. Our market is very interesting at the moment / currently, and that’s why we earn funds.

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

To summarize, because of our strong ethics and interesting market niche, we will have a rosy future.

A terrible lack of freedom of speech

Cuba is one of the world’s ten most repressive countries as regards free expression.

This island is considered as the world’s biggest prison for journalists. Indeed, in an article from Nueva Prensa Libre, an association that defends freedom of speech in this country, the author says that “In Cuba, they don’t just censor you now – they throw you in jail.” The police has for example rounded up many independent journalists and political dissidents for writing articles criticizing the Cuba’s political system.

On the website Cubanet.org, you can consult the list of journalists in prison.

Internet in Cuba : a very controlled access

There’s a paradoxical and contradictory situation about Internet in Cuba.

On the one hand, the government tries to learn new technologies to thousands of students and to develop this tool because it’s part of the country’s economic development. But on the other hand, the government tries to prevent the population from having access to the Internet. They consider this communication tool as “the great disease of the 21st century” (this sentence comes from a report written by RSF, Reporter without Border).

As a result, Internet use is very restricted and under surveillance. The access is only possible for those who can obtain a permission from the ministry of domestic commerce.

Moreover, the acquisition of the equipment is strictly controlled. It results very hard to find computers because the equipment is rationed and very expensive. You can only find computers in state shops, where only a few authorised persons can enter. The priority is given to political figures, officials, intellectuals, researchers and journalists working for the government. Internet is reserved for the ruling elite.

But Cubans have found ways to get round the government’s censorship, by buying Internet access on the black market or sharing the few authorised connections. Of course, it’s strictly forbidden to do that (the government severely punishes illegal use of the Internet), and Cubans have to do it clandestinely. But such tips are maybe the solution for the inhabitants to express themselves…

Yes, Internet can be a way to protest…

If the Internet is so controlled, it means that it can be an efficient way to protest against Cuba’s political problems. That’s why the governement try to regulate the access to this fantastic communication tool.

Indeed, Cuba is very isolated from the rest of the world. They don’t have access to foreign newspapers, so they’re not informed about what happens in other democratic countries.  In this context, Internet can be a good way for Cubans to compare their situation with the situation of other people in democratic countries. Communicating with other people all over the world through forums, chats or blogs can contribute to the awareness. That’s why I think that Internet can help Cubans to be informed about the situation in the rest of the world. 

But Internet can also be an influent tool to inform the rest of the world about Cuba’s situation.

Creating a blog is an opportunity to explain to people in different countries what is the situation like in Cuba. Indeed, we only have information from our occidental media, or from organizations like RSF (Reporters Without Frontiers) or Amesty International. And I think that being informed about Cuba by its inhabitants is an important point.

Moreover, the third point is that Internet can also constitute a new dialog space. It can permit the emergence of what we could call an « electronic debate ». Of course, people who participate to this debate must keep anonymity.

It’s a way for intellectuals, journalists and artists to discuss about their situation and to lead to a bigger rebellious movement, including a large part of Cubans. When this movement will have growth enough, the governement will be forced to react. Indeed, it’s easier to put in jail one dissident than to punish thousands of people expressing their opinion online. And it’s easier to censor one article in a newspaper than to apply censorship on Internet !

To conclude, many actions remain to be put in place to defend human rights in Cuba.

In this context and for all the reasons explained, I think that Internet could be a key to improve the freedom of speech in this country.

If you want to learn more about this subject, you can consult the report published by the organization “Reporters without frontiers” : “Cuba : he Internet under surveillance”.

The growth of Second Life has been particularly impressive. Many companies have seen an opportunity for marketing, promotion, sales and recruiting. Accenture, Adidas, BMW, American Apparel, Coca Cola and IBM are some examples of brands which operate a presence in “Second Life”. In order to earn money in a virtual world, companies can open a shop, use this virtual world to communicate (and so increase its sales in the real world), or recruit their employees.

OPEN A SHOP

Some brands have opened virtual shops, and sell their computer-generated products on Second Life. Avatars controlled by humans can buy those virtual products, giving some “Linden Dollars” to the brand. And then, the company will convert those Linden Dollars into its own money (euros, dollars).

 I’ll give three examples of companies who have sold virtual products on Second Life : American Apparel, Toyota and Nissan.

 American Apparel opened a shop in Second Life. There was a huge opening party with a few cases of – virtual – beer ! This shop had thousands of visitors from all over the world and sold some virtual t-shirts. This is a video in which an avatar visits American Apparel’s shop :

But the shop is now closed, although the brand doesn’t exclude to come back in Second Life.

Another example is Scion, Toyota’s youth-oriented brand. It opened a dealership in Second Life, and sold three virtual Toyota’s models. Those computer-generated cars were entirely customizable. It was a very successful operation, and many avatars bought a car and customized it. This is an example in which the customizer added two giant slices of toast :

Nissan also opened its dealership in Second Life, providing copies of its Sentra to residents. The cars were delivered by a giant vending machine (the size of an office building !) that you can see below. And you could also test your driving skills on Nissan’s Island, that offered a test track with a vertical loop !

ORGANIZE VIRTUAL EVENTS

Sometimes, being present in Second Life gives a company much more opportunities than opening a corporate website. Indeed, you can develop a customer relationship by chat, by video, by organizing meetings, etc. It can also be a good way to create buzz and promote the products. Many brands organized virtual events for the launching of their products.

 I’ll give two examples of virtual events : the “IBM’s Innovation Jam” and Coca Cola’s “Virtual Thirst”.

 The IBM’s Innovation Jam was an electronic brainstorming session opened to the company’s employees, and which took place on over three days. It aimed at developing a list of ideas for moving the company forward. IBM’s chairman was present in the meeting through his avatar.

If you want to have more details about this intern event, this is an interesting article about it, written in the blog “The greater IBM connection”, the IBMers’ business network.

 Another original event is the one launched by Coca Cola, called “Virtual Thirst”. It consisted in a competition to design a new generation of Coke vending machines. This contest was launched by a virtual press conference during which Coca Cola’s executives explained the subject of the competition : “imagining a device that would dispense experiences, not metal cans or plastic bottles”. On the picture below, you can see an example of a can dispenser designed by a Second Life’s member. He imagined himself dancing in a Coke bottle.

The goal of this event was proving that Coca Cola was an innovative brand, and promoting its brand image : with Coca Cola, you can let your imagination run free. This is the website that was especially created for the event.

RECRUIT EMPLOYEES

Some employers are experimenting recruiting for real jobs in virtual worlds like Second Life. At the beginning, recruiting in a virtual world was limited to virtual jobs. But recently, it has become possible to apply for a real job.

It’s an innovative and entertaining way to connect with potential candidates.

It provides some advantages. First, recruiters and job seekers are not forced to be in the same place or in the same country to meet each other. For example the recruiter can be at a meeting in a foreign country and he can connect from wherever he wants to interview a job seeker.

Secondly, it proves that the company innovates, is savvy, dynamic, and that they’re able to adapt to new technologies. It can generate buzz for companies, because media are currently very interested in those kind of original initiatives. Thirdly, it entitles a company to reach a new generation of employees, the younger ones.

 But there are also disadvantages. This is a very complete article about it. For the author, Second Life is a very popular virtual world, but not efficient enough to be a recruiting tool.

If you know some things about software developing, you can create applications for Facebook. Indeed, this social network opened its service to outside developers, inviting them to create tools and to try to profit from them.

Many people, attracted by the possibility to get rich, have tried to create applications. It can be practical tools like the application which allows users to display on their profile images of their favourite musics, movies and books. But it can also be games or widgets (for example the one that let you turn your friends into virtual zombies).

Some developers claim that they earn thousands of dollars in advertising with the applications they created. It’s for example the case of Lance Tokuda, a californian chief executive, who created the « Super Wall », an application which allows the members to leave messages, photos or videos on other profiles. This application was successful, it has been added by most of the users ! This is an article from a website dedicated to Internet and new technologies, about the success of this application. 

The Super Wall application

Moreover, Facebook itself encourages developers to create applications. The company’s founder created an investment fund called « the FB fund », that gives grants to developers creating new tools. This is an article from ZDNet that talk about the creation of this FB Fund. And to encourage investments, he says that for little amounts of money in a short period of time, your application can expand very quickly. Indeed, the members are informed about the applications adopted by their friends, who can invite them to add the application.

I’ll give one example that illustrates this point. ILike was an Internet music company which created an application, the iLike tool, that has become very successful. It permits members to post their favourite songs’ clips, to buy tickets for a concert, and to see if their friends planned to attend it too. With this tool, ILike got much more traffic than with its own website. In this article from TechCrunch, the author says that it’s by far the most popular application on Facebook !

The iLike application

But be careful. Even if developing applications on Facebook can be a real opportunity to make money, the majority of the tools created disappear after a few weeks. Even if some intelligent geeks manage to earn much money with it, it’s rare to build a profitable business with sustainable revenues.

This is a website gathering the best Facebook applications. You can vote for your favourite tools, and see what the most popular applications are. 

And if you want to join the Facebook’s developers’ community, this is the page where you should go before building your application. 

FOR YOU

1 – Create a blog or a website and write excellent articles on it. If you manage to attract many visitors and to have loyal readers, you can make money with ad placement. Another solution is what we can call “affiliate marketing”. It consists in putting on your website links to other websites that sell goods or services. Then, if someone clicks from your website and go to the other website to make a purchase, you will receive money from it.

2 – Sell your old stuff on eBay, instead of throwing it away. And if you’re not an eBay expert, you can visit this blog that gives you tips to sell more efficiently your items. 

3 – Become a music producer by subscribing to My Major Company. This website is a kind of community labels. It allows visitors to discover and launch new artists. Indeed, internauts are invited to support some unknown artists they like, by investing money : they bet on the success of one artist. When the artist gets more than 70 000 euros, he records a disc and a videoclip, and the co-producers share together 30% of the sales.

4 – Discover AC. AC stands for “Associated Content”. It’s an open content network. You can submit content on any subject in any format (text, audio, video or images). For example, if you’ve written a story, you can submit it. And AC will pay you from 3 to 20 dollars if the viewers like it.

5 – Create a Facebook application. Indeed, this social network opened its service to outside developers, inviting them to create tools and to try to profit from them. This is the link to a long article I’ve written on this subject.

FOR COMPANIES

6 – Be present in Second Life ! The growth of this virtual world has been particularly impressive. Many companies have seen an opportunity for marketing, promotion, sales and recruiting. Accenture, Adidas, BMW, American Apparel, Coca Cola and IBM are some examples of brands which operate a presence in “Second Life”. I invite you to read the long article I’ve written on this subject.

 7 – Sell your contents. It’s the case of many newspapers or TV channels that sell additional contents online. It can be another source a revenue in a period of journalism crisis. 

8 – Use the e-commerce to sell your products, opening an online shop on your website. E-commerce has many advantages. Firstly, companies can update their online catalogue anytime, in a very flexible way. Moreover, it allows customer to shop at their convenience (even on Sunday) and at their place. E-commerce also eliminates middlemen because you sell your products directly to customers. And with the recent advancements in payment technologies (like Paypal), the online payment is very secure.

FOR SOCIAL CAUSES

9 – Raise funds ! In order to solicitate donations, you can use different fundraising tools : website, email messaging, newsletters, etc. Those tools permit to inform the potential donors of the activity of the charity, and to create a relationship with them. Internet gives the opportunity to non-profit charities to reach more people virtually than physically. It requires a relatively low expense : indeed, it’s cheaper than hiring people to promote the charity. But currently, Internet fundraising is only a minor part of the charities’ sources of revenue.

10 – Create a buzz. Often, charities don’t have much money to spend to promote their action. Buzz is a good solution because it’s a very cheap way to communicate. We can evoke the campaign launched by Amnesty International to denounce the non-respect of human rights in China. A short video was posted on the Internet and generated buzz. This is an article I’ve written about it on this blog.