Maï ingleash taist

>Dou iou fink aïe kanne spikke ingleash ?<

Lost in the wild Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a helpful tool on the internet : everytime I want tohave information about a theme, a person, a band, or anything else, I just go on Google and type what i'm looking for + "Wikipedia". In May 2009, 13 millions of articles had been posted on Wikipedia. And most of the time (let's say about 99% of the time), Wikipedia tells me everything i want to know. Just as if millions of people answered me at the same time.

One week ago, I decided to be part of these millions of people who use Wiki and Wikipedia as a way to share their knowledge and their interests. So I first signed up to my class' Wiki, and i started posting my video presentation and a short text about me; then I also posted one of the articles I published on this blog - "10 golden rules". It was quite easy to do, though the language used is not HTML but a language I didn't know at all; so I had to think about how to post a picture, a video, etc.

Then, I signed up to Wikipedia, and then I tried to find something / someone to write about. But for each thing I wanted to write an article about, there was already something posted on Wikipedia. So I decided to add "external links" and "videos" on preexisting articles: The Velvet Underground, Adam Green and Elliott Smith.

Wikipedia by chloecmm

And now I'm part of the great encyclopedia Wikipedia !

Me and E-learning

Here I am in English class...!

My 10 Golden Rules for I-Land

I've been travelling through the web for almost 10 years, i've lost myself a hundred times, i've discovered so many things, i've been fascinated, scared, i've felt threatened,...

But I'm still alive !

Back from the jungle, i've decided to share my ten golden rules for I-Land (Internet Land) with you. How lucky you are !

1. "Be aware" (sic. Jean Claude Van Damme)
Internet is the land of the New.

2. Just Google it !
Anyone, anything, anytime. You've just met someone ? Google her/him. You've read on Twitter Kanye West was dead and you don't know what to think about it ? Google it. You've just discovered a new talented artist ? Google her/him.

3. Stay connected with your friends - adopt Facebook.

4. Stay connected with the world - adopt Twitter.

5. Don't buy shoes on the internet.
It's so hard to choose the size that will perfectly fit you.

6. Don't post any compromising pictures of you or of your friends.
Because they might want to get their revenge.

7. Don't try to be stronger than the web.
You can't hide anything.

8. Try and anticipate what is going to happen.
...and become a trend-setter.

9. Share, share, share...
What's internet if not a huge community of people ?

10. ... and Take, take, take.
Internet is also a great data base. You'll always find what you're looking for.

Do you e-Book ?

Are e-Books the future of traditional paper books ? Will they replace books just like emails replaced hand-written letters ?



Do you know what an e-Book is ?

"e-book" is the short for "electronic book". Various hardwares can be used to read an e-book, such as smart phones, personal computers or even specific readers like "e-Readers". If you want to read one, you just have to buy and to download the electronic book on the internet - you can do it on eBooks, for instance. Already over 2 million free books were available for download as of August 2009.

Why should I adopt e-Books ?

• I can create my own library and store it within a tiny object, which might be interesting for works of research and studies.
  
• It is an ecological way to read, since it requires no paper cuts.
• I can download an illimitate number of books that I can read immediately, without any delay.
  
• I can custom font size.
• I can "travel" through all your books by simply clicking on a hyperlink in the text.

But I think I'll still read printed books too, because...

• I just love the feeling I have when I've just bought a new book and I open it for the first time. I love the touch of the paper, and the smell of the pages. So sensual !
• I would be afraid of losing all my e-books if my e-Reader should break or should be stolen.
  
• The question of copyrights is to be considered: more and more e-books have been hacked on the internet since the creation of downloading platforms. Just like MP3s.

Video presentation of an e-Reader:

My e-CV !

Here is my Video presentation !

The only thing I know is that I know nothing... about the web

The internet provides a wide range of possibilities. One day you have the feeling you know many things about the web, and the day after you realize that it was just a tiny part of what's given to you. Three things that I recently learnt on the internet?

• I didn't know... how to use Twitter

Last summer, Twitter was getting more and more popular in France. At work, people couldn't stop "twitting". That's why I took the decision to sign up to and to learn how to tame the wild Twitter.
First I had a few problems to understand what Twitter was made for. "Micro-blogging"... 120 characters : too much or not enough ? I finally got more comfortable with Twitter, I started following people,... I read articles about the "Twitter irony", and also about those books that people transcribed on Twitter, even about the new trend that consists in telling your couple life through your tweets.

• I still don't know... how to keep my distance from Facebook.

No secret between us : I am a Facebook addict. I mean, a real Facebook addict. And the situation got worse when i bought an iPhone. Social networking is essential to me for several reasons : first it helps me keeping in touch with old friends who live far away from me; secondly i have to admit that it's a useful tool to work with people, to prepare homework (written and oral presentations); and finally, i use it to promote my music. Consequently, I always have to check something on Facebook. My next good resolution ? Trying to keep my distance from Facebook.

• E-learning

The internet boosts my thirst for knowledge. The idea that I can know everything sounds so exciting to me. The symbol of that illimited access to knowledge may be e-learning : on the web, you can always learn, and you even have to learn. I am experiencing e-learning this year at school : I have English class on MSN ! That's a good way to practice the language (writing articles for a blog, making videos, talking to our teacher Bob) and to become more familiar with new technologies and the internet.

CMM Debate

Here is a video we made in class about the impact of the internet on music.
So much fun !

"Facebook Manners and You"

Hack, hack, hack

Two of the last victims are the Belgium-based banks ING and Dexia : those two banks' websites were hacked. The hacker did not alter the database but he had access to names, addresses, and -last but not least- customers' passwords. That means he still can try to hack their accounts.

Did you say "computer crime" ?

As you probably know, cybercriminality includes a broad range of illegal activities involving an information technology infrastructure (sic. Wikipedia). Many kinds of computer crimes have been experienced on the web so far. Different sectors have been victims of hackers so far, and the financial one is one of the recurrent targets of hackers.

ING's and DEXIA's websites have been closed temporarily just after being hacked. This is a good example of what happens on the web. The Belgian Banking and Financial Commision has recorded only 3 similar frauds in 2009, which is far less important than in 2008 (37 frauds recorded). However, the number of victims of hackers keeps increasing and laws don't seem to be able to regulate those frauds.

Indeed, it seems hard to control everything that happens on the internet : it's such a huge network ! In the 1970s, when the idea of a global network appeared, people saw it as a way to connect everyone, to share things, and especially to be FREE : it corresponded to an ideal of equality among people, sticking with the hippie movement ideal. Nowadays, hackers seem to be in that very state of mind. They are even useful to optimize security on the internet : they find the weaknesses of the web and, even if they use them, they indirectly make people aware of what they've found by hacking.

That's why I think hackers are essential to the web, though they must be sued and punished when they go to far.

Music and Communities

No big news : the internet is a precious opportunity for me. In my first post, I tried to explain to what extent it helped me promote my music on my own and share it with people.

Indeed, the internet is an efficient tool to communicate and to help artists on their road to success and glory (uh, uh). How would I have done without the web and new technologies? I think I wouldn’t have been able to make it through on my own. Besides, one must not forget that the internet is a place where you can share ideas and opinions. Anytime and anywhere, people can write to me and tell me why they like or dislike my music. Many music websites are built around communities of users who can react, write comments and messages : social network websites such as Facebook and Myspace, but also Cqfd.com, Virb, Wizzz, YouTube, Dailymotion, Last.fm,…

To make it short, the internet gave me the opportunity to improve my music thanks to other people.

Trendy or not trendy, that is the question !

Two years ago, big companies had to open an account on Second Life; today it’s old-fashioned. In 2007, Yelle (a French singer) made a buzz on the internet; today her popularity on the web has decreased.

That’s all about trends.

The websites Pitchfork and NME are supposed to be trendsetters in the field of music. New CDs, bands and recent songs are reviewed and are given marks by editorialists. Those websites are refreshed everyday or even several times a day. Indeed, trendy artists or songs don’t last. You may be trendy and famous one day and you may be forgotten the day after. The trends seem to emerge and to fade much faster on the web, and that may be seen as the dark side of the web.

Multimedia changed my life

Six years ago, when I discovered a song on the radio, I ran to the records shop next to my home and I listenned to the whole album. If I liked it, I bought it.

Five years ago, when I wanted to listen to music, I chose a CD and I put it in my old hi-fi system.

It seems like an eternity.

Today, my habits have completely changed, especially concerning music consumption. New technologies such as MP3 players and the internet have led to the dematerialization of music.

When I hear a song I like, I listen to the artist's album in streaming on websites such as Deezer, Jiwa. What is interesting is also that the internet encourages people to be curious by using the multimedia aspect of new technologies. Not only you can listen to music but you can watch videos and read what people's comments about them. We all know the unopposed leader YouTube, whom videos can be exported on external websites (blogs for instance).

Music websites were developed as places where you can listen to music, watch videos, look at pictures, read official biographies and users' comments. The music website Last.fm is a good example of the concentration of possibilities offered by new technologies. For instance, on Radiohead's Last.fm profile, there is a short biography of the band, a selection of "top tracks" that you can listen to if you are signed in, but also videos - concerts and videoclips -, web-users' comments (in the so-called "ShoutBox"), photographs, links to similar artists' profiles, list of the upcoming events... Last.fm gives the users the opportunity to buy artists' music by redirecting them on selling platforms such as Amazon, 7digital, iTunes, etc.

The internet triggered a big change in music consumption by offering a wide range of possibilities.

I think I've become a geek.

Transparent world

" You suck ! "

You've probably already read that kind of useless and insulting comment on YouTube, or on blogs.

Freedom of speech ?

Basically, it was a good idea. The internet became the symbol of an ideal : anyone can share an opinion, at any time. You do not like that video ? This article is in contradiction with your ideas ? You just feel like insulting people for no reason ? Just do it ! You're free to do whatever you want on the internet. You might be sued (that's the official version) but you won't (that's the unofficial version).

In the abstract world of the internet, nothing is tangible, not even people. Indivuduals become anonymous and get free from their personnal responsability. I remember the video that a German student had posted on YouTube - something like one year ago - in which he was telling people about his mental instability and his plan to kill students in his school. After the massacre, the video had been aired on TV, during the News. This fact proves that there is no efficient "police" on the web. Maybe it's due to the mass of videos, blogs, comments and users : it seems impossible to control each post, everyday, 24/24H.

Mirror, mirror, tell me who we are...

Indeed, the internet seems to be the mirror of our society - this is what transparency is about. It reflects all the aspects of our world, good ones and bad ones, without organizing them into a hierarchy or censoring them. It's up to the internet user to sort out the information.

Because on the web, you have to act as a citizen, using your freedom of speech and taking collective and personnal responsibility.

Make it real !

Monday, September 21^st

8:30 AM – I wake up to the sweet sound of my alarm clock. I switch on my computer, I open Firefox and I go on Myspace.com to check my inbox and to see how many people have visited my profile in the last 10 hours.

12:30 PM – End of the morning class. I grab my iPhone and I click on the “Myspace” Icon. Wow ! “New Friend Requests”, “New Messages”, “New comments”. Oh yes, I have to tell you one thing : I’m a musician. I play the guitar, I sing, and I write songs. Consequently, I have a Myspace Music profile to share my music with people from all over the world.

“New message - from "The Last Morning Soundtrack" : Chloe, would you like to play at Les Cariatides in Paris on October 30^th?”.

Sure I would !

6:30 PM – I’m back home. I go on Facebook to check my “Page”. No big news. I’m kind of disappointed.

Disappointed ? But what was I expecting ? Actually, I do not really know. Maybe I would have liked some other people to message me about my music, or to propose me to play for a concert. As if it was logical. But is it, really ?

THE WEB MADE IT REAL ! (Well... I thought so)

Three years ago, when I decided to share my music with people, the internet was already seen as a useful and essential tool for artists, and especially musicians : Myspace was launched in 2003. I realized that I had no other option : I had to create a Myspace Music profile. A few minutes later, my name was written in capital letters on a website, my songs were available on a player, and people from all over world could become my friends. Myspace had made it real ! I was officially becoming a musician. At least, on the web.

Anyone can become someone by creating a profile on Myspace : you can build up your image through the internet, maybe a better image than your real one, and show what you want people to know about you. So you can become original and unique, even if you are the most common person in the world. But the gap between the web and reality is sometimes hard to cross. Anyway, how good it feels to be considered as an individual in our globalized world !

But globalization is also a good opportunity for artists, and the internet is a major tool in erasing frontiers and making people feel they belonged to a “worldwide community”, or to a “global village”. Brazilian, Argentinean, British, American, Canadian, Indian, Moroccan, Australian, Russian, Chinese people (and many more) have sent me “Friend Requests” and messages on Myspace. My music is listened to by people from all over the world !

It is hard to believe, but it feels so good.

Myspace, Facebook, YouTube, Dailymotion, Cqfd.com, and all those platforms give musicians the possibility to express themselves without any restrictions. The artist can customize his communication plan, and choose how to promote himself through the web. The idea that the artist starts from nothing – I did not exist on the web as a musician before creating a Myspace – is very important : the artist is free to decide WHO he wants to target, WHY, and HOW he plans to reach his target. To some extent, the artist becomes his own communication officer.

Yesterday, I booked a concert by using Myspace. Maybe tomorrow I will post a new video on YouTube and Facebook. And maybe some people will listen to my songs and like them, and they will feel like coming to see me performing on stage. I hope I will cross the gap between the web and reality. I hope the internet will make it real. And all the “Myspace artists” hope so.