Sunday, November 18, 2007

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Google : "don't be evil"

Obviously the business model of Google raises a lot of questions, like any company which is in the process of becoming a Monopolistic one ! To me people had the same troubles with Microsoft.

But the case of Google deals with a new problem : privacy protection. Nowadays Google is considered as some kind of Big Brother. For example you can find many websites which play with the claim on the claim of Google : "Don't be evil" to ask : "Is Google evil ?"

- Is Google evil ?

- Google as Big Brother

and so on...

But according to me the problem with Google is clearly linked to a fear really actual : privacy transgression. It can actually be in relation with the actual debate about cameras everywhere in the street and so on...

Success stories on the net

How many young creators of business models on the internet make people dream nowadays ? Reproduced but never equaled these models had made the fortune of their owners.

Google may be one of the best example : co-founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were students at Stanford University, Google is now the famous searched engine, well known all around the world with famous claim : Don't be evil. Actually it's really amazing to think that most of the internauts use Google everyday.... Young creators haven't only earnt money they have created a new practice.

More recently we cant take the example of YouTube. The video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips, was created in mid February 2005 by three former PayPal employees. Now they are declaring that its business model was advertisement-based, making 15 million dollars per mont...

How such huge models and fortunes can happen ?

We can think of a great concurrence between practices, needs and offers... but in people'mind those example of success are really linked to the dream world of the intenet !! I think those example make sense with the famous book of Flichy called : The internet Imaginaire


Being famous on the internet

Everybody has ever heard about the example of a normal person who has turned into a superstar after being seen on the internet... But is that the real truth ? And more generally what does being famous means today ?

First of all I would say that the new business model that had been brought by websites like YouTube or DailyMotion take an important part in this phenomenon... For example you may have been one of the fan of Lonelygirl on YouTube.





Lonelygirl15 debuted on YouTube posing as a "real" 16-year-old video blogger with the eponymous username. In "lonelygirl15"'s earliest videos, she posted video replies to, and dropped the name of popular YouTubers, which attracted the attention of their fans. To further the initial illusion that Bree was a real girl, a MySpace page was set up for her and she began meaningfully corresponding with many of her fans. Several fans of lonelygirl15's video posts began to wonder if Bree was, in fact, a real person or if the posts were part of a teaser campaign for a television show or an upcoming movie. Finally she was just an actress....
But I think tis example is quite interesting because it shows well the problem that can raises the celebrity on the internet : do we really know stars of a day in the internet ?

In fact, to me, Internet deals with reactivity and rapidity and you can be forgotten as quick as you have been known ...


If we focus on french artist, we can notice that the phenomenon reached musical artist above all. We cant take the example of Kamini :
At first Kamini was just a young student who posted a video of him and his friends on You Tube like "rap clip" about his village Marly Gomont...

People liked him and now he makes a lot of songs !!

As a conclusion I would say that the main difference between becoming a star on the internet and more traditionnally is : the logic of reception. In fact when you deal with the internet it's the internaut who become the most powerfull : he choses the person that will really become a star. I think it's less like that if it's the artist who propose a record or a show : this is a logic of the offer.


To me these differences change many things but finally, I believe and I hope .... that it's the talent of the artist that will make the difference and not the media on which he had been known first !!

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Prosper isn't only a bear !

Honestly I didn't know anything about the site Prosper.com a few hours ago !! What a surprise to discover a website which is the subjects of books : like "Happy About People-To-People Lending With Prosper.com" by Roger Steciak. Of course this book provides a roadmap for lenders who want to help out other people by lending them money through the Prosper marketplace. By using the conservative investment approach outlined in this book, lenders can better manage the risks associated with lending money to friends they have never met.

Such a strange system ! "Neither a borrower nor a lender be"? (Shakespeare)

So if you want to redefine the maxime, thinking that credit is an essential part of the social fabric go and use Prosper.com

Misunderstanding and emails

How many times do you consult your emails everydays ?

I'm sure that you have ever had the same problems as mine : miscommunications with emails !!
How many times the email address you provided isn't current ? You may be sending your newsletter to an old email...

This adress may help you to answer questions you may ask yourself about emails :

Moreover the written codes in an email are not the same as in a real letter :

For example, writing emails imply codes and new good manners that you can learn on that website called "Writing winning emails" which can maybe help you

So If I had to sum up I would say that for example if you have to right a business email, you have to know that :

- Email is much less formal than a written letter. Emails are usually short and concise.
If you are writing to someone you don't know, a simple "Hello" is adequate. Using a salutation such as "Dear Mr Smith," is too formal.

Whereas :
- When writing to someone you know well, feel free to write as if you are speaking to the person. Use abbreviated verb forms (He's, We're, He'd, etc.)

Fighting for what ??? Facebook ?


Recently, it looks like Microsoft has beat out Google in the bidding war over a stake in Facebook ! But what does the deal mean? Obviously, Microsoft will sell advertisements that show up on Facebook outside of the US. The two companies will share the revenue from those ads. Microsoft is already selling ad space for Facebook in the US.

According to me the incredible thing about Facebook is that this site is really recent, it has been launched on february 4, 2004 and it's already a really successfull business model !
For having an internship period in press relations for Microsoft, I can say that the most important problem with Microsoft actually is that they are in competition with Google for not beeing on the web early enough.

Moreover, the bottom line is that Microsoft needs to take some drastic action if they want to get a piece of both the internet advertising and search industries. The best method for them to do this is through acquiring Facebook. In addition to having the potential for gaining ground in internet search and advertising, there is also the prospect of rapid growth of Facebook itself. Microsoft has the cash to make something happen.