Professions for e-communications

I think in tourist industry e-communications skills will be required since most of the communication work in this industry is done on internet. Many people use internet to prepare their holidays or weekend trips. Thus the competion between the tourist destinations will be increasing on internet. So it will be quite compulsory to have skills in this field; for example finding new ways to promote destinations by taking benefit from new technologies to offer people the possibility to give their opinion or their feedback on a destination through blogs or podcasts.

I also would like to work for a public organization such as a City hall. I could work on the introduction of services linked to "E-democracy" and try to improve the quality of the services provided by the organization. This would ease citizens' life but also enable people to communicate more with the administrations' staff. Therefore, blogs, podcasts, mobile services could be good means to do it. It would also be interesting to give inhabitants the opportunity to write on the history of their city through a wiki tool. This could contribute to reinforcing the membership spirit of the inhabitants towards their city.

I wish one day I could set up a restaurant or bar-cafe and propose distinct cultural shows or activities in it. So I will try to do a blog to give news on the bar-cafe and to offer people the opportunity to share their opinion on the activities proposed in the bar and express themselves on what could be improved.

Interactivity in class

Doing class like we are, it is really an interesting experience as the teacher is not here and we are linked to each other by MSN messenger. Therefore, it changes many things since each of us talks individually to the teacher and the other classmates can hear what one is saying . Thus, we must concentrate only on the conversation with the teacher and make abstraction of the others. Furthermore, the fact that the teacher is not in class does not really change things as people know they have a work to do in a certain lapse of time and do it. But anyway, I thing by using these technologies, we have to go straight to the point especially in an oral communication because you have to be very precise and clear.
And finally, I have got the impression that it strenghtens the relations or at least mutual aid between classmates as we use MSN messenger to ask questions to the others whereas in a typical class, we will probably not dare to do it or be allowed to.
It is interactive since the teacher can see almost in live what we are doing and survey the time we are taking for answering questions. If we have a question we ask it to the teacher by using MSN messenger so the other classmates can benefit also from the answer.

Podcasting

So I learn how to find good podcasts regarding to my passions: jazz in particular. I have been editing a podcast and it was a great experience. I chose to interview one of my friends and I enjoyed doing it: interview him then edit my podcast, choose a good song to start the podcast, cut some parts to have a short one, respect rhythm to make it interesting,...
I spent a long time on it as it was quite new for me and I had to learn how to use "Audacity" but anyway, I will do it again. It is a good way to share a passion with others.
I took this as a game. I had fun and confronted no old habits. It was just hard to use "Audacity" at the beginning but you learn quite easily.
In a near future, I will probably try to introduce podcasting in my job especially if I am in tourist industry. I think it is a good way to promote a city; for example Liverpool's podcast was quite interesting. The way they involved different characters of the city in the promotion of the city was a good idea. From a personal point of view, I think, I will try to do another one on music, probably on "new soul music"and publish it

M-shopping

May M-shopping may be the next radical change in the way people look for and purchase products ?

Definitely and the innovations in terms of technology are making this possible. I mean the introduction of high-speed Adsl in mobile thanks to for example "3G-card", will bring a complete change in our everyday's life. Thus, it will contribute to developping shopping through our mobiles. It will again participate to cannabilize stores' market by taking consumers off the stores but meanwhile it will enable people to save much time and probably money since they will be less tempted to buy things they don't need and avoid the bad aspects of shopping: queuing, bringing your packages,...

It will also destroy jobs since stores will outsource on consumers a part of their services; for example the selling of products. Therefore, stores will get rid of some cashier jobs.

Nevertheless, to be successful, they must offer personnalized services to the customers otherwise think they will propably change store easier, but also give them as much information as possible on the products and create community values on products, for examples in order to develop their loyalty.

But as stores have developed real strategies in their stores to make people buy more products they need to. They will have to find new marketing policies to do it. This will propably contribute to increasing competition between stores as I think there will be place for a few ones.

Sources to find information

So my best sources to find information are at first "wikipedia" and "Google" France and UK. I use a lot Google's search engine when the information found on wikipedia do not satisfy me. I also use sites such as "Le journal du net" in which you can find much information on internet industry: new technologies, products,... but also "Mediametrie" for statistics,..

Thanks to our class, I now know a very useful site that enables to see the evolution of a site "Archive" and I will probably use it in my studies and in my future job.

How do I learn about new concepts ?
There are many different ways to learn about new concepts. But most of the time when I don't understand something or want to know more about a particular concept, I always look for it on Internet. It is quite automatic. But to find good information on internet, you must know how to select good sources since the quality of the information found depends on them.
I also learn from others: teachers, other classmates, friends, radios, books, magazines,...

What other strategies do you use to answer the questions ?
Most of my search for answering the question was done through internet. But I also use the other course that I have attended to in Celsa; for example we had a class on "the introduction of information technologies in organizations" and they did a small presentation on "Google adventure". So it helps me a bit to answer the question on Google.

The Da Vinci Code question

Is "The Da Vinci Code" the type of book you would use long tail marketing for ?

No, the long tail marketing is not based on books such as "The Da Vinci Code". "Da Vinci Code" is what we call a best-seller so its popularity is based on the lowest common denominator that enables to touch the largest people. Therefore, it does not need long tail businesses. But anyway, it will be probably in the products proposed in these types of business. The latter propose large ranges of fringe or niche products in order to touch the largest number of people. So applied to cultural products, it enables to find specialized products rather than common or popular ones.

E-learning

"E-learning" refers to the introduction of information technologies in learning or training domains. It presents many advantages since it allows:
- to have access to learning or training programmes at anytime or anywhere;
- to do it at one's rhythm;
- to personalize programmes according to one's interests, time,...

E-learning can be done through different media : tapes, analogic or digital videos, websites, blogs, wiki tools,... but I think blogs and wiki tools offer real interactive aspects as the teacher or examiner can view quite in direct what you are doing and intervene on it.

For organizations, it is very interesting since it is more flexible and can be less expensive than a traditional training programme.
But it has also disadvantages since you cannot learn from classmates or share with them what you are learning. For those who do it at home, they can be troubled or interrupted by many things that they would not have in a class. Therefore, they must be very motivated to do it. But as far as I am concerned, I found quite funny to do it; for example answering the topics pointed out by our teacher on a blog was really interesting. Indeed, by writing on a blog, you know that others can see what you have done. Thus, you must pay more attention to what you write and to the visual aspect of your blog. Moreover using Msn messenger for an exam, it is quite hard even though we use video. As the teacher doesn't clearly see you, you have to be more precise and clear.

Longtail marketing strategy

Most of the marketing strategy are based upon the Pareto model: 20% of the consumers make 80% of the turnover. So firms concentrate all their marketing policy on these consumers disconsidering the others.
So "Longtail marketing stratetegy" is based on the idea that "the sum of many small markets is worth than a few large markets and that fringe, underground or independent stuff can collectively make up a market that rivals bigger ones". So this is completly a new point of view.
Internet reducing transactions and sales costs has made this possible. And firms such as "Ebay" or "Amazon" have developed their business on this idea. They have done a market for niches. Another example of this is video on demand since you have a large range of products in which a large number of people can pick up according to their interests.

Eula

Eula means End User License agreement. It is a legal contract between the manufacturer and the user that defines the use of a proprietary or free software. So it is done to prevent the set up of the software from others than the one who has signed the agreement. But this license is usually fewly read or printed. So, few consumers know what they are allowed to do. Therefore, it is not very efficient. Moreover, most of the people know that manufacturers cannot control if it is respected or not. So it is just for dissuading people from doing it.

Podcasting

It refers to the editing of short audio contents. They are stored on a server and people can download one at anytime and update it if there is a suite of it available. So you download it for example in "Itunes" and it will be updated automatically whenever you launch the application. Podcasts can be done by individuals or firms, for example radios such as RFI have podcasted some of their programmes to allow people to donwload their favourite ones and listen to them whenever they want. Podcasting is also a new way of consuming cultural or entertainment products and it enables anybody to edit a content and share it with others by publishing it.

Streaming media

Streaming media is a system that allows to hear, view or read something while it is being delivered. The content is not downloded but broadcast in continuous. For example, radios and televisions are typically streaming media. But it is especially used to describe the broadcast of radio on internet or video-on-demand. The avantages of the process is that you don't have to download the programme on your computer to view it. But for the moment, the quality is not always very high since it depends on the banwith you have access to.

Pay-on-demand TV

It refers to a system that enables to download and watch TV programmes at any time. By paying a subscrition to a supplier, you have access to their database and can download the shows you have paid for. It includes movies, music, shows,... It also participates to the personalization of TV. It is part of the same process as TiVo and timeshiting. We can imagine how powerful the internet suppliers are going to be thanks to these new facilities.

Time shifting

Time shifting is a system that allows to record TV programmes and watch it at a more convenient time. It offers different functions: you can skip in the TV programme like in a DVD player (press pause, play, rewind, forward). It records automatically the programmes you are watching and you don't have to wait for the end of a recording to watch a programme. TIVO is an example of this system. This is the beginning of the end for today's television.

What does TIVO mean ?

TIVO refers to a brand of digital video recorder. It allows people to record TV programmes on a hard disk storage to view it later. It is based on an independent database (not linked to the satellite or cable offers). It offers many different possibilities: recording a show and watch another at the same time, scheduling TV programme recordings according to different combinations (actors, directors,...), recording the whole season of a TV programme,... Above all, it allow consumers to make their own television programme.
But in that case, nobody questions about the intellectual property. I mean you can record a movie, for example, so this is a copy and you don't pay for it. So for me, the question of intellectual property protection is really linked to lobbies' activity.

DRM, or digital rights management

It is linked to intellectual property protection. It enables to protect technically a piece of work from copy for example in the music industry. It is used to protect for example CDs, DVDs,... from copy but it opposes to the copyrights which exist for example in France. In France, it existed a law that allowed private copies but this law was recently modified under the pressure of artists' associations but especially of the music industry. Anyway, I don't think the latter do it really to protect artsits' rights but for their own interests. So as far as I'm concerned, I find normal that artists should be paid for their work but at the same time, I think that this will not resolve the problem. It is a protest of people who do not really understand the philosophy of this media. I don't download music on Internet but I understand the young people who do it because CDs are so expensive that some can not afford them. By the way, those who want to stop copies don't protest against the role played by the Internet suppliers that make money on it. So I think the problem will not be solved as long as the good questions will not be asked.

Intellectual property

Intellectual property concerns many things (the brand name, logo, artists' work,...).
It is a very controversial topic on which the French parliament has been debating for a long time. But it concerns the question of respect of intellectual property on Internet especially in the music industry. As many internet users have been downloading music through internet (peer to peer) without paying anything except their internet access. Thus, the music industry and artists' associations have been protesting against it on behalf of the protection of intellectual property. Furthemore, with the arrival of web 2.0 which is more participative and collaborative, this question will be again debated; for example in terms of collaborative writing as different people will take part in the writing of a text. And, the question of to whom belongs the text will be probably asked. Moreover as the states still don't get along on their laws regarding intellectual property, it will be propably difficult to protect it equally all over the World.

Monetize an internet model

It means using internet only for making money or for consumption. But the problem is that this media is not only done for that. It is especially a media made for developing communication between people. For instance, it allows someone staying in Tokyo to be linked in live at any moment to another in the United States. So by reducing internet only to its monetary possibilities, they are changing the philosophy of the media. But anyway, I think that on the web, you can not apply your traditional way of doing business if you want to be successful. You have to give something for free to receive more in return. Many firms have understood it so they are for example creating community value, giving value to consumers' opinion,... to develop real relashionships with them : "Maximiles", "Fnac",....

Pure dotcom company

It concerns companies which exist only on the web. The web offers them more flexibility and possibility to develop their activities as it requires less running expenses, for example in the travel industry many virtual companies have developed such as Opodo, lastminute, anyway,... They compete strongly traditional agencies as they can propose cheaper products at any time of the day. So some traditional agencies try to catch up things by being on the web and reducing expenses linked to their traditional activities. So They are closing more and more agencies to concentrate on the web even though the market is not completly mature since many people keep on buying some products (complex packages) directly to the agencies.

Click and mortar company

It refers to a company which proposes activities (services, products,...) on the web and outside the web. For example, "Nouvelles frontières" has agencies through which it sells its tourist products and a website that enables it to sell also its products directly to the consumers. So it allows the click and mortar companies to benefit from the avantages of both distribution network but it also contributes to cannabalizing their market. Indeed, by being on the web, they take some consumers off their traditional activities (outside the web). One of the perfect examples of that, it is the newspapers such as"Le monde" because by proposing a free version of their newspaper on the web, somehow they reinforce the decrease of the selling of their real newspapers.

Hire children

The youngest people were brought up with Internet, so they have developped skills that enable them to adapt themselves to any change on it. They are more flexible and adapt easily to new innovations. So many firms have understood this and try to touch these people; for example the mobile producers' target such as Orange is clearly young people since it is their use that allow to introduce new innovations in this sector.

Manage innovation as a portfolio of options

On internet, for different reasons (cost, rapidity,...) it is easier to add options to improve for example a service or a product than in real life. An innovation such as the RSS has been easy for many firms like L'express to propose on their websites whrereas if you want to add an innovation to a real product or service, it costs much more money. Moreover the return on investment can take many years whereas on internet it is quicker.

Destroy your value chain

It means that the web enables firms to get directly in touch with customers or at least with distributors. So it contributes to destroy the business of wholesalers. In travel industry, air companies such as Airfrance by proposing flight tickets directly on the websites participate into destroying the business of travel agencies.

Treat your assets as liabilities

To evolve in business and especially on the web where things change so quickly, firms must always question the way they do business. They can't rest on their laurels otherwise they will be outdated and out of the business; for example Radio France by proposing podcasts on its website has understood that new ways of listening radio have appeared and that it has to propose new offers corresponding to these new uses. So by proposing podcats, it appears like a firm that evolves with its time and this will probably help it to get younger listeners.

Structure every transaction as a joint venture

It means that on the web, two brands can establish a partnership as if they were a joint venture; for example BNP Paribas and Playstation propose from 04/29/2006 a virtual tennis tour for teenagers. So they are partners for a special event. They benefit from each other's reputation and distinct activities to promote their firm to this target. Furthemore, they have a certain legitimacy to organize it as BNP Paribas sponsors French tennis and Playstation sells video games) .

Give away as much information as possible

Firms give customers as much information as they can to attract them and sometimes information that have nothing to do with their activities; for example BNP paribas through its specific website, Le Money mag, proposes much practical information to internet users to manage money. Although, the name of BNP Paribas is very discreet on the site, it is obvious that it's a way for BNP Paribas to promote itself as a very generous citizen-firm. Therefore, this action should contribute to attract more clients.

Ensure continuity for the customer

To prevent the customers from being completely lost on their websites, firms try to ensure continuity on their websites. It means that their sites change but not completly to allow the users to find their way in the site, for example a newspaper like - Lemonde changes its visual appearance and add new services but keeps its global structure: headings, columns,...

Replace rude interfaces with learning ones

It means that firms use their websites to improve some facilities they used to provide in their offices, for example : Issy les Moulineaux. For example, Issy inhabitants can check on the website if they have receive their ID card before going to the city Hall whereas beforehand they could move to the city hall for nothing and be badly receive by the employees.

Create communities of value

To develop customer loyalty, firms try to establish relationships based on values with customers : allocine. This website offers the users the opportunity to give their opinions on movies. These opinions are part of the presentations of the movies as well as press critics. So it gives value to the internet users' opinions and therefore attracts other users since they can have professional and non professional opinions on a movie. So it is way fot "Allocine" to ensure loyalty of its internet users and attract others.

Treat each customer as a segment of one

It is the fact that firms tend to customize the relationships with their clients thanks to Information technology, for example : La redoute. Every member has its own profil and can: check its product delivery and special offers, add their favourite products ,... So it is a way for La Redoute to give their customers the impression that they treat them as special persons with specific needs and expectations and not as a uniform mass.

Cannabalize your market

By being on the web, the firms which exist outside it (the click and mortar ones) are in competition with their other distribution network, for example: nouvelles frontières. It has specific travel agencies but its website takes customers off the traditional distribution network that is to say the travel agencies. And in the future, it will probably have to close some of them.

Outsource the customer

It means that through their websites, firms transfer to customers some tasks that it used to do, for example, buying show tickets on Internet trough ticketnet.fr (beforehand this task was done by a salesman in a ticket office) or doing one's tax return directly on Internet through impots-gouv.

A podcast on Bush

This podcast is a parody on Bush's behaviour during Katrina hurricane. He's completely overwhelmed by the events and does not feel concerned by the situation. They (Bush, Candoleeza Rice, Dick Cheney) were all in vacations during the events. Bush appears more concerned about having to postpone vacations than anything else.

New types of blogs

I've been through different blog search engines. I found all types of blogs on culture, music, paintings,... but none very interesting: not complete, few visuals, few links,... But I've got no idea on what type of blog could be created. I thing most of the themes have been developed on blogs.
So if I had to do my own blog, it would be either on a paintor such as Frida Kahlo, on new realism or on neo soul music.

Hip hop News podcast

My personal podcast is on hip hop dance. It was amazing to do it but it's not a successful one at all. There's a gap between the project and the result. But anyway it was fun to do it. I did it with a friend of mine who manages a hip hop association. They produce different hip hop dance companies but most of their productions are done with the famous german hip hop dancer, Storm Robitzky.

A travel blog

I found this website that references personal travel blogs. I've been looking for a good one and found none. Most of them are very poor with few links, too many texts, and few visuals,... So it doesn't make me want to read them. Nevertheles, I think that travel experiences are very interesting subjects for blogs. And these blogs should be included by travel agencies on their websites as being an opinion of a traveller on a destination or on a tourist product they sell. I'm quite sure travel agencies will develop this on their sites in the future.

Personal blog

I found this blog of an erasmus student who went to Glasgow at the University of Strathclyde. As I've been also to this university as an erasmus student, I wanted to know her point of view and see if the city has changed. I had many technical troubles with her blog but anyway it is interesting. She gives a very personal point of view on the city but we met on lot things especially the activities she had done.

Blogs on history

I didn't find many interesting blogs on history. But this one on Ancient Egypt is quite complete. It explores different topics: the Pharaohs, the Pyramids, everyday life, writing aned education,... It's a blog that enables you to have a global vision on Egypt and gives you . But what sursprised me, it's the fact that you don't see at first sight to whom the blog is belonging and moreover you cannot add comments on it. The writer has closed this part as she (I found out that the writer is a woman) just wants to give information and doesn't want to answer comments left by people. So she does not want to have the readers' feedback which is quite peculiar for a blog.