I am what you would call a child of the television; I was born with a screen in front of me. When my parents barely knew television and waited their adulthood to see it with colors, I watched programs on TV since the age of 4.

It is all the same with the Internet, as soon as the personal computers rushed into our houses, I started to use it. I didn’t pay attention to it back then, but it has been a real revolution.

I first started to use the Internet to make researches and look for information for my presentations at school, but I found out really quickly that I could use it to talk; I guess Msn Messenger and the Chats were my second revolution. I was able to talk to people far away, and it completely amazed me (it still does actually); I made friends on the side of the planet, and I think it has been a great way to learn how to speak English actually.

 

The next step was the blogs. I never had one, because my friends who did put too much useless stuff in it – who cares about the romantic innermost soul of 14 year-old girls anyway ?…

Instead, I started to have a page on Myspace when I was 17 and I enjoyed it a lot because I could share my passions – cinema and music – with a lot of people. Some of the people I started to talk with at this time are still my friends, and I even got the opportunity to meet one of them when he came to Paris from New Zealand.

The possibility to talk with people from all over the world is something that I find really exciting. When I talk to Andrew in Auckland, I really feel happy because I realize that he’s under my feet and I’m talking to someone who lives in my “tomorrow”. It is a wonderful feeling.

 

As for now, I use the Internet as a professional tool first, because the Web has become essential to make researches, and for personal purpose (yes, of course I’m addicted to Facebook).

I am looking forward to knowing what happens next, the next step of communication, the new ways to learn the Internet can make possible, I am looking forward to living the next revolution.

 

 

The Internet is basically used for Communication and it is probably the most sophisticated way to talk to one another.

However, the most common speech is to say that we live in an individualistic world, where we no longer talk to each other.  The upholders of this thesis will probably tell you that the Internet contributes to this individualism because we are alone in front of a screen and we don’t pay attention to what is around us.

 

On one hand, I agree with this. I campaign against people who laud the superiority of the Internet and electronic communication over the other communications medium. I love to write letters and an email – as useful as it can be – will never replace the contact of paper, the shape of handwriting or the light scent of a perfume.  Just like a J on msn can’t compare with a hug in real life.

I do believe in people, not in computers.

 

On the other hand, we now live in a globalized society; in this world we exist in, we belong to various cultures, we come from different countries. Sometimes the governments of these countries decide that we have to make war against each other. It is in good taste to talk about how different we are, but I am not sure of this.

At this point, I really see the importance the Internet can have:  it is the most powerful way to join people; literally of course, with the instant messenger and the emails, but also in a metaphorical way.

By definition, the Internet is a network, which means that a person can reach any other person who is connected.

And we don’t realize how marvelous this is.

 

In the XVIth century, there were Romeo and Juliet. They were enemies. They were in love, they saw each other on a balcony, it was romantic, and even if it was tragic, it was the pure concept of union.

In the 60’s, a black boy and a white girl still couldn’t look at each other without being afraid of what this could mean. Now, Barack Obama is the President of the United States and we have access to the Internet. 

Of course, I know Martin Luther King didn’t solve all the problems just by saying “I have a dream”, it took struggle, it took tears and even deaths, but I do believe that communication is the key.

 

Hatred comes from fear.  

To avoid fear, let’s talk to each other.

 

I know how the world spins, I am not a utopian, but I know that I talk to people and I know what happens when I do.  Most of the time we laugh and we exchange, sometimes we don’t agree but at least we don’t lose what is the most important : respect.

I have friends in Mexico, Colombia, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Morocco, Spain, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland, United States Turkey, Japan and New Zealand. I met a lot of them on the street, some others on the Internet; sometimes I don’t understand what is going on in their countries, why thing are the way they are, so we talk, and I see.

 

This is what the Internet is the most useful for in my opinion. An Internet without people is nothing and I couldn’t talk to all these people if the Internet wasn’t there.  Someone said once “Make it through Life is difficult. As a beginning, make friends.”  I agree, and the Internet can help.

The business Institute Ipsos has recently surveyed people that worked with the Internet at their offices. The survey showed that the Internet was an essential tool, both for the professional and personal use.

 

96% of the principal use is of course devoted to e-mails and the consultation of websites. It’s interesting to notice that the use of the Intranet rises according to the age of the employees : 54% of the 35-49 use it and they are 23% to use Instant Messengers.

Working time, relaxation time, personal time are sometimes mixed up since 15% of the people who answered the survey confess they buy stuff online with the computer of their office.

 

86% consider that the Internet is essential to be efficient in their work but a great majority uses it for entertainment too. When someone finds an interesting video or song, it can be shared with the others and this kind of initiative creates a good atmosphere at work.

It also seems like the best way to search for information about a company or look for a job (65% think so).

 

The Internet is definitely a great tool to facilitate the life at the office, both for communication by mail or distraction between colleagues.

Many people believe that scan religiously the Sunday Classifieds is the best way to find a job. Unfortunately, nowadays, what they are really doing is expending 100% of their effort on only 25% of the possibilities. If we don’t look at the jobs posted online we could be missing lots of opportunities. There are some websites dedicated to Job Search such as Keljob or Monster that also propose advices to write CVs and Cover letters.

Indeed, Cvs and cover letters are as important in “real life” as on the Internet; the only difference is that everything goes faster, and you don’t waste time waiting for an answer, wondering if your letter correctly reached its destination or not. It also permits to know much information about the company we want to work for, and thus check that our background fits with it.

Moreover, it can be a great idea to post videos or to write in a blog –just as we did in this class – because it offers a way to show who we are and what we can do. If someone types our names on Google, he’ll discover how talented and great English-speaker we are…!

1/ The President of the United States you will become

Obama’s campaign has reported $160 million in contributions from donors of $200 or less, more than a third of the $458 million raised.

Ready for the White House?

 

2/ Campaign for the free-trading of clothes you will

 Don’t you have a bunch of clothes quietly hanging in your closet? You know, the ones you look at in the morning and think “mmmh no, not today”, and which finally become the Ultimate-Not-Today-Clothes.

Well, why wouldn’t you sell them? There is a huge quantity of places where you can do that, the most famous are of course Ebay, Price Minister or 2xmoinscher.

It is useful, and you need room for the next winter collection anyway.

 

3/ Be afraid of giving your opinion you won’t

 You never thought sharing your opinions and ideas by answering online surveys could make you rich?

You’re right. If you participate in these surveys, you’ll get remunerated only with a 5 € voucher, it can’t be turned into green bills and it won’t feed your bank account. But still, this system is interesting for more than one reason:

1)    A lot of things that cost 5 € are very interesting (ice-creams, sweets, half a bottle of moisturizing cream at Sephora, 2 bottles of Coke, 5 packets of pasta, 3 bottles of milk…)

2)     2) You get a chance to – finally! – express yourself. I know sometimes you want to scream because you have the feeling that no one is listening to you. If you join American Consumer Opinion, you will be able to say what you think freely, and not for free!

 

4/ A cat you will become

In order to get a Second Life.

Indeed, Residents retain intellectual property rights in their digital creations; they can buy, sell and trade with other Residents.

The Marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions. This commerce is handled with the inworld unit of trade, the Linden™ dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at several thriving online Linden dollar exchanges.

If you’re not rich in this life, don’t worry for the next one!  

 

5/ To be Timbaland you will play,

No, you won’t have to scat « teekee teekee » on every teenager radio, but you can become a great producer thanks to the website Mymajorcompany.

Artists put their songs à you listen to them and à… teekee teekee, if you heart goes BOUM, you can choose to give money in order to produce them.  10 euros minimum [yeah, I know, you’re not M Pokora yet, you can’t afford to give more ;)]

Once the artist you chose to produce succeeds in raising 70 000 euros, he can record an album.

So, if your protégé becomes the new King of Top 50, teekee teekee à Jackpot !

 

6/ The One-Takes-All Guy of the table you will be

One word guys, one word : POKER !

 

7/ Guerre des Gangs Application on Facebook you will allow

You don’t know what Guerre des Gangs is? Ooooh well.

Imagine you are a gangsta, you have missions, you fight with other people from the hood, you buy territories to make money. When you’re rich enough, you buy BMWs, yachts, and Casinos.

Imagine you own 5,345,560$.

Of course it is a game, but admit it’s more funny than Scrabble!

 

8/ Get into the bank account of your Président you won’t even think about

Yes, I know it’s tempting. [Work more to earn more] uh ?

Like me, you think a Président works hard so…he must have a bunch of 0 on his bank account, but FBI! [False Brilliant Idea].

Even if I know that you need money to pay your overwhelming phone bill, just don’t do that.

As some great French comedians say “Y en a qui ont essayé. Ils ont eu des problèmes”.

Believe me, you’ll have a lot more money if you don’t have to pay the fine.

 

9/ Ask for it you will

My mom always says: Honesty pays.

So, maybe that if you put on your blog “Hey guys, I’m kind of in the red right now, does somebody have a 20?” it would work…

By the way, Hey  guys, I’m kind of in the red right now and…”

 

10/ Find a 10^th Commandment you will

I make a bid : 5$ to the first person that gives me a good idea.

After many twists and turns and exasperating technical problems, here it is :  My resume

I tried to make it [ H P Commercial ] like, hope you will like it J

[Resume]

[ It is 3.29 (a. m.) and I am still awake because I watched 5 episodes of [How I met your mother] + one episode of [Gossip Girl] in a row.

I know I am supposed to write about e-culture in here, but I felt like “Twittering” a bit.

Because I am just here.

 

I love staying awake at night; life is not the same when we’re on the other side of the light.

I don’t know how you live your nights, I know mine belong to me, I watch them, I visit them, they’re my castle. I love them and that’s fine because I don’t like to go to bed early.

My nights reign supreme over me, it is a perpetual mystery and my favorite part in it is that it is a mystery that I am sure will appear every day. This thought comforts me, makes me feel safe. My days are reflecting in my nights, at last I have the time to think.

 

The soft gleam of the city lights, the empty sidewalks, how can I express what night inspires to me, what it suggests to me, what it breathes to me…

It is always at night that I feel I have the truth, I have the sensation to discover the real rhythm of the Earth, and I almost feel myself turning with it.

Soft summer nights, long cold winter nights, troubled nights or peaceful rest, sleepless night when even the moon fades away, all I wanted to show you was a small picture of our world, Face B. ]

As Internet use develops, minors are increasingly being exposed to harmful contents, often against their will. According to a study by the European SAFT programme (Norway, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Iceland), a quarter to a third of young people aged 9-16 surveyed said they had been accidentally exposed to violent, offensive, sexual or pornographic content within the previous year.

Moreover, young people use instant messager such as Msn or Aim a lot, and they’re usually not aware of the dangers represented by this way to communicate.

Here is a video made by the association [Peace over Violence] to encourage people to become aware of these dangers in order to protect the children.

The idea of Internet addiction was born in 1995 when Dr Iva Goldberg claimed he has discovered a new disorder that should be added to the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder. He gives symptoms of this illness and created an online support group. He was followed by Dr Young who builds up a questionnaire to show the addiction. In 1999, Dr Greenfield claims that 11 million people are internet addicts and describes the relational symptoms it has on their lives.

1] Do you feel preoccupied by the Internet? [Thinking about your last connection and planning the next one]

2] Do you need to spend many hours on the Internet before feeling “sated”?

3] Have you ever attempted to limit the time you spend on the Internet but haven’t managed to?

4] Do you feel exhausted, crummy, depressed or short-tempered when you try to limit the time you spend on the Internet?

5] Do you usually surf on the Internet much longer than you first intented to?

6] Have you ever put in jeopardy a relationship, a job or a professional opportunity because of your Internet use?

7] Have you ever lied to you family, your therapist or to other people just to be able to spend more time on the Internet?

8] Do you surf on the Internet to escape from your dailylife problems or from your negative feelings (guilt, anxiety, depression or loneliness…)?

If you had answered “Yes” more than 5 times, you’re considered a cyber-addicted person. If you answered “Yes” more than 3 times, start to get scared people…