To say the truth, I’m not that crazy about Facebook. Let alone Facebook apps. I still can’t really see what the point is.

But still, there was this app I kinda fancied : Blog Friend. It would keep you posted about all the new blog posts in your entourage.

Unfortunately, they have been forced to close down. That probably says a lot about how inadequate my perception of the web 2.0 is.

Anyway, their farewell message is there. So long guys and thank for your work.

J’ai déjà parlé de Alexander Bard. Il fait aujourd’hui (quoi, le mois dernier) la une de Chronicart - les éditions web et papier - dans le cadre de la traduction et de sa publication en France de l’essai qu’il a co-rédigé avec Jan Söderqvist : Les Netocrates.

Les deux suédois avancent ici leur théorie : nous entrons dans une nouvelle ère qui signe la fin de l’ère capitaliste : la nétocratie. Leurs réflexions sur la société, les technologies, le culture occidentale, le marxisme, la bourgeoisie ou encore l’humanisme sont radicales et rafraîchissantes. Et résonnent d’un écho particulier pour ceux qui, comme moi, sont fascinés par l’influence grandissante des technologies de la communication sur notre société, sa fluidification et sa plus grande transparence.

Selon eux l’âge de l’information sera transparente, implacable, ultra-matérialiste, sera l’ère de la méritocratie et mettra un terme à l’hégémonie de la bourgeoisie capitaliste conservatrice et sa croyance en l’humanisme. Extraits de l’entretien paru dans le numéro #42 du magazine et publié aujourd’hui en ligne. Etes vous un nétocrate ? Pour le savoir ..

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Having all the means available to be connected on a permanent basis seems so natural for us today. No one really is interested in the gory details of the infrastructure world (the infraworld indeed) of the machines, network and all these different technical assets that makes our many different electronic lives possible.

Mark Richards Core Memory project is a tribute to this infra world. Some kind of still life to the unsung heroes of the information age : the electronic machines and devices. (Thanks again SignalVsNoise for the link !).

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Yet another Bullshit 2.0 presentation (via Bertrand Duperrin).

I used to be kinda okay with this sort of Armanoesque material. But I just can’t anymore : I just find this type of presentations disgusting.

Here is the pitch : there is this emergence of Enterprise 2.0 tools that transform the way we work in the company. These are natural tools for the digital natives but not so natural for the baby boomers. The generation in between (it doesn’t say but I would think 35 - 45) are the knowledge workers 2.0 (blimey !) who can link the two generations together. Innovation … blah blah … collaborative work … blah blah … bullshit … blah blah

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A quick post on enjoyable ideas to browse through. It may be pretty recent content, maybe quite old but it is this week’s and highly hypertextual in any case.

On the menu : Egonomics, Situational Relevance of social networks, preparing keynotes with Steve Jobs and Portfolio Management explained. Read the rest of this entry »

Code will tear us apart

There is this Alternative rock scene that blossomed back in the late 70s/early 80s on the ashes of the punk music. This encompassed bands like XTC, Wire, The Cure or Joy Division in the UK and Husker Dü or R.E.M in the US.

They basically had the energy and the DIY approach of the punk bands but as opposed to the latter they have a much more realistic view of the business, were not so self destructive (except maybe Joy Division Ian Curtis).

They had a proper plan : offering an alternative to mainstream (hence the name) pop music, driven by their vision of what it should be : quality pop song with an attitude, with an independent (hence Indie in the UK) artistic approach, ignoring business driven advices from major record companies marketing executives.

Viewing this Jason Fried (co-founder of web2.0 start-up extraordinaire 37Signals) video, I thought of the many similarities of their business approach in the software industry with that very musical vogue. Thinking about it, this analogy also gives some hints on 37Signals success … Read the rest of this entry »

‘right : writing a blog is cool. But there are some rumours around that writing a blog that some people end up reading is kinda cooler.

So tired with having an average of 8 views per blog post I’ve decided to roll up my sleeves and dig into the subject. Believe it or not a few people decided to study the issue before me. Honest.

So here I come, SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

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Mind the gap

Okay I know you guys gonna think I am a bit of a late adopter.

You web2.0ers may have known Hugh for ages, have your own dedicated GV business card, or even the gaping void widget on your blog. Well, that’s not my case.

I’ve landed on Gaping Voids a few times before but I didn’t really notice until today while I was reading this How To be creative post. This is one of the most inspirational posts (okay it’s a pretty big one) I have ever read.

So if, just like me, you’ve one of the last human beings on this planet ignoring what Gaping Void is and who this Hugh McLeod can be, just do yourself a favor and check it out.

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