Webmaster H/F
Radio Notre Dame, première radio chrétienne en France, lance à la rentrée 2008 un nouveau site internet et crée un poste de webmaster. Passionné de Web, habitué des réseaux sociaux à la Facebook, vous serez responsable de la mise à jour du site et de son évolution dans la web-sphère 2.0.

Votre mission
Au service des journalistes et sous la direction du responsable éditorial web, votre rôle consistera à mettre en ligne, au quotidien, le contenu du site.
Vous devrez aussi veiller au bon fonctionnement du site et à l’accessibilité de ses contenus : texte, audio et vidéo.
Vous serez responsable du diagnostic et de la correction des problèmes que les internautes et net-auditeurs pourraient rencontrer.
Vous serez particulièrement attentifs à la qualité du rendu, la lisibilité et à l’harmonie des pages du site. Ceci afin de donner aux internautes une expérience de qualité et de facilité.
Compétences Techniques:
En premier lieu, vous possédez une réelle expérience de développement en html et en css.
Vous êtes familier avec l’administration de base de données de type mysql via une interface PhpMyAdmin.
Vous connaissez un minimum de commandes linux et vous êtes capable d’installer un logiciel sur ce type de serveur.
Vous avez déjà mis en pratique les techniques de base d’un bon référencement.
Au point de vue graphique, vous utilisez facilement les outils de type photoshop pour des transformations simples de premier niveau.
Mots clés : Css, html, XML / rss, PhpMyAdmin / mysql, photoshop ou équivalent

Profil :

Passionné par la communication sur Internet, vous êtes rigoureux dans la réalisation.
Attentif à la politique éditoriale, vous prenez en compte les exigences des utilisateurs.
Intuitif et créatif, vous pensez à vérifier.

Votre excellent relationnel et votre culture générale, complètent les compétences requises pour assumer avec succès la responsabilité du poste.

• CDI
• Disponibilité immédiate
• Salaire selon expérience
• Contact : Gérard Nicq, gerard.nicq@radionotredame.com

If you have any idea please drop me a line

Dear IHT,
Please bring back the daily chess puzzle.
There is plenty of room still in the pages. For instance you could reduce the font in the left column of the opinion page or reduce the size of the subscription form.
The daily chess puzzle doesn’t take much space. It is a vital part of the International Herald Tribune.
Your faithful and loyal reader
Alexis Perrier

In this challenging and somber environment, there is a light to guide you : UIE Brainsparks.
Hollywood style music

UIE or User Interface Engineering is a consulting firm specializing in web site and product usability. Their blog UIE Brainsparks and podcast entitled spoolcast, by Jared M. Spool and his team offer free advices and reflexions on key design issues. I have been listening to their podcast for months and truly I have learned a lot.

The last episode I listened to yesterday in the metro, was about using fly over menus for navigability purposes: Usability Tools Podcast: Mouseovers in Navigation . You know, you are scrolling around the page and the menu suddenly pops up and unfolds. The question is : are such navigation tricks really useful or do they somehow hinder the user experience ?
Listen to the podcast for the answer.

Another episode, Usability Tools Podcast: On-Site Search, opened my eyes on the benefit of having a search bar on a web site. It’s obvious when you know it but knowing what keywords are searched for on your web site gives you a strong indication on what is missing from your home page. If users cannot find what they are looking for on your home page chances are they will use the search bar.

The spoolcast is really a great source for learning good web design.

Dans le monde physique et analogique, la RATP enterre actuellement la vielle carte orange pour la remplacer par le pass navigo. Le pass navigo, c’est moderne, branché et cela répond surement à un business case précis et à une politique de modernisation de l’image de la RATP avec sans aucun doute une bonne dose de justification sécuritaire.

Le pass navigo ne fonctionne qu’au mois ou à la semaine. Le mois démarre le 1er et fini le 28, 29, 30 ou 31. La semaine commence le lundi et fini le dimanche (inclus).

C’est tellement 20ième siècle !

Pourquoi ne peut on pas simplement payer pour un nombre de jours donné avec effet immédiat ?
Ou même simplement pour les 7 prochains jours avec effet immédiat que l’on soit vendredi ou mercredi ?
Par exemple, si nous sommes vendredi matin et que je souhaite avoir un pass navigo pour une semaine, je dois quand même acheter un carnet, le forfait hebdomadaire ne démarrant que le lundi d’après. De même si je doit me déplacer en métro ou bus pendant 3 semaines pour un projet. Pas moyen de trouver un forfait qui soit intéressant pécuniairement parlant.

On comprend bien que derrière ce manque de souplesse, cette rigidité, il y a des contraintes techniques lourdes. Des systèmes de facturation et de comptabilité préhistoriques dont il faut tenir compte. Mais lorsque l’on est habitué aux services offerts par le web 2.0, la rigidité de services du type pass navigo sont choquants. Le contraste est frappant.

Pas que ce manque de souplesse soit d’une grande importance mais elle est symptomatique d’une conception vieillote du service à l’utilisateur.

A noter que web 2.0 et le pass navigo se rejoignent sur leur manque de transparence vis à vis des données privées récoltées. Néanmoins, les sites web évoluent comme l’a montré l’exemple récent de Facebook tandis que la RATP n’a que faire de considérations de respect de la vie privée.
Voir l’article Big Brother Award et l’article de que choisir

En conclusion, connaitre les joies de l’internet intelligent d’aujourd’hui ne fait qu’exacerber le contraste avec les outils désuets comme ceux d’entreprises telle que la RATP.

L’internaute moderne est un voyageur du temps, il renoue quotidiennement avec le bon vieux vingtième siècle grâce à l’inertie de certaines grandes entreprises.

• Clinton’s stock falls to new low MSNBC - May 7, 2008
• Clinton campaign entering its twilight Raw Story, MA - May 8, 2008
• Taking Bets? Bookies Give Clinton Long Odds FOXNews - May 8, 2008
• A Split Decision With a Clear Winner The Wall Street Journal May 7, 2008
• Parsing the Indiana and North Carolina Primaries New York Times Blogs, NY - May 7, 2008
• Regulator eyes bets on weather, election results Globe and Mail, Canada - May 2, 2008
• Prediction market online The Dominion Post, New Zealand - May 13, 2008
• Traders’ Calls Just as Bad On Elections The Wall Street Journal, May 13, 2008
• Government Stifles the Wisdom of Crowds RealClearPolitics, IL - May 13, 2008

Not knowing who the good new authors are these days, I started by looking on the net for book reviews. After a bit of googling I had a list of classic crime novels which to my great pleasure I had not read yet.

It was a sunny afternnon and I needed a break from my computer so I decided to walk to my favorite English bookstore in Paris, Brentano’s. But unfortunately they had none of the 7 classic books I had selected. Not wanting to go back home empty handed I picked up a novel at random hoping for the best.

What a poor experience this bookstore gives. And unfortunately, it’s the case with most bookstores. I’m not talking about book supermarkets like Fnac but real bookstores where vendors know what they are selling but shelf space is limited. There is a good chance the customer will not find what he wants. Last time, I ordered the book through the bookstore, it took 5 weeks to arrive.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Brentano’s. They offer a great service, have a great selection of books and truly know their business.

Of course the alternative is to use an online bookstore such as Amazon. On Amazon, one is sure to find a book and have it delivered in a matter of days at very competitive prices.
On Amazon, though you don’t get the pleasure of reading the covers, exploring the shelves in search for a surprise, or joining the quiet atmosphere.

When you think about it, this bookstore must have incredibly high running costs. I counted 5 persons working there yesterday. Having to pay 5 salaries is a very heavy burden for a small company in France. add to that a rent on the very chic Avenue de l’Opéra. I just can’t imagine how many books they have to sell to break even.

Out of curiosity, I checked their web site, www.brentanos.fr but no good surprise there, the web site is pure 20th century. no content. non interaction. A few book covers.

So this morning, I had an idea.

What if this bookstore simply opened a blog dedicated not to the store’s life but to book reviews
What if the people working in that bookstore all spent something like 30 mn per day or even one hour every other day writing a review of a book they had read.
After all, people working in a bookstore do indeed read books. They often have a literature education and should be able to write essays. Why not put all these people to contribute to online content ?
With a good branding of the bookstore blog, customers would get what they are looking for in a real bookstore : advices and ideas for new purchases.
The bookstore would extend its visibility on the Net.
The bookstore web site would have a strong advantage over Amazon: it would offer high quality content. User generated content is great and all that but in the end amateurs cannot compete with professionals for real quality.
Add to that an online payment solution and the bookstore might well be rescued.

But that’s just an idea.

However, as major TV hosts started saying right after the results, she has lost and Barack Obama has won. Her will to stay in the race at whatever the cost for the democratic campaign for the white house seems more and more absurd.

On the other hand, I have been witching the showtime TV show The Tudors. In this show, you have Henry the VIII, King of England, married to Queen Katherine of Aragon. However, the king is in love with another damsel and he wants to marry her. In fact he goes as far as refusing to bed her until they are married. The king being in his thirties and having an habit of bedding whomever he pleases is mad with frustration.

The behavior of his Queen Katherine of Aragon who simply refuses to let go of her marriage is similar to the behavior of Hillary Clinton. In the TV show, plots go on and on until the king finally decides to do whatever he wants by becoming the head of the church of England. In our world, primaries go on and on and Clinton keeps on smiling and claiming victory.

What is striking is the exact same stubborness between Queen Katherine of Aragon and Hillary Clinton. Both refuse to let go. Although it’s becoming obvious that the price to pay for this refusal to bend is getting higher and higher.
In each case, Clinton and Katherine just go on repeating the same arguments. One is the kings lawful wife while the other is the best suited to win over McCain.

Furthermore, both women have a root of a case. Their claim and reasons are not entirely without ground. Hillary could well be the best candidate to win over McCain and better suited for the next presidency while Katherine of Aragon is indeed the king’s true wife while the damsel is already comploting to undermine the king’s interests.
Both their cases have ground over which to fight for.

However in each of these scenes, when Hillary and Kathrine repeat over and over again the same arguments, I get the same feeling short of exasperation.

Why don’t you let go !