In the newsletter of July 2011 , we announce the study Atelier BNP Paribas for the Forum d’Avignon with four exclusive interviews. The Forum getting closer, the reflection was enhanced of four new interviews, we let you discover…
The study analyses the new referencing mechanisms of cultural offer and watch the way they influence the access to culture. This decoding will allow bringing to the different actors some reflection and action tracks that may help them to better understand, manage and use these new mechanisms.
Decoding of the functioning of the new technical referencing mechanisms. The study tackles two mechanisms of referencing and prescription to decode the way they work. On the one hand, the research engines, market places and social networks constitute the “main trends” of referencing and prescription on the Internet. On the other hand, the group purchasing websites, the development of geo-location, the emergence of groups specialized in video, music … represent the “weak signals”. How can we promote the cultural offer on the Internet? To succeed this promotion, two levels of analysis are developed: a theoretical analysis, based on the current knowledge, interviews and points of experts belonging to the Forum d’Avignon network; a practical analysis with several case studies and best practices mainly overviewed in the sectors of book, architecture, performing arts and cinema.
How can the media keep their prescription role? The study notably analyzes the reciprocal influences between the media and online services in the field of prescription to conclude on the role, always crucial, of the media!
How does Internet influence the diversity of cultural offers? The stake of diversity relies on both the supply and demand based on the reality of usage.  Diversity will exist with the highlight of the largest number of cultural works that is to say investing in referencing and … marketing. The study tackles these topics exploring several questions: what is the cost of access the prescription canals on the Internet? What is their performance in comparison with the traditional media? Do the new referencing and prescription mechanisms promote the offer diversity or, on the contrary, do they concentrate the demand on bestsellers?  

Amazon, actor of referencing and prescription of cultural contents on the Internet by Andrew Cecil, Director Public Policy, Amazon EU

Could you describe the main mechanisms of your platform which plays a role in referencing? 
Regarding referencing, Amazon wants to have to most exhaustive offer as possible. Hence, the company also works with other actors to enlarge the choice of available productions on its website. Booksellers have the possibility to use Amazon as a distribution platform. 
Regarding the digital offer, we are at the beginning of the experience, even if Kindle already proposes hundreds of thousands of books. Amazon has also developed an self-edition platform on Kindle. We have already a large number of authors who used this mechanism, with a great success. Some of these books became Bestseller. In parallel to this self production activity and to its activity of distribution, Amazon has, in the USA, an editor activity.
Other questions asked to Andrew Cecil : What are the goals of Amazon? What are the main principles of your model of economic development?  Could you describe the main mechanisms of your platform which plays a role in prescription?

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Referencing and prescription of INA’s works on the Internet by Mathieu Gallet, CEO of INA

What are the stakes related to the enhancer of heritage on the Internet?
Thanks to the digitization done since 1999, our archives have radically changed: they have become visual objects instantly available and transmissible, accessible to all since the launch of Ina.fr. As an institution dedicated to professionals, Ina has become a cultural business of broadcasting, which strives for the widest dissemination of this heritage.
However, in a digital world characterized by a kind of hyper-present, the place of archive content is not obvious. In order to acquire a large audience, it is necessary to present it in a new light, making it resonate with the current interests and concerns of Internet users. This is the role of the editorial work that we do on Ina.fr: daily, we suggest notably a video of the day and thematic files directly linked to topicality, renewing our perceptions of our collection.
The public can also see our pictures through innovative interfaces that we develop ourselves, like interactive frescoes or web-docs, which are subject to a high degree of editorial content. Finally, we envision devices that allow users to appropriate directly archive and interact with it. We have already organized several "remix" contests of images around different cities - Berlin, Paris, Gdańsk and now Montreal - always with great success.
Other questions asked to Mathieu Gallet : What distinguishes the supply of the INA on online video market?  What strategies do you develop to improve the referencing and the audience videos of the Ina?

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Advertisement on Google’s search engine by Thomas Guignard, Media and local market Manager of Google France

At the roots of the research engine, Sergei Brin and Larry Page had chosen for their thesis’ subject the referencing of web pages. At the time, research engines do exist.  The innovation brought by Google is the “Page Rank”, meaning the links between the web pages as measuring criteria of interest for the Internet user. It is in a second time that the research project gives birth to a business model. This approach, at the opposite of classical business plans, is still predominant in Google’s firm: the goal is to focus on the value-added of the product and service for public with always a scalable dimension of the project insofar as it has a global aim in terms of stakes and utility of “services rendered ” to the Internet users.
Regarding the commercial aspect, Google has evolved in its approach. In the first place, advertising on the research engine was invoiced on the classical model which relies on the CPM. Quite promptly, the option of the pay-per-click was used, being doubled by a bid system for key words buying ( AdWords service for sponsored links buying).

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Orange, aggregator of cultural contents of the Internet by David Lacombled, Director of content strategy, Orange

As an aggregator, do you have an activity of prescription and referencing?
We are not publishers, for example the Orange portal has no journalist. It is not our job. For content production, we have partnerships with actors who bring their expertise and strong brand.
We are also in an open approach where different media in a world of services coexist; the idea is to encourage the widest gathering of actors. For example, we develop agreements with RTL, Europe 1 and France Inter. This open model positions us as a neutral agent that promotes diversity for access to content. Each time, the goal is to use the Orange Internet audience to back up some nets from the ocean of contents and to introduce them to our users. I often compared this activity of promotion of the content in our services to a walk in the forest: 80% of the walkers will take the main path, when 20% will explore other trails and groves, the most expensive to maintain.  Our portal is similar to a forest: it has a generalist position, but it is also pluralistic and allows discovering of content more confidential.
As an aggregator, we give opportunities for browsing, but we do not assume editorial responsibility. For example, for our news page, information comes from our partner AFP that organizes it in a hierarchy. 
Other questions asked to David Lacombled  : Can you go back over your career and explain how referencing and prescription of cultural works are part of the strategy of Orange according to you? So, you entrust a third party that is a media with the prescription? As an operator, do you have a specific strategy, different from other platforms? What is your business model to tackle the major players in services?

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Diversity and richness of culture on the Internet  by Patrick Zelnik, CEO of Naïve

Internet usages have changed. We listen to music differently even if the market kept its key players. Does this have an impact on a producer as Naïve?
The new generation will, I hope, be aware of the vital need for a sustainable creation. Indeed, thanks to digital, young people listen to music of their parents, Led Zeppelin or Hendrix. And when you listen to these artists, you realize the depth of the offer. On the Internet, we have the opportunity to promote references that are not found elsewhere and more demanding music.
However, market players, rushed by the Internet, are struggling to find new "business models".
Media or the Internet, which prescribes the best?  I will answer with an example. During the « Victoires de la musique », French event dedicated to music, Benjamin Biolay was competing. He was at the 60th position on iTunes. At the end of the ceremony, when Benjamin Biolay won, he was at the top position on iTunes.
Other questions asked to Patrick Zelnik  : Can you go back over your career and explain how referencing and prescription of cultural works have change according to you? Do market structures play a determining role in the prescription? Is the Internet going to reverse this equation and generate new forms of prescription?

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CULTURE IS FUTURE !

More than a hundred of daily articles on the international news of the Forum d’Avignon’s think tank topics. 

Always Further – Which economy for catch-up TV services?
A Scholè Marketing study   (September 2011) "the economy of the catch-up TV" presents the future challenges of broadcasting in a connected world. There is a real audience success regarding catch-up TV, which allows an online  extension of channels offers, with dedicated and editorial platforms.

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DEBATES 2011 - Referencing, prescription of cultural contents - "My culture" in real time, a new step of prescription?
At the occasion of the Facebook developers conference f8, on September the 22th, 2011, Mark Zuckerberg presented innovations of the social networking website Facebook. These new features would allow following in live what your friends and you are doing. "We think this is an important step to help tell the story of your life," said Mark Zuckerberg.
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DEBATE 2011 - Intellectual Property - Agreement between Baidu and Majors 
Ending a long legal conflict, Baidu, the Chinese search engine which controls 76% of the domestic market, has signed an agreement on July the 19th with three majors of the music industry: Universal Music, Warner Music and Sony Music, represented by the joint venture One-Stop China.

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Always Further - The social Netbook
While Facebook already proposed to create your visual bookshelf to list and recommend books to all your friends, the numbers of social networks dedicated to books are increasing. In France, Babelio exist since 2007, providing extracts, reviews, quotes, top 10 for each genre, etc. and everyone can share his reading.

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Always Further - Music - Grandcrew, concerts and online experience, low price and quality: a new business model ?
Founded in 2008 by Christopher Escalpez, a Franco-American music enthusiast engineer, the website Grand Crew offers hundreds of filmed concerts. This innovative project allows, after a simple registration, to (re)live concerts.


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Always further - Museums
To what extent the mobile devices are becoming the main actors of our museums? What uses do they create for the visitor? What are the strategies of the museums concerning the new technologies? 


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Who is Richard-David Precht?
Singled out from contemporary intellectuals, Richard David Precht distinguishes himself by the philosopher position he calls for: “we have to accept the assignment of the philosopher, which is to open himself and take an interest in important issues of our society”.
 
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Always Further - The British Library opens its doors to Google: two centuries of documents will be soon online
40 million pages from one of the biggest collections of historic books, pamphlets and periodicals are to be made available on the Internet. Indeed, the British Library announced last week a program to digitize 250,000 books as part of an agreement with Google Books. 

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Always further - Digitalization : the new renaissance of the Comité des Sages
In a report called "the new Renaissance", the Comité des Sages recommands an always greater effort from the European countries to put online the collections of theirs librairies, archives and museums. The group of reflection on the digitalization of European cultural heritage, composed of Maurice Lévy, Elisabeth Niggemann and Jacques de Decker, as well as Androulla Vassiliou,...
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Always further - Social Networks
Online social networking has become a whole part of new generations’ social activities. In this landscape, Facebook holds a particularly important place, having been one of the pioneers and remaining a major actor.


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