I know nothing but the fact of my ignorance...

... was once said by Socrates.

There are a lot of things that I don't know about the internet. After all, I would be surprised to learn that someone is aware of everything that goes on on the web... As I have said earlier, the opportunities offered by this tool are so infinite. In this post I am going to focus on 3 aspects of the internet that I ignore, or don't know how to practice.

Number One : E(asy)-Learning
Any young student in Europe or USA knows how to use the internet. May it be for games, for chatting, for videos... However, if I ask Gabriel, my 13 year-old brother, how he uses the web as an educational tool, I believe he wouldn't know how to reply. As I am a responsible sister, I would then tell him all about the new possibilities on the web for students like him, or like me.

Indeed, recently with the whole Flu issue, the Education Ministry in France has displayed an important campaign that is meant to bring the lessons into the students' houses. In other words, if a student cannot attend a class because of his illness, he will nontheless be able to virtually keep up with his classwork. Thanks to this "online academy" (the middle and high school lessons will be available late October), anyone can have access to the basic knowledge that is taught erveyday in any French class.

To me, this is a real breakthrough. However a critical mind would see this as a dreadful thing: teachers and classrooms being replaced by computers, books and paper being replaced by a screen, pens and rulers being replaced by a keyboard and a mouse... Not a very bright future for our educational system!
However I think that this e-learning method must be used only in case of an epidemic. It mustn't be popularized, it must be considered as the very last solution possible.

Number Two: Twitter, errr...?
When I opened my Twitter account three weeks ago, I felt like I was committing infidelity to Facebook. So, I made a pact with myself: only use it for the purpose the english class. This way, Facebook remains my one and only favorite social network. I promised myself never to use the diverse codes that all the Twitter-fans use without noticing anymore. Therefore I don't know how to Twit correctly. The only thing I allow myself to do on Twitter is update my status.
So, how does Twitter really work?

Reply to a Tweet: when you see a tweet you would like to reply to, just hit the reply button under the trash can.
RT on tweet: "RT" means "Re-Tweet". When you want to share a noteworthy information, enter RT then @ and write the Twitter username that first issued the post.
OH on Twitter: "OH" means "Over Heard". Same thing as RT, but is used whan the user doesn't want the author of the retweet to be known.
# on Twitter: the hashtag helps Twitter users designate keywords to conversations that are popular. For example a TV show, or a musician.
Tadaaah! Now you know how to use Twitter.
(if my Facebook page reads my blog, I love you more, don't worry, as soon as I publish this post I turn back to you and ignore your ennemy Twitter!)

Number Three: My own private Google

Last but not least (waaaay not least - there still are hundreds of things on the web hat I don't know how to do!), I use Google in the most simple way that can be. Why? Well, I don't know how to personalize it! Actually it would be more correct if I said "I don't want to personalize it". But then again, why? (as you can see I love asking myself existential questions) I refuse to be tempted by this geeky trend. Indeed I believe that the usual Google page is fine the way it is. Sure, the internet is all about having everything within reach.

However I like to keep a barrier between the habits that result of this fact and my use of the internet. I mean, I feel like I'm protecting myself from the imprisoning and endless that is the web. It may sound crazy, but it's meaningless things like this that make me believe that I am still a stranger to the internet... What? Me, paranoid? Maybe. But at least I have the impression that a part of my soul hasn't been captured by the web. Yet.