November 2, 2004
tuesday in paris
Not much to report. This weekend was a national holiday, so everybody was away on Monday etc. The town seems very sleepy, like a pleasant dream. People walking around in the bookshops and the cafes.
I found a wee Lebanese restaurant that serves really cheap, good food. A good meal there in the afternoon et un cafe avec du pain au matin c’est trop pour le jour. Peut etre un peu du vin rouge aussi, peut etre non…
I am trying to get my act together in the “settling in” department but it’s being hindered by the novelty of being in Paris… to much new external stimulation to really focus the mind on the mundane et l’ordinaire etc.
I’ve only been here five days and I’m already begining to think in French, not just speak it.
[BEFORE I FORGET:] Jeff Jarvis’ definitive list of the do’s and don’ts of interfacing with “Citizen’s Media”. From a presentation he gave to Daimler Chrysler and BBDO last July.
To paraphrase Jeff from something he said last week, Big Business does not need Citizen’s Media, because they have their own media already i.e. Big Media.
My two cents: I agree. The fact that Big Media works less well for Big Business with every passing day is not Citizen’s Media’s problem.
[BONUS LINK:] Seth Godin spells out the grim reality of business blogging (or not so grim, depending who you ask):
Nobody is going to read your blog, link to your blog or quote your blog unless there’s something in it for them.
Save the fluff for the annual report.
Exactly. Blogging is like Kung Fu: its biggest secret is that there isn’t any biggest secret.
[BONUS LINK:] “Beginner’s Guide To Corporate Blogging”:
I am told The CorporateBlogging Blog has posted an excellent Free Corporate Blogging Primer (PDF) that covers the following:
* Corporate Blog — A Definition
* The Nature of Blogs
* Reasons for Corporate Blogging
* Six Types of Corporate Blogs
* Read Blogs
* Publish Blogs
* 14 Steps to Your Business Blog
* What Corporate Bloggers Say
Is it just me or is Corporate America/Europe starting to have another one of its infamous Gung-Ho-Bandwagon bouts of insanity? I love it when that happens.
Hugh, I see you have landed in one of my old neighborhoods– la vache! There is a great, very small restaurant right off Blvd Montparnasse as you walk down toward Blvd Raspail. It is on the the left down a small street called Vavin. Resto is “Parc aux Cerfs” and it is really great for lunch or dinner …
Hey Hugh
You’re French is pretty good for a man whose spent most of his lif in New York or Texas…
New York. “Give me a fucking beer…”
Texas “Un cervesas per favor..”
Paris “je voudrais un vin rounge s’il vous plait… Fuck me that’s better than beer… What? Damn, next thing I might vote for that fag Kerry. ”
Heh.
(PS — I may or may not like Bush, Kerry or either of them, this is a satirical comment, for the hard of thinking.)
That cartoon reminds me of the graffito quoted in a They Might Be Giants song:
“I don’t want the whole world, I just want your half.”
…I’m still laughing at Hamish’s comment…
Love the cartoon today..
Hugh,
your little restaurant really is a wonderful place with wonderful people. So we also met you there …
I hope, that someday we meet again.
Did you visit the famous bookparadise “Shakespeare & Co” yet? It’s worth it, belive me, you will love it. And you will meet there a lot of interesting people, having great conversation etc.
Sorry for my awful english.
Je t’embrasse
(don’t forget Diogenes)
Annick from Germany