Top 10 Francophone Websites To Share
As many of you who will know via following my updates, I have been taking French in school this term. One of my assignment is to come up with a list of Top 10 French Websites and explain why it is a good site to visit. After looking at my word document,I was thinking to myself – why not I just post it as a blog entry with pictures so that more people can know about the French culture too ? So here we go !
This is a French music blog that features bands and artists in the French music scene. The site is regularly updated with interviews and the latest gigs in town. They have an interesting podcast segment ‘CONCERT À EMPORTER‘ (Take Away?) whereby they will film a session with an artist or band.
2. SkyRock
One of the top 10 social networking sites in France. With a high penetration rate in France, Skyrock is like the French-Facebook. It allows people to post blog entries, exchange messages with other members and a specific space that show cases original music compositions. It is said to be the most popular French social networking site.
3. Chronic Art
Chronicart.com is a web magazine that talks about the Arts and Culture as well as latest happenings – ranging from movies to music to books. It also has its own Chro.TV which is mostly band interviews conducted in Paris.
4. Not exactly a French website per se but it helps alot if you’re stuck at the language or trying to get your message across to a French. Just type in whatever you want to say and Voilà!
5. Le Notepad
As you know, there are several accented letters while writing in French. This website saves alot of trouble from switching the codes on your computer. Simply just type and paste the text into your word processors. Easy as A-B-C. Definitely a must-visit site for students learning French with a troublesome keyboard problem like me!
6. Voila
Think Voila as your Google/Yahoo/MSN or any other search engines, but in French. It provides similar services like searching on the entire www or wikipedia or getting the latest news updates. ‘Nuff said.
7.Le Point
Le Point is one of the weekly local news magazine in France. Pretty much like the French version of Time Magazine and Newsweek. You can find them on iPad too!
8. Aufeminin
As suggested by its name, this is a French portal dedicated to women. It consists of forums and blogs and articles that is targeted at the female population. Curious males are welcome to browse and there’s a “Nos hommes” (Our Men) section too!
9. Something French every other day. They have podcast and interesting pictures of daily French life. Makes you feel like a local French while reading the blog (provided I actually understand most of it…haha)
10If you’re a geeky person or a HWZ/tech65 fan, you’ll love this in French. A website featuring gadgets and geeky things. Pretty neat stuff though I have to say, our local product launches seem to be quicker than them ?
On a side note, The French Corner is a lovely read for people interested in the language and France (It’s in English) but it seems to me that it’s no longer updated. If you have any more recommendations, do drop a comment ! =)
If I were a Swede…
Food for Thought : If you were a Swede living in China and looking at the countries around you, how would you communicate across national, cultural, linguistic and technological boundaries?
Looking at this question from a personal perspective, as a ‘partial-foreigner’ myself in Singapore (I came over in primary 2), I understand the pain that one has to deal with when it comes to a new environment. To put it simply, let’s break them down into 3 main challenges.
Speak thy language
Interestingly, the very first obstacle that comes to everyone’s minds is probably the language factor – which I won’t deny that it’s going to be a huge issue if you can’t even utilize the language that the country you’re residing is using. However, I believe that language can be easily picked up and with the help of technology and tools such as NJStar CJK Viewer and Firefox plugins that makes things easier.
Power of Weak Ties
We’re lucky that Singapore is a country that supports multiculturalism. China is known for its strong nationalism which unified the people and its culture. It is important to understand one’s culture, be it via blogs that fellow foreigners living in China share or researching via travelling sites from a tourist’s point of view or even finding fellow Swedes in China via social networking sites. Do your homework ! At the same time, it is important to keep an open mind to other’s opinions as it may differ from your own experience. Embrace and respect one’s culture and you’ll learn that it is not too difficult to be welcomed into the community.
The Great Firewall
As much as censorship is concerned in China, I won’t say that China is not open up to technological advancement but perhaps in their own ways. Looking at the list of ’60 Best Blogs on China in English, it may seem like Google-China case is not going to affect the social media scene as much as the outsiders would assume. Who are we (or Google) to claim that China is wrong ? Instead, I think we should start exploring their internal networks and reach out to the various target audience from there. It’s all about connecting with the right people.
From a business pespective, in several decades to come, China or just in general – Asia will emerge as the primary growth market for the world. Looking at this economic reality, how do one or a company position himself/itself better in Asia? I believe that there’s no tailored solution or template to follow as how Professor Dan Ryun Chang puts it and having a Pan-Asian Strategy might hurt your business in the long run.
To sum it up, it is about an open mind, basic respect and mutual understanding.
Find out more about communicating across Asia, click here !
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Note : If you’re wondering why the sudden post after annoucing a ‘Time Out’, this is an assignment for my Digital Media Across Asia Module. Thank You !
