TED Community » Gabriela Ybarra

More About Me

I'm passionate about

Trends, Brands, Music, Contemporary Art, and Imagining Future.

An idea worth spreading

There will be no work left unless we create it

Comments

• TEDCred score: +2.10 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A reply on Conversation: What is your feeling on the New York Times online subscription model ?

  Mar 22 2011: I agree that specialization is a good reason to pay, but the NYT is not any newspaper, it is a global reference. What I don't see why anybody would pay for is for the Daily, you can get that type of content for free in many other places, they don't go into that much depth, nor have the history or the writers of the NYT. The NYT knows that not everybody will pay, that is why they have the meter! Maybe their strategy is just not targeted to you.
• +2

  A comment on Conversation: At what age could students abandon a general education and enter an immersion-type education in a field of their interest?

  Mar 22 2011: I think there isn't a specific age. Every child is different and evolves at a different pace. What I think it would be great is that from a very young age, as soon as they start to demonstrate interest in different areas they have a personal project, with time and material resources put into them, that they can later share with the class. For example, if one kid loves lizards, he could investigate them in books, film them, learn more about them, start a youtube channel on them, ... kids like the most incredible things. They want to be artists, firemen, hairdressers, movie directors, ...
  
  Maybe there could be a specific class time allocated for these projects, where teachers could guide them and monitor them. Putting them in touch with other classmates that have already investigated on a similar topics, or have developed certain skills. I do think they need a structure. 6, 3 months working in depth on something and acquiring different skills. The great thing about this is that soon they will start to learn from each other! And the teacher will learn tons too! Some projects could be individual, others in teams, ... I think there are many possibilities!

• A reply on Conversation: What is your feeling on the New York Times online subscription model ?

  Mar 22 2011: I totally agree Lise. There is a lot of money and effort put into generating these news. Not everybody may be willing to pay. But they must find a way to monetize it, otherwise their quality will drop, as it is dropping now in many newspapers!

• A comment on Conversation: What is your feeling on the New York Times online subscription model ?

  Mar 22 2011: The NYT is following a very smart approach that I believe will be successful. They are making the heavy readers pay, without loosing the traffic of the occasional readers and those who come in through social media channels. Social media is very important for the NYT, they have the most retweeted news. Their objective is to monetize the site minimizing the loss in site traffic, and therefore, advertising revenue. They have taken a lot of time to think about this and get it very right. Their sin was to give away quality content for free, now it won't be easy to make the readers pay, but this is by far the smartest approach that they could possibly take!
  
  I once red that only 20% of the NYT readers were heavy readers, the rest are just swinging by a couple of times a month. With this piece of data in mind, their current strategy makes total sense

• A reply on Conversation: How do you see the future of literature? Do yo think that shorter forms such as poetry and microstories will gain more weight?

  Mar 15 2011: Hi Patricia, I totally agree that movies are not a substitute for literature, they are their own thing. I recently red a comment by Paul Auster that said:
  
  “And that's why books are never going to die. It's impossible. It's the only time we really go into the mind of a stranger, and we find our common humanity doing this. So the book doesn't only belong to the writer, it belongs to the reader as well, and then together you make it what it is.”
  
  There will always exist people who will need to enter the mind of strangers and let go their imagination. My question is if the novel will still be the main genre to do so. As Tamara Hoffman mentions earlier in a comment, a development in style might occur. I think this makes a lot of sense as the Internet revolution is probably one of the most profound changes that humanity has experienced, and this must be reflected somehow in literature.

• A reply on Conversation: Can you share any innovative education techniques that you have used or know about?

  Mar 8 2011: Thanks for the share Julie! I will check them out!

• A reply on Conversation: Can you share any innovative education techniques that you have used or know about?

  Mar 7 2011: I share your worries Zoe, I also believe that most education systems are outdated. I recently interviewed a social entrepreneur on this topic, he made great comments and pointed out some interesting solutions to engage and motivate children in the learning, you can read the interview in this link:
  http://capsulasdetiempo.com/en/2011/02/22/there-will-be-no-work-left-unless-we-create-it/
  
  Your blog is full of useful tools! I have already added you to my reader!

• A reply on Conversation: Can you share any innovative education techniques that you have used or know about?

  Mar 7 2011: This is a great site! I love the game mechanics that they incorporate too!

• A reply on Conversation: Can you share any innovative education techniques that you have used or know about?

  Mar 7 2011: Thanks! I will take a look at them!
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  A comment on Conversation: Who would you love to see give a TED talk that is not in the TED archive today? I'm referring to people who are still alive. ...and why?

  Mar 7 2011: I would love to see Alfredo Jaar. He is a great social artist who believes in art as a way to impact social change. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0fj3s1wqD4&feature=fvwrel