Everywhere you go, you here people bitching about their work. It seems like no one likes their job. So, do you like marketing?

Many people believe that marketing is a passionate industry. The more passionate you are about it, the better you are at it. Asking if you love marketing could possibly be another way of to gauge your competency. Be careful of your answer. But career aside, seriously, do you love marketing? Laura has a very nice post up that asks “Do you love your work?“. If you think about the fact that you spend more of your waking hours doing work than watching TV or spending quality time with your family, you begin to realize how miserable you can really be if you don’t like what you are doing.

As the year nears its end, think about this. As you map your life for yet another year, before you make that all-important and oft-forsaken New Year’s Resolution, answer this: do you love what you are doing now?

Before moving on to the next post or blog or where ever you are going, do drop by Angela’s blog and share in her Operation Santa project.

Technorati Tags: job, work, job satisfaction, career choice

Well, there are lots of alternatives to Google’s Page Rank. We have the Alexa, then there is Technorati’s much talked about ranking, and of course there is RealRank.

RealRank has finally been adopted by PayPerPost, which is quite a good thing as it is a flat ranking system. What this means is that it simply calculates the scores for all the blogs and web sites that they track and then puts them into a flat line. The rank is nothing more than a percentile cut off from 1 – 9.

Well, being ranked among your peers could be interesting. But then again, this means that it is not a ranking against the full gamut of blogs and web sites. How useful this is in the long run is debatable. But if considered in the context of PayPerPost, it makes a lot of sense, since advertisers are looking for posts within the universe of blogs who write for PayPerPost. So, a ranking within that group itself does make sense. But for the general public, it might not be as relevant.

No system is perfect. In fact, the fact that Google has been fiddling with their page rank system shows that even THAT is not perfect. There are people who try to abuse it, those who try to “game” the system and so on. We all try our best to navigate within the sea of change and opportunities. Hopefully, this will solve the dilemma for bloggers who have been slapped by the Google Zero.

Technorati Tags: google, page rank, paid blogging, realrank

For the past few months, I am sure many of you have been reading about how Google have been going around “downgrading” the Page Rank of bloggers who do paid blogging, in particular, PayPerPost.

Well, I guess that is life. Things happen and other things happen. But the irony that I see here, is the fact that PayPerPost actually uses the Google Page Rank as a way for their advertisers to select and pay for bloggers. Talk about a vicious cycle! Advertisers pay more for a blog with a higher page rank. Google looks at these high page ranks, discover that they have PayPerPost, downgrades them, so PayPerPost loses revenue. Now, the question is, WHY would PayPerPost want to use Google Page Rank at all? Is there no other way?

I guess for most Internet Marketers, the discussion is pretty much a circular one. Google is NOT a public-service company. It is a commercial concern and it is very concerned about making money. The fact is that it’s doing a darned good job as a search engine. That is why everyone uses it. Now, think about this for a moment. That Google has so much power is because everyone is using it. Yet, there ARE other search engines around. Now, if Google’s new policies negatively affect the reliability and perceived neutrality of their search results, people will start using alternatives. But if the users feel it is still OK, then in reality, it will be “ok”. Just because a Blog has “paid posts” does it mean it is not a good blog?

In the end, bloggers blog because they have things to say. If they get paid because some people value their opinion, then they are like the many other writers who write for various publications offline. If Google feels that this somehow challenges the value of their search results, this is their prerogative. If users continue to feel that Google gives them the best search results, then all power to them. Others can use alternatives. That is the way of the free market.

Unless you are paying Google or you own Google, don’t expect a huge company like that to harken to the small still voice of a few bloggers. After all, you are just “content”, while they are the “engine”. There have been many arguments extended about how paid bloggers who blog intelligently and add value will not negatively affect search engine results. But I guess in the end, it is just a case of the Big Guy begrudging the crumbs, or it’s just me being sore about dropping a rank. I actually like what Rob wrote in his “no paid ads” post…

Technorati Tags: google, page rank, paid blogging

A friend of mine just launched his latest Internet Marketing initiative. Basically, his product aims to teach serious internet marketers how to generate online income using only free resources. This might not sound very ground breaking as many others have touted the same concept.

However, I have visited their web site and they do deliver. They have these step-by-step videos that guide you through the process of starting your own internet business. Nothing is left out. The viewer is assumed to know nothing. So, even simple things like signing up for a free blog account has a video! They are advocating a 4-step formula which they call the Smart Business Formula.

For those who are interested, you could not do worse than to check it out. There is a 72-hour window where the price has been lowered to a one-time payment of only $19.97 as opposed to a monthly fee. Again, nothing new here other than the fact that these guys are serious. They launched it a few months back as a free service. Now, it’s a one-time fee. Then, it will be increased, and eventually, a monthly subscription. They have already garnered enough word of mouth to make it really successful. Best of all, all the techniques described do not require you to pay anything.

Nothing to lose if you go check it out.

Technorati Tags: internet marketing, online revenue, marketing formula

When Vista was launched a year ago, there was a lot of talk about how it (the launch) paled in comparison to Windows XP. Well, about a year on, and Vista is still struggling. Microsoft is a technology company. But it is better known for its marketing finesse and its many litgations.

Just saw this article about how Linux was going to benefit from Vista’s struggle to gain acceptance. Frankly, I doubt it. One of the key lessons we all learn early on in our lives as marketers, is the fact that marketing cannot make up for the shortfall of a product’s core capabilities.

Sure, Vista has its challenges. It requires hardware that make it more expensive. It has a slew of options that confuse the heck out of normal, everyday users. It has numerous problems with legacy devices like cameras, digital players and so on. But most importantly, it has not demonstrated its superiority to Windows XP in any clear, convincing manner. So of course, Microsoft is going to kill XP, just so that this new kid on the block is guaranteed a “bright” future.

But Linux is not the golden brick road to computing freedom either. There are enough flavours of Linux out there to make even the most enthusiastic supporter scratch their heads in confusion. But more importantly, Linus has failed to cater to the needs of the everyday computer user at the most important level – ease of use.

So, on the one hand, we have a new operating system that places a heavy demand on hardware expenditure and on the other, we have a contender that does not seem to allow the mere mortal a chance at learning it easily. Doesn’t this make you long for the days when “the customer is king”?

Technorati Tags: microsoft, windows vista, linux

This is getting scary! Yet another toy recall. What is worse, the problem this time is not only about toxic substances, the chemicals in question converts in to the “date rape” drug GHB (gamma-hydroxy butyrate) when ingested. That, on a child’s toy?

I found out about this when both Charlene and Marcie blogged it. In fact, it got me so stressed, I was quite happy to find a stress reliever that really works!

Technorati Tags: toys, toy recall, aqua dots

Confess! How many of you have made Hotel Reservations more than six months ago? Well, you are wise!

But for those who have not, it is not too late! There is still time, especially if you use online booking services. If you check out HotelReservations.com, you will realize that you can practically arrange your entire trip online, and at one convenient location. Better yet, you don’t even have to budge from in front of your computer – better save your energy for that fantastic vacation! Just go take a look at the site, if you don’t believe me.

The site is available in multiple languages, which is a bonus if English is not your forte. But more importantly, the site is well laid out and the things that you will need to do are pretty straightforward. For example, if you wanted to book a hotel, you can fill in the form with your destination city, then put in the dates that you want to be there and when you want to leave. You should also put in how many people are traveling and of course, how many rooms you need. The application then throws up a list of options.

This is almost like having someone do a comprehensive research for you. Each result that is returned gives you a short line on the hotel’s location or it’s most interesting characteristic. It gives you information about the place and a map if you want, they are just a click away. Then of course, the price is right there. You simply scroll down the list and pick the one you fancy or the one that fits your budget. Your choice.

You can do the same for your rental car, air tickets and even entire vacation packages. Just a quick note, use the tabs at the top of the page to navigate when you want to search for rental cars, air ticket or vacation rentals. The tabs inside the middle box don’t work.

So, stop reading and go start booking your holidays if you have not done so!

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Technorati Tags: online vacation, hotel reservation, car rental, air ticket

For all the marketing folks out there, here is one way never to launch a product. Read on for the low-down on the fun and games. Not.

The product in question here is a computer game called HellGate London. It was a much anticipated product and had a rousing response to its launch. However, it did a few critical things wrong which has made it go from hero to dog in something less than a week!

- Product was extremely buggy (bugs are things that make the game hang, or interfere with the game play)
- Communications with the community was patchy
- There was no in-game communications (this is critical, especially for an online game)
- Action was taken with no consideration to user inputs

Many users felt that the company simply took their money under false pretense. This is really bad. Now, bear in mind that the game is indeed an excellent game. I think what happened was a mis-management of communications, customer service and worse of all, plain, lousy product management.

You can read a funny “review” of the situation here: When There Is No Room In Hellgate, The Dead Shall Inhabit The Bargain Bin

Unfortunately, you cannot view the ire of the gamers unless you can log into their forums. Both the US/Europe and the Asian forums are hot with irate gamers. Bearing in mind that this game is based on the incredibly successful “Diablo” franchise, it is really surprising. Yet, again, if you think about it, it is not that surprising. Ego, Arrogance and Greed. If not, there is no other explanation as to why a company so experienced and with such a strong history, can screw up a launch so badly.

With products and services, a launch should never take place before a product is ready to go. The skill here is to be able to tell the difference between a critical bug and a non-critical bug. When “management” takes over or “marketing” takes over the product management process, the fiasco of HellGate proportions happens. This is not the first, and I doubt if it will be the last. Another famous example would be the Tribes2 launch by Dynamics (now gone) where the “auto update” was defective and could not update itself at launch!

Technorati Tags: hellgate, bad service, poor marketing

This is a high stress world that we live in. Whether you are in New York, Hongkong, Singapore or down under in Sydney, it is the same. Big city life is stressful.

One of my friends from India shared that he has decided to go vegetarian and take up meditation. Well, whatever works, I guess. But more interesting, is that he has decided to grow his own sprouts at home. I think I mentioned this sometime before in one of my earlier posts. The point here is, apparently, he has also decided to see if he can spread this healthy lifestyle to more people via the Internet.

Frankly, I think if everyone shared what they have learnt about healthy living, just the sharing alone would be a nice stress relieve. So, let me introduce you to http://www.nurtureyourown.com where you can go learn about healthy living!

Technorati Tags: stress, healthy living, healthy lifestyle

When running a small business, many small business owners rely a lot on their credit cards to see them through tight corners. This is actually fine. But there is one thing that you should never do. Never take cash out on your credit card!

Compare loans to get the best interest rates and terms. There are really many other options when you are looking for unsecured loans that are much more viable than using your credit cards. Of course, we all know that when you are looking for homeowner loans, you shop around. Should be no different when you are going for small loans for your small business. Don’t pay huge interests, there are other options!

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Technorati Tags: personal loans, unsecured loans, small business loans

The other day, my son was telling us a joke about “wives”. Which was funny enough in and of itself, since of course, me and my wife were married, he was not. But anyway, there he was, talking about how you need to have two tongues to be a mommy because you had to yak, yak, yak…

Suddenly, he stopped and made a very astute observation about married life, “Oh, and you have to live with that for the rest of your life.”

So I told him, he was wrong. Women did not need two tongues to yak yak yak. They just need to say it once, and it echoes for the rest of your life. In yet another stroke of incredible insight, he blurted, “I do!”

Technorati Tags: marriage, mommy, mothers, nagging

You got to be kidding me! Yvonne just posted in her blog that some job recruiters have taken a leaf from speed dating and started speed interviewing!

Remember when a job was something really serious, where we prepared ourselves all through school life in anticipation of? Since when has it become so flippant?

Is this a legitimate technique or is it just recruiters getting lazy to plough through stacks of resumes and matching possible candidates against detailed and relevant JD’s (job descriptions)?

We understand speed dating. It’s fun. It’s just for laughs and hopefully, strike a chord to build some fun friendships. That is a really long shot for marriage though. So you are going to entrust your next year’s marketing budget to the new marketing manager which your HR folks “felt a connection with” in a speed interview session?

You know, this reminds me of the thing about the “modern leader”, where they hide behind group consensus rather than standing up for what they believe in. This might be just another case of irresponsibility disguised as innovation. I don’t know. Anyone tried this yet? Speed interviewing…

OK, Halloween Dress for this! Go see: MomGadget’s Halloween Stuff

Technorati Tags: recruitment, job interview, head hunting