A Singapore Blog

Mac v Windows

2011-02-03T20:20:00.003+08:00

Just got a new 11 inch Macbook Air and love the appearance of it.

However too bad it doesn't come with Windows (although you can use a software to do so, but not convenient and nice).

Windows 7 is far better than its predecessor, Vista and XP. And now it's better than Mac OS in my opinion.

Why?
- Windows finder is much easier and better compared to Spotlight. Shortcut also takes only a button instead of Mac's 2 button, COMMAND + SPACE
- Mouse somehow is not sensitive enough in Mac
- Dropbox does not auto-sync if another computer uploaded new docs
- Not many softwares available
- Existing softwares like messenger, skype is like older Windows version. Example MSN messenger in mac cannot login in two computers simultaneously. Will log out in your mac if someone else login to your account.

Nice stuff about Mac
- No virus
- Nice finger gestures for the trackpad
- Fast bootup
- Website looks nicer in Mac
- Simpler to use. Too bad I'm not a noob so Win 7 is just fine with me

Blog advertising - Worth it?

2010-08-18T12:23:00.003+08:00

A few years ago, a trend started in Singapore that involves making money out of blog. In other parts of the world, this trend also appeared as witnessed by many "get-rich-quick" books and e-books selling everywhere.

There was also a big rivalry between two Singapore blogvertising companies (the pioneers) Advertlets and Nuffnang with many bloggers siding with one of them, sometimes even argued about the slightest thing like late payment etc.

In reality, most bloggers don't make more than S$50 per month. Only the popular ones like Xiaxue can blog for a living. And it soon became apparent to many bloggers that they are better off working part-time in malls than blog. Blogging for money is not as attractive as many have claimed.

For advertisers, blogvertising is a novel and unique way to reach the youth population, but with risks.

If an advertiser pays on per unique visit basis, a blog owner can ask 100 of their friends to go to his website daily. Remember most youngsters got 400+ Facebook friends. Not so difficult to get your classmates, church friends and family to see the ad. While big websites are more expensive to advertise they have less tendency to do so. Youths are more mischievous, in my opinion and more attracted to money. Large sites like Insing or Yahoo also has the incentive to cheat the system, but unlikely to do so. Imagine if a staff exposed this activity - their investment will be gone: no advertiser will likely to pay for ad anymore. For blogs, the risk of getting caught is slim. He/she can just restart another blog, in minutes no less

So it'll be difficult for advertisers to know how much valid exposure they get. So is it worth the try?

Jipaban - a seller's nightmare

2010-08-05T23:06:00.003+08:00

I like to see new local websites starting up and one of the newest is Jipaban.com, an online mall which allows sellers to open shops to their registered members.

Firstly, I have to admit that the website is tastefully-done and I'm sure the person behind this website is a good and experienced website maker.

What is wrong with this concept is that their target market is blogshop owners who mainly sell clothings. Now, we all know that blogshops usually get their supplies from a few only suppliers: some blogshops are selling the same products with just different pricings.

When an existing blogshop decides to sell at Jipaban and brings their existing clients to Jipaban, they will see other merchants/competitors. Definitely not good for business as the customers can buy from other sellers instead from them. There is no point for existing blogshops to promote their Jipaban store.

Now, Jipaban is actually relying on established blogshops to open up there so that they bring their customers to them. This is not happenning as established shops do not want to get their customers stolen (unless of course, the owner is not business-savy)

Are there really non-clothing store out there who'd like to open up at Jipaban? Unlikely as they may have already good websites that are well-customized for their customers.

I predict Jipaban won't last although I saw in a Straits Times article that the owner is aiming for a million dollar profit.

OpenTrolley Bookstore - Singapore's best online bookstore

2010-05-19T12:54:00.005+08:00

OpenTrolley Bookstore, established in 2008, is Singapore's leading online bookstore with more than 1 million English books in store. The bookseller has many popular and newly released titles of numerous genres especially fiction books, children books, novels, business books and cookbooks.

Besides a vast collection of books, prices at this online bookstore is also very competitive and claimed to be lower than local stores. You can expect an average 20% discount or even more on fiction and non-fiction books.

Delivery in only applicable to Singapore and is usually within 4-7 days. You can also save delivery cost by picking up your books at Plaza Singapura.

Check out OpenTrolley Bookstore at http://opentrolley.com.sg.

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Local Singapore Online Bookstore Delivers 1.5 million discounted books in 4 days

2010-05-02T12:33:00.000+08:00

More than 1.5 million English books delivered between 4-7 days. You can save delivery cost by collecting the books at Plaza Singapura.

http://opentrolley.com.sg

Local Singapore version of Amazon (books only)

2009-12-19T19:23:00.003+08:00

Not many people know this amazing local bookstores that although do not sell as many books as Amazon, still have more than 1.5 million English books in stock.

Prices are lower than Kinokuniya and delivers in 4-7 days. Check out OpenTrolley Bookstore at http://opentrolley.com.sg

DBS-OpenTrolley Bookstore Christmas Promo 2009

2009-11-19T23:36:00.001+08:00

DBS Bank - OpenTrolley Bookstore Christmas Promotion 2009

DBS/POSB Visa and Mastercard cardholders enjoy 10% discount off more than 1.5 million in stock books. Valid for all in-stock books from now until 31 Dec 2009.

Visit OpenTrolley Bookstore, Singapore's largest online bookstore at

http://opentrolley.com.sg

October 2009 Book Sale!

2009-10-15T10:29:00.001+08:00

7% off storewide. More than 1 million English, new and bestselling titles available at OpenTrolley Bookstore

http://opentrolley.com.sg

Use coupon code OCTO09 when checkout

7% storewide all discounted books

2009-09-22T18:13:00.001+08:00

Checkout and insert discount code SEPT09

Valid until 30 Sept 09 at OpenTrolley Bookstore, Singapore's largest online bookstore with more than 1 million books delivered within 4-7 days.

http://opentrolley.com.sg

Local Singapore Online Bookstore Delivers 1.5 million discounted books in 4 days

2009-09-19T14:49:00.001+08:00

Check out OpenTrolley Bookstore.

More than 1.5 million English books delivered between 4-7 days. You can save delivery cost by collecting the books at Plaza Singapura.

http://opentrolley.com.sg

:)

Top 5 Bookstores in Singapore

2009-07-02T18:05:00.004+08:00

1. Kinokuniya
With 3 branches and claims to stock around 500,000 books in store, Kinokuniya is a favorite destinations for book lovers in Singapore, as well as regional tourists. Many blogs I read described Malaysians and Indonesians traveling to Singapore in order to buy books from Kino! The price is quite reasonable and the staff are friendly. Location-wise, it can't be better at Singapore's top shopping mall: Ngee Ann City. Kinokuniya also stocks Japanese books and magazines, French and German books.

2. Borders
American-style Borders bookstore is also prominently located in Orchard area and highly-visible from street level. Located at Wheelock Place, the books are priced higher than Kino or other bookstores but have nice ambience and we love the fact that their magazines can be browsed. Most recently the bookstore was bought over by an Australian company and had also expanded to include a new outlet at Parkway Parade. It is noteworthy that their outlet at Wheelock Place is also Singapore's largest bookstore outlet.

3. Harris
This is Popular bookstore's effort in order to tap into more popular imported books segment. The old Popular are known for its wide selection of stationery, assessment books and little stock of imported titles. So they created Harris in order to expand their operation but so far it has not been successful as the outlet at Suntec is closing down and there are many clearance sale periodically. What I like about Harris is that the book titles are handpicked so that only those popular and relevant books are displayed in store.

4. OpenTrolley Bookstore
A full-time online bookstore, OpenTrolley Bookstore boasts more than 1.5 million English books delivered to any Singapore address within 4-7 days. Books are neatly packed and received in excellent condition and the website has since improved since it was launched. A great place to source hard-to-find books and to enjoy great book discounts. Most of their books are priced 15-30% off Kinokuniya and they allow self-collection at Toy Outpost, Plaza Singapura if customers want to save on delivery fee. Visit http://opentrolley.com.sg

5. SANS Bookshop
While the range of books is limited, SANS bookshop offers books at cheaper price and also enable customers to re-sell their books if they do not wish to keep the books. SANS Bookstore has many brances islandwide.

Online Bookstores Singapore

2009-04-28T16:29:00.001+08:00

Find the best book deals online. In this blog post, I review several reputable online bookstores that are based or ship to Singapore. This list will be periodically updated.

Books Kinokuniya (http://www.kinokuniya.com.sg)
One of Singapore’s largest bookstores (the other one being Borders) sells its entire inventory online at normal price. Meaning that you cannot find any bargain here, however you can still do some price checkings here before you come down to its store and make purchase.

Amazon (http://www.amazon.com)
World’s largest book retailer recently offered low-cost international shipping at only US$5 per order plus US$5 per book. However this low-cost option delivers books in 18-32 working days. That’s up to 6 months. Alternatively, you can use forwarders such as Vpost to reduce shipping time and cost. Book prices are competitive (if shipping cost is not considered) and the range of books is unbelievably comprehensive.

OpenTrolley (http://opentrolley.com.sg)
Claimed to be Singapore’s largest online bookstore, OpenTrolley sells more than 1 million books at big discount everyday. No membership required. You can find many good bargains here except that textbooks’ prices are higher than local versions.

Berkshire Business Books (http://www.berkshire.sg)
This online business bookstore operates solely online in Singapore. There are many good bargains for business books and I personally like the idea of self-collecting books at some of its partner retailers islandwide.

Select Books (http://www.selectbooks.com.sg)
The only online bookstore (and perhaps physical bookstore) that sells all books related to South East Asia. Cannot really decide how cheap the books are since there are no other online bookstores selling the same products.

Atcross (http://www.atcross.com.sg)
Atcross sells Christian books and music, and recently sells baby products too. Prices are normal but they offer free shipping to Singapore.

Wellsprings (http://www.wellsprings.com.sg)
Asia’s largest online catholic bookstore has 13,000 catholic books on offer.

Self-collect option is back at OpenTrolley

2009-02-21T15:34:00.001+08:00

OpenTrolley re-introduces the self-collect option. Essentially it means that you need to pay only $0.80 to collect your books at Plaza Singapura. Save some $4 in delivery cost.

Visit http://opentrolley.com.sg. Go to Delivery Info page.

Read magazines for free via Google Books

2008-12-18T17:13:00.002+08:00

This is a new feature by Google Books. You can read past issues of popular magazines for free. Of course, the current and recent editions are not available. For Popular Mechanics, issues are until 2005 only, but good enough for browsing:)

Google Books here

Singapore largest online bookstore

2008-10-28T22:26:00.001+08:00

New design introduced recently. Easy to browse than previously.

Visit OpenTrolley Bookstore

Online Bookstores Reviewed: Find Best Book Deals in Singapore

2008-06-22T10:43:00.003+08:00

Comgateway sucks. Lost my item yet again!

2008-05-12T18:32:00.002+08:00

Guys please do not use comgateway. They really have poor service.

Let me start with the first of their blunders. I ordered books from Amazon and it weighs about 1 kg in total. Afterall Amazon states each book's weight in their website. There are two books and Amazon seems to have not supported the enviromentalist movement by sending each book separately. I declared the item via CGW website.

About 1-2 weeks later the website showed that the books have arrived. But the deliveryman only sent me one book. Where's the other one? Was told that it will reach me on that week. And it did not. It only arrived after complaining to the live help officer who is never helpful. I spent like in total 1 hour with the officer without finding any solution. The second book arrived 2.5 weeks later and I was surprised when the next day I received a bill in my email showing $90 delivery cost for the 2 books.

Have already lodged refund appeal to CGW but after 2 weeks I still have not received any cent.

Decided to shop again thinking that it is an exceptional case. This time I have not received my item after 2 weeks (after the goods arrived at CGW USA). And the officer cannot locate my goods. Great!

Again, got another shipment for a friend of mine. Got 3 packages in a shipment. One has not arrived although the tracking no says it did.

Guys, please beware of CGW. They have poor service.

Let's start a blogger's union

2008-04-24T16:40:00.001+08:00

A blogger's union anyone?

I think it makes more sense if a bloggers union is formed.

It doesnt take much effort really to start one. Do we need an office? Not really. There are many bloggers and we can all easily divide simple tasks.

Marketing. What does Nuffnang do to attract advertisers? Spend 30k for one-day ad in STRAITS TIMES? NO!!! These days advertisers will come naturally to blogs because blogs have been proved to be a powerful media. Look at the Malaysian election! I dont think you need to do so much to get advertisers. What you need is a fax machine and blast to the ad agencies or potential advertisers like SingTel.

30% small? How do u know it's 30% in the first place? You think Nuffnang will disclose its exact figure? No way! They know that if they state so hig a figure, they'll risk their business and open a possibility of a blogger union. So I think, 30% is just BULLCRAP! It can be higher for all we know.

A blogger's union is more powerful than Nuffnang because we have a better sense of belonging and we are all friends who do not want to risk our shared credibility. We want to ensure ads are placed visibly and in return, we dont share 30-70% commissions to Nuffnang or others agency.
Not convinced? OK look. How much does it take to build a click-recording application plus websites etc? Less than $2000 to be honest with you.

Publicity? No problem. If bloggers unite newspapers will want to have a piece of the news. Talk about zero marketing dollars.

How much do Nuffnang get? And how much will the union gets? Companies like HP, Singtel, etc can spend 40k for one-day ad on ST. You think 30-50% is small so you can live with it? NOOO! It's not. If one year revenue is 5million, the union can get like 2 million. Thats why nuffnang can organize movie screening etc. There is money to be made.

Come on guys! Let's start a union.

Implement this on ping.sg to prevent ponging friends' entries

2008-04-23T18:55:00.001+08:00

To ping.sg,

Please do not reveal who post the entries. This will prevent users from knowing who post it (but admin will know so that they can catch spammers etc).

This will also ensure that only readable materials get read. Something trivial like dinner will ever reach the top 10.

Just my 2 cents

YouSwop is going to fail!

2008-04-15T09:24:00.001+08:00

I like new website ideas. But the idea behind YouSwop is certainly not new.

Those old enough to had used the internet back in 2000 when surfingbananas and interauct were still kings of Singapore online auctions might have realized that this concept was already there in around 2001 in the form of JuzSwap. The website failed of course, because it is difficult to match wants and haves. Most importantly, the society has always preferred to use money as a mode of exchange because it allows easier transactions and matching of haves and wants.

Patronising YouSwop is like going back against time and sooner or later the users (like our ancestors) realize that the correct way to do exchange is to involve money and not merely bartering one good for another.

The concept of ensuring credibilities of users is great because it allows user to transact safely. But this do not address the most important fact that matching is difficult. Once users realize that it is difficult to find what they want (cloth sizes, etc) they leave the website. And no one visits an empty website. The spiral continues and everybody leaves.

Hitchoo

2008-04-03T10:18:00.002+08:00

Hitchoo is the date-matching service. This is how it works. You like a girl and you don't dare to say Hi. So you sneak a Hitchoo card into her bag or something. She will then check the card and log into Hitchoo site to see the stalker's profile.

Sounds innovative? Yes, but innovative does not always mean successful. And indeed this concept is not working. Hitchoo has already renewed its concept and now it offers event organizing service. Pretty good I think, although more marketing has to be done. The fact that the owner quit his high-flying job and spent so much to promote the initial concept makes me think that the business is actually cash-strapped.

A quick check into the event bidding system shows that there are only about 10 events in the next 30days in Singapore. No events is posted for Malaysia and other regional countries. It's Hitchoo's expansion plan I guess, but I don't think it's a good idea to show your weakness, that is low participation rate. If I were the owner, I would focus my marketing dollar on Singapore market. Showing Malaysia in the website is also bad when the section is empty. People like to participate in a website where participation rate is high.

The aftermatch of the business remains to be seen. But for me, finding a date will not be via Hitchoo.

Streetdirectory.com is down!

2008-04-03T10:01:00.003+08:00

Remember the court ruling that Streetdirectory infringed Singapore Land Authority's (SLA) intellectual property by claiming that the maps in its website are theirs?

Streetdirectory intends to appeal of course, but since several days ago the website is down. Yup, when I need it most. Luckily got the new Mighty Minds bus guide, which is very good in my opinion in locating bus stops and their respectives buses.

My personal opinion about streetdirectory is never so good. They monolopized the online map business in Singapore and as you may have read, sued many companies for publishing their maps without permissions. The out-of- court settlements back then was quite high, in the region of tens of thousands I guess.

And they are making loads of money as well. I have checked their website for advertising rates. They charged like US$30 per one thousand impressions (CPM, M is not million btw). Can you imagine how many users actually view streetdirectory pages daily? Hundreds of thousands you might say. This translates into tens of thousands of revenues each day. All by doing practically nothing. Just hiring some IT staff to maintain the servers and probably some marketing and Search Engine Optimization.

Many online map providers have tried entering the market but failed miserably. Check out www.can.com.sg. It is dying. I'm not aware of any other map providers. Probably only yellowpages, which is not heavily publicized.

So now when streetdirectory got sued, I think they deserved it. They're making so much money by not paying the government the licence to publish the maps. It's like a turnkey website. Money is flowing freely without much cost.

How to deal with the absence of streetdirectory? No problem. Go to www.map.gov.sg. Not as good as streetdirectory, but I believe sooner or later streetdirectory will pay the goverment some fines and but the licence and everything goes back to normal. Only this time, the previously lucky owner will earn less.

10 Totally Stupid Online Business Ideas That Made Someone Rich

2008-02-13T01:48:00.000+08:00

How to get rich the smart way? Read what some creative people did:

1. Million Dollar Homepage

1000000 pixels, charge a dollar per pixel – that’s perhaps the dumbest idea for online business anyone could have possible come up with. Still, Alex Tew, a 21-year-old who came up with the idea, is now a millionaire.

2. SantaMail

Ok, how’s that for a brilliant idea. Get a postal address at North Pole, Alaska, pretend you are Santa Claus and charge parents 10 bucks for every letter you send to their kids? Well, Byron Reese sent over 200000 letters since the start of the business in 2001, which makes him a couple million dollars richer.

3. Doggles

Create goggles for dogs and sell them online? Boy, this IS the dumbest idea for a business. How in the world did they manage to become millionaires and have shops all over the world with that one? Beyond me.

4. LaserMonks

LaserMonks.com is a for-profit subsidiary of the Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Spring Bank, an eight-monk monastery in the hills of Monroe County, 90 miles northwest of Madison. Yeah, real monks refilling your cartridges. Hallelujah! Their 2005 sales were $2.5 million! Praise the Lord.

5. AntennaBalls

You can’t sell antenna ball online. There is no way. And surely it wouldn’t make you rich. But this is exactly what Jason Wall did, and now he is now a millionaire.

6. FitDeck

Create a deck of cards featuring exercise routines, and sell it online for $18.95. Sounds like a disaster idea to me. But former Navy SEAL and fitness instructor Phil Black reported last year sales of $4.7 million. Surely beats what military pays.

7. PositivesDating.Com

How would you like to go on a date with an HIV positive person? Paul Graves and Brandon Koechlin thought that someone would, so they created a dating site for HIV positive folks last year. Projected 2006 sales are $110,000, and the two hope to have 50,000 members by their two-year mark.

8. Designer Diaper Bags

Christie Rein was tired of carrying diapers around in a freezer bag. The 34-year-old mother of three found herself constantly stuffing diapers for her infant son into freezer bags to keep them from getting scrunched up in her purse. Rein wanted something that was compact, sleek and stylish, so in November 2004, she sat down with her husband, Marcus, who helped her design a custom diaper bag that's big enough to hold a travel pack of wipes and two to four diapers. With more than $180,000 in sales for 2005, Christie's company, Diapees & Wipees, has bags in 22 different styles, available online and in 120 boutiques across the globe for $14.99.

9. PickyDomains

Hire another person to think of a cool domain name for you? No way people would pay for this. Actually, naming domain names for others turned out a thriving business, especially, when you make the entire process risk free. PickyDomains currently has a waiting list of people who want to PAY the service to come up with a snappy memorable domain name. PickyDomains is expected to hit six figures this year.

10. Lucky Wishbone Co.

Fake wishbones. Now, this stupid idea is just destined to flop. Who in the world needs FAKE PLASTIC wishbones? A lot of people, it turns out. Now producing 30,000 wishbones daily (they retail for 3 bucks a pop) Ken Ahroni, the company founder, expects 2006 sales to reach $1 million.

Scamming Nigerian Scammers - VERY FUNNY

2008-02-10T12:47:00.000+08:00

Here for you who likes to read! This guy nicknamed Shiver Metimbers scammed many scammers via emails.

http://www.419eater.com

God may not be speaking through you pastors!

2008-02-09T16:28:00.000+08:00

In this blog entry I am going to argue that God may not be speaking through your pastors by using simple logic and some valid assumptions.

I have previously written this article last year. Now, after sharting this blog, I feel that I should share this to everybody. I hope that I don't offend anyone. I myself is a Christian and I have nothing against my religion or the Church.

First Assumption: God is rational

I am going to use this main assumption and the implication of the rationality of God is that He will act in the same manner when He is in the same situations. A irrational act in human context will be: you tell James that you dislike Janet. Then when you meet him again 5 minutes you tell James that you like her (under same condition, meaning that Janet did not do anything to you or you didn't hear a new information about Janet that makes you like her).

Had you been in different situations, you may act differently. For example if Janet suddenly sent you flowers, you would probably tell James that you like Janet now. This is rational. Although you act differently with regard to your opinion on Janet, but the situations are different. Had you been in the same situation and you act differently, then you are being irrational.

Now, you know that there are a lot of preachers claiming that what they are saying comes from God. But you also know there are many Christian denominations with different ideologies. This means that pastors from different denominations are preaching differently! For example, charismatic churches such as City Harvest would practice speaking-in-toungue while Presbyterian churches regard it as false. There are others disagreements that every denominations will choose not to argue about. But that's ok.

What is important here is that: if God is rational, he will not speak differently to different churches. The situation here is the same. God is speaking to His people. Sure, different churches are located differently. But I think it makes no sense if God is saying that we must speak in tongue in one church and saying that we should not in another. And the two churches can be metres apart. Or, God says one thing to your mother and another to your father. Just because they both attend different churches.

You now know that there are some pastors that are not voicing God's words. Because if everyone is being used by God, then there are no denominations and all church practises will be universal.

Second Assumption: Pastors use the same techniques in 'extracting' God's voice

In theology classes, pastors might be thought how to pray and how to prepare their sermons. Most of the times they claim that they are passing God's words to the congregration. Or they implicitly say that 'God please use your humble pastor to tell them what You want to say'. These are gimmicks. All thought in schools. Assuming that pastors use the same techniques taught to them in theology schools to get God's voice, then we can safely say that the technique is not fool-proof.

After all if the technique is fool-proof, then all pastors will be preaching the same ideology (means no denomination exists). Now if the technique is flawless, should pastors say that their words come from God? Yes if they are referring completely to the Bible. But most of the times pastors 'infer' that this is what God wants etc. And different pastors might infer differently. Some pastors like to use the Hebrew version of the Bible but some like the NIV version. A pastor can use the Hebrew version this Sunday but use NIV version the week after because they want to support their claim.

I believe that the presence of flawed technique warrants pastor to declare before preaching that 'what they preach might not come from God and you all should re-check with the Bible or God'.

If there are different techniques in the market, then we can say that some techniques are flawed but another is perfect. This is more complicated and I don't want to argue it. My understanding is that most pastors will pray to know what God wants to speak through them.

Conclusion

God may not be speaking through your pastors. Pastors should declare that 'God may not be speaking through them' before preaching.

There will be some follow-ups regarding that such declarations will undermine pastors' authority.

Nuffnang and Advertlets

2008-02-08T13:23:00.000+08:00

The two blog advertising companies have caused a stir in the blogging world. They both provides an avenue for blog owners to monetize their blogs.

Difficulty in establishing advertising companies

Establishing an advertising companies such as Nuffnang and Advertlets is difficult because you have to get a lot of bloggers to make your company attractive to advertisers. And then you have to convince bloggers to place your advertisements by promising some monetary rewards.

It is relatively easier to convince the bloggers because they don't stand to lose anything. The most is that they have to sacrifice some blog space for the advertisement, which most of the time looks good.

However it is more difficult to get the advertisers. If I were a potential advertisers, I would want to spend my money carefully. I would worry about the payment system, whether is it Cost Per Click (CPC) or Cost Per Thousand Impression (CPM). Unlike advertising in established website, bloggers are deemed less trustworthy because they have more incentive to click the ads themselves or keep refreshing the page with ads. Established companies are less likely to do so because if it is revealed that they do such practice, then other advertisers will shun their websites. And this means a huge loss in revenues.

Most ordinary bloggers will also lose potential revenues if they conduct illegal clickings or refreshings but the most they stand to lose is a couple of bucks per month. The cost of operating their website is 0. So unlike established websites, they have less to lose and is more inclined to do illegal clickings.

Getting advertisers in the case of Nuffnang and Advertlets is difficult for sure. There are other alternative advertising avenues such as print media or direct marketing. Blogs reach to the youths, but you can also advertise in MRTs like what ITE did at Somerset MRT. Or the Army in teens magazine. Why risk your dollars in blog advertising where you know that you wouldn't get the most out of your money?

This explains why Nuffnang do not have many advertisers these days. And blog2u only displays their partners' ads all the time.

How to succeed in this business

Google definitely succeeds in internet advertising. In fact it is its main source of revenue, by placing ads in search results page and in other websites that place Google Adsense (very much like Nuffnang and Advertlets scripts but not limited to blogs). What distinguish Google is that it is an established company, unlike Nuffnang which is started by a couple of teenagers. It also has a fraud-detection system which will know if the site owners are clicking their own ads. Although not fool-proof, it is can convince most advertisers to use Google's service.

Nuffnang and Advertlets should also be more professional in running the business. I feel that the movie gathering for blog owners is a no-no. It somehow puts an idea that bloggers might be clicking each others' ads and I am more scared in advertising in them.

Nuffnang also childishly cut bloggers' pay because their blogs were down for a couple of days due to Advertlets' script. Yes, they have a right to do so. And they might lose thousand of dollars from the loss of impressions. But nobody likes to get a cut. It just sounds like bloggers are the employees and Nuffnang is the boss. You wouldn't do that if you want a good customer relationship.

The exclusive club is also a disaster. Even Google do not dare to implement such club. It only brings in more intense competition! Sometimes in a business you have to implicitly 'co-operate' with your rivals. Like in the case of petrol stations charging almost the same price. In my opinion Nuffnang is very inexperienced when they implement the club. They might lose a big chuck of their advertisers.

More competition will also stress both the companies' owners. Not exactly what you want to do when you own a small company. If you have a big company, as an owner you can let your employees worry about the profits. But in a small partnership you get to worry about everything. And your income might be tied to the company's profit. So you worry more when you decided to wage war with your rivals. They sure will retaliate!

For bloggers

I found out that you don't earn much from these advertising companies. At most you get $5 per month. You may also get nothing.

Still, there is no cost in putting their ads. The benefits is always equal or greater than the cost of putting the ads. So in economic theory, you should do so.

Some of the bloggers have complained that bloggers are funding extravagant lifestyle of Nuffnang owners. Some alleged that Nuffnang bought expensive Apple computers for their employees. Will you want to share your blogs to make someone else's rich? I think it is quite irrelevant because it does not affect you personally. However, some people do and they quit putting ads. For me, I would be indifferent but will not use the excuse of making some brats rich if I don't put ads in my website. It's more like I don't want to clutter my blog with small icons. I want my readers to focus on my writings instead.

New players

Such blog advertising companies are easy to set up. Blog2u was founded a few months back and I can foresee many will come. Bloggers can put as many ads as possible and there is little barrier-to-entry for new companies. Probably this is why Nuffnang introduce its Gliteratti club. It is to deter new companies which might steal its advertisers.

tatarah.com.sg

2008-02-08T13:04:00.000+08:00

Some of you might have heard of tatarah in Singapore, where lowest unique bid wins an auction. I have previously encountered this type of auction before: selling properties in Europe. It was quite tempting at that time because you can win a house for a couple of bucks. But I decided not to bid because the website didn't look legitimate and I am worried that my credit card details would be stolen. Wait! At that time I was still in secondary school. So I guess I didn't have any credit card at all.

The ideas is ingenious. You bid low, but nobody must bid the same as you. Truth is, winning in this type of auction is based on luck. And I would equal bidding the auction as betting. Why? Because when you place a bid, you are required to pay processing fee ranging from $1 to $200 (depending on what items you are bidding on, the more expensive the item the higher the fee). So if you happened not to win the auction, then you forfeit the processing fee. Sounds like gambling isn't it? And I wonder why the government doesn't regulate the business.

A success or a failure

Recently tatarah changed its bidding system and instead of lowest unique bid wins, single highest bid wins. This indicates that lowest unique bid might not be as profitable as the owners thought. When the number of bidders is small, the website makes little money or maybe a loss when an auction is closed. This is because the total processing fees earned in an auction do not cover the item cost. And considering the million-dollars marketing campaign the website did months back, they certainly have to move to highest unique bid.

Many users then complain that the highest unique bid system is not as interesting as the lowest one. And I personally agree. Highest unique bid is quite similiar to buying from normal auction like ebay, but in this case buyers have to pay the processing fee. Doesn't look very tempting, does it? Still, some people can get bargains when there are little bidders.

Whether tatarah becomes a success is difficult to tell. There will be people frustrated spending $30 bidding in 5 auctions only not to win any. There are also people who continually bid because they know there will be other frustrated people who simply cease participating in tatarah and hence, the lesser bidders mean the higher the chance of getting products at bargain price.

Conclusion

Personally I would stay away from tatarah because you are risking your money when you bid. The most recent auction I saw was the 'Mount Faber Valentine Dining' worth $316 but the maximum allowed bid is $50. The last received bid is $48.48. You can potentially get about $270 discount. But you may potentially don't. So it's more like gambling.

be or not to be an entrepreneur

2008-02-08T01:17:00.000+08:00

There are a lot of stories portraying how someone who started a certain business gets a handsome amount of income every month. Or maybe, a lot of profit money out of his business.

But that is just sweet talk. The fact is, there are many people who started a company and failed. And sometimes they go bankrupt!

It is a big decision one has to make when he wants to start a business. Sure, the reward can be greater than your current salary and you can be your own boss. But as in any capitalist state, greater rewards will incur greater risk.

Starting a new type of business

When you start a business that is currently not yet invented, the risk is very high. This is because you cannot copy existing companies' operations and the way they do their business. You are also unsure of your business profitability. Imagine if you are opening a cybercafe. You know there are a lot of cybercafes around, so you can easily infer that they are making profits (provided they have been in business for more than a year). You can also copy their operations, such as the number of computers to provide and the operating hours.

But when you start an altogether new type of business, you are not sure if you are going to make a profit. You can definitely do some market research, but this will be an additional cost and the research may not always be accurate. You may also have to introduce your products or services to the public which then requires a load of advertising money.

It is not easy. But then if you succeed, the return is potentially higher than if you start a non-new type of business. At least in the short-run. This is because for a short period of time, you are the only provider of this new product or service. And therefore if the product sells well, you will earn a lot of money because of the monopoly. Once there are other businessmen realized that your business is profitable, they will then try to copy your business, and your supernormal profit will be eroded.

Downsides

Yes, you can earn a lot of money by starting your own business. But if you are living in a developed countries, being an entrepreneur might not be so rewarding.

Firstly, although you have invented a popular product, your profit will be eroded once there are new players selling your product. You will then start scratching your head and look for ways to deter the competition. More money will be required in advertising your brand and this will ultimately reduce your bottom line. See, you will also be stressed and this is also a cost.

In developed countries, information is widely available. You can easily search for suppliers and sometimes the tax returns of a certain company. It is relatively easy for anyone to copy another business, especially if the start-up cost is not high. Even when start-up cost is high, if the business is profitable then richer businessmen will copy it.

Now, you are stressed with competition and your income is reduced. What's worse is that your company is incapable of handling the competition and goes bust. Yes, the risk in starting a business does not end once you have gained a good profit. Newcomers are also a threat to your business and it will last forever.

You may remember how Nintendo and SEGA once dominated the video games market in the early 90's. Even the owner of Nintendo was once one of the richest men in the world. But by the mid-90's and beyond, their sovereignty was compromised by Sony which introduced the Playstation. The mentioned owner of Nintendo suddenly slips in the billionaire's ranking due to the decrease in Nintendo's profitability. Now, Nintendo's rising with the Wii and this will also be part of your day-to-day life. You have to compete with others. Sometimes you lose some but sometimes you win some.

The story of Nintendo is a good one. There are however, other companies that fall back and never recovered. So the question is: Is it worth it? If you just stay in your current job, you can probably save yourself from the intense pressure inherent in any business owner. You can then retire peacefully when you reach 55.

Why some entrepreneurs remain rich

I have read in my marketing business that most businesses will not last beyond 8 years or so. Some business do because they have a high barrier-to-entry. For example: to start a petrol company you have to invest billions of dollars. To sell your new Operating System, you have to spend a lot of money in persuading computer users to dump their Windows system. And to compete with a popular chicken rice stall, you have to get their recipes, which may not be sold.

Most entrepreneurs will also sustain their high income by venturing to other businesses or to collude with their competitors. This is not ethical but can happen. Recently, pest companies colluded in tenders which results in consumers paying higher -than-normal price.

Conclusion

It is your choice to start a business. But you should consider if it is worth your time, money and lifestyle. I have personally started one and I can tell you that the first few months are very stressful. I now consider of studying hard in the university so that I can get a have career.