Will Western World eBusinesses Be Able To Compete In China?
Just read somewhere (I've now lost it) that 17% of Internet users are now Chinese.
Is there value in USA, UK, Australia, etc e-commerce sites translating their sites to Chinese? Would they be able to compete with Chinese sites in China, how about the censorship angle or the pricing and shipping differences?
Not sure.
But it's such a massive market that I'm sure the world's big online players will be taking a closer look at China.
But methinks the PayPal complainers aren't laughing so much now with one of eBay's biggest Australia sellers - eBusiness Supplies - appearing to have skipped the country with close on $1.3 million and a ton of people waiting for goods that almost certainly won't show. Bummer.
eBay's not liable of course for the seller - but hundreds are complaining on forums that eBay should have closed the seller down after they received lots of complaints.
A Big Suck Up Job
It's basically a big suck up job by PayPal (and eBay the owner of PayPal) to say to everyone "You should be using PayPal or you'll get ripped off with no recourse available."
I reckon the number of PayPal users here on eBay Australia are about to go through the roof. Not bad marketing by eBay/PayPal for some nice long term gain and great PR.
They must be having a giggle now and saying "I told you so" to all those people who complained about their efforts to make PayPal the only payment method available.
Those people who paid via EFT, cheque, cash or whatever have as much chance of getting their money back as I have of winning Miss Australia.
But let's cross our fingers anyway......not for me winning Miss Australia, for the people who haven't received the stuff they handed their hard-earned over for!
What The Hell is The Protection Anyway?
I was just interviewed for the 6 pm ABC news here in Australia and the spokesman for PayPal in Australia (Andrew Pippolo) said that PayPal wasn't liable for any of the losses made by people paying with PayPal.
So I'm not sure what their protection is they so vigorously promote - if it doesn't protect you from non-delivery of goods like in this case what the hell is it good for Andrew? No really....please explain it to me. I'm all ears.
Top Tips To Avoid Getting Ripped Off On eBay
Check out the feedback on the seller. If you're nervous, don't buy.
"Forgoing sleep is like borrowing from a loan shark. Sure you get that extra hours right now to cover for your overly-optimistic estimation, but at what price?
The shark will be back and if you can’t pay, he’ll break your creativity, morale, and good-mannered nature as virtue twigs."
He's right - over the years I've pulled many all-nighters.
What happens is you get in an extra 8 hours of poor work and then you're shot for the next 2 days.
Controlling The Message - & The World's Most Obnoxious Barman
A while back I mentioned the cheesiest corporate video ever with the corniest line even sung: "We'll live out our core values..."
Bank of America is having a bit of strife online at the minute after well known blogger Chris Hooley had his bank account cleaned out of $40,000 by a drugged out identity thief.
I haven't seen any Bank of America responses to the backlash they're experiencing now and I think that's a bit of an error.
When your brand gets attacked online you need to respond and try and contain the message somewhat.
Bad Steak & Bad Service At Byron Bay
On the weekend I went away to one of Australia's holiday towns on the East Coast - Byron Bay.
We stayed at a nice motel and enjoyed the nightlife. We had burnt steak and the most obnoxious barmen ever at Hog's Breath Cafe who came out with the brilliant line when throwing one of our party out:
"I make 1 phone call and you wont get a drink or a meal in this town!"
Whoa Sheriff - they used to run 'em out town in the old days, pop the gun back in the holster and settle down!
These days the poor customer service or obnoxious behaviour of this angry little barman can come back to bite you on the a$ pretty quickly. Simple things like mentioning the terrible steak and poor service at the Hog's Breath Cafe at Byron Bay can be enough to influence 1 or 2 or 20 people if they are doing searches for Byron Bay reviews.
Control the message as much as you can and monitor your online reputation on an ongoing basis.
Running A Business Without Any Idea Of Consumer Law
Here's an interesting one.
I've just ordered a product online and in the receipt email saw this:
"Dellivery Fee Disclaimer:
If the calculation of the delivery fee is insufficient to cover the actual delivery charges that would be charged then we will notify you that you can either pay the additional amount to cover the correct delivery fee or cancel your order.
We apologise if this occurs but our programmers don`t always get it right for everyone."
Neither do their proof readers!
Don't You Just Love It?
1. They have no idea of business law - we entered into a contract once I accepted and paid their price which included delivery charges to the place I was sending the product to.
They can't actually change the rules once they accepted payment.
2. Then they blame their programmer for being stupid!
Yahoo! continues to demonstrate their stupidity by letting the Overture Suggestion Tool die off.
With this tool you could get a look at the search volumes for a keyword you wanted to target.
Let's say you thought "green pants" would get a lot of searches, you'd put that into the Overture Suggestion Tool and it would tell you roughly how many searches were done on the term each month.
Died A Slow Death
Anyway, Yahoo! let this tool lapse and it died a slow death.
About 2.4 seconds after Yahoo! announced it was pulling the tool Google announced they'd now be showing search volumes with their Google AdWords Keyword Tool.
This is a great help for web developers in building their online marketing strategies. And more bad news for Yahoo!
Starting at 7 am on Saturday I was 1/2 of the Support Crew for my son Harry's Kokoda Challenge walk team - the team consisted of 4 14yo lads and their teacher (Mr Hogan whom I blogged about below).
Jason, Harry, Brandon - still with 30 kms to walk
The 96 km walk was to be completed in less than 39 hours. Harry's team didn't sleep (like the majority of teams) and completed it in just under 30 hours.
They trekked all day and all night and a good chunk of the next day.
They trekked whilst exhausted, cold, hungry and injured.
Over the years I've completed Ironman Triathlons, ran marathons, competed in marathon swimming races, cycled 1,000 kms in 7 days......the list goes on. I've done a fair bit.
Nothing As Hard As This Trek
But nothing I've ever done - Ironman Triathlon included - even comes close to the trek that these guys did. To think the boys are just 14 is amazing.
When the team finished at 12:36 pm on the Sunday afternoon I was exhausted.....and I hadn't even walked!
Jo here in the office also completed the walk and is feeling a little tired and sore this morning - she has a much shorter walk in 2 weeks that she's been preparing for over a year now.
Jo's Kokoda Team
A ton of effort has gone into her preparation. Instead of walking boots and trousers, she'll be wearing a white dress and snazzy shoes.
I think she's looking forward to that little walk up the aisle more than the 96 km walk she just did.
Some people can have a very profound influence on others.
One of my son's teacher is a guy called Glen Hogan.
Mr Hogan is a young teacher who asked my great son Harry and 3 of his mates if they'd like to have a go at doing the Kokoda Challenge - a 96 km trek through the hilly Gold Coast hinterland.
They're walking it tomorrow.
It's a fundraising walk and gives the teams a taste of the efforts of the Australian soldiers on the legendary Kokoda Trail.
My son Harry is 14. His idea of a big physical challenge was to have a game of soccer.
But Mr Hogan is obviously a guy he respects, a guy he admires and a guy who has inspired him tremendously.
Mr Hogan's preparation for the trek was enough for Harry to understand he was in for a hard, tough challenge.
Trained Relentlessly For the past 6 months Harry has trained relentlessly to prepare for this bush walk.
A 28 km run he did just to see how far he could go.
A 100 km bike ride with Jack and I,
Run the Gold Coast Half Marathon (that's him and his mum at the finish).
Harry's a lot more confident in himself, he has a ton more initiative and he has a lot more self-awareness.
This is so much more than a walk - Mr Hogan has taught the lads about:
teamwork,
respect for each other,
caring for each other,
sacrifice,
goal setting,
self-discipline and so much more.
He's one of those lucky kids who has found the inspiration to push himself hard and had the discipline and courage to understand that you need to persevere and push on.
And all that's due to Mr Hogan. He's taught Harry and the other lads skills and tools that can enrich their lives forever. Terrific stuff. The Team Name....
I must admit I was thrilled to hear the team name:
Chris from Chisel Fitness has been training Jack and I for our across Australia ride for 8-9 months now.
Chris himself is embarking on a journey - he wants to compete in next year's Australian Ironman Triathlon.
Hmmmmmmmm.
I'm not sure whether he wants to be known as a Man of Iron...or Tin Man??
You see, I just don't know if he's up to it.
Doing an Ironman is about commitment, dedication and resilience.
Pushing yourself to the limit and then just keep going.
Chris seems to sook about at every opportunity.....and conveniently not mention the full facts of his training hwne those facts don't make him look good ;o)
As Mike reports, one blogger, Sarah Austin, emailed Playboy and said: "My parents found out about this feature on playboy and are not happy about it. I’d like you to remove me from the contest."
Mmmmm Sarah. I think it's a little late for that don't you?
Think Strategy Stupid!
Every businessperson has to be aware of the strategic nature of the decisions they make.
For example, every single word I write on this blog has the ability to benefit my positioning in the marketplace or negatively impact.
The benefits can be in the form of a lead because someone likes the way I write or what we offer.
The negative is usually the morons/haters who email me abusive stuff because they don't like what I wrote, don't like a strategy I've employed or are just grumpy because they're stupid! ;o)
Like this after I wrote in the SitePoint Tribune and said "When we come across prospects like these, all is not lost. There are numerous ways to skin a cat, as I explain below":
This was the bit of feedback:
"I just signed up for your newsletters yesterday and received my first issue this morning.
As one who has two pet cats in my household, whom I consider to be near and dear to my heart, your repeated references to skinning a cat are, at best, repulsive.
Surely you could have found a better metaphor.Call me what you may; but, by standards of first impressions I'll never read a SitePoint newsletter that I won't have a bitter taste in my mouth as a result of this initial encounter."
What Did These Bloggers Think Would Happen
These female bloggers in the Playboy poll sold out to get the link from Playboy and to get the lift in their profile.
And now some have the audacity to bitch and whine that Playboy will be offering the winner a nude photo shoot.
It's not like they have to accept.
But, let's face it, they've already shown they'll be willing to be associated with Playboy for a benefit (that link and the exposure) so history tells us they may well go naked for $$$.
Queensland Freeway Slips off Face Of The (Google) Earth
In the local newspaper today we have a State Minister complaining that Google's coverage of the Gold Coast area is out of date.
".....if you believe your eyes when you look at the site you'd think our big infrastructure projects had simply fallen of the face of the earth," said Paul Lucas, Deputy Premier.
You'll be relieved to know that Lucas has written to Google requesting it update it's imagery.
Yep, I'm sure that'll work!
About as sure as I am that Mr Lucas has sent out this media release to let people know his government has built a few things - like a new freeway and a sports centre.
Just goes to shown there are a million angles for just about any story.
"As for the Microsoft offer, well, I can’t emphasize how relieved we are that we did not sell ourselves short. All of us who are working in the trenches know the full potential of Yahoo!
Sure, we may be losing market share in search to Google (GOOG) every month and we may be losing market share in pageviews to social networks, but our future has never been brighter!
As the market grows and our share declines, our opportunities for growth only increase! Simple math there.
We have another 80% of the search market left to capture - Google only has about 30%. Now, whose future is truly brighter?"
Then check out the first 2 comments - looks like these dummies missed the humour!
But, as usual, in any discussion of what works best in marketing, no-one cares what we think!
Testing and measuring tell us the truth.
With a simple Google AdWords campaign we had our answer within 48 hours. 14 days later and the answer has been more than confirmed. Simple A/B Test Saves Thousands
A simple A/B test was enough to give us the information we needed to make the right decisions and save hundreds, possibly thousands, of $ down the track.
Not only for the fitness tips and inspiration, but the different style Chris is using in his writing for this much more personal story.
You can see how Chris has positioned himself quite differently.
I think this blog is more compelling and interesting than his 'corporate' site because of that. It's a terrific example of the way your writing style positions you in the eyes of your market.
We've just received one of the local papers to find a massive front page article on Jack's ride across Australia, complete with cool graphics and a breakdown of the ride distances.
Kerry O'Keefe is an ex-national player in Australia's national sport - cricket.
Mel and I went to a charity lunch yesterday to help raise funds for the Spinal Injuries Association where Kerry was one of the speakers.
What Resonated More Than The Jokes
Kerry made the usual funny speech he was rolled out for but mentioned something that really resonated with the crowd of 321 businessmen and women.
You see, when Kerry was 49 (he's 57 now) he had a mortgage he couldn't pay most weeks and could only get work as a security guy (not that there's anything wrong with that) earning $19,000 a year.
Kerry was invited on one of those panel style talk shows where he had just 2 opportunities to talk - both times he showed what can be described as a "distinctive" sense of humour, along with a very distinctive laugh/giggle.
(Kerry was asked a question about Australia's wicketkeeper of the time - Adam Gilchrist) and responded with "Adam Gilchrist is a triumph for all kids who have been pulled out of the womb by their ears." - Adam has ears like Dumbo the elephant.)
Kerry Has A Point Of Difference
Kerry's points of difference - a self-deprecating sense of humour and a ridiculous giggle - were enough to give him a chance in the world of celebrity and he now commentates on the cricket, leads cricket tours around the world and is in big demand as an after dinner speaker.
He told the crowd that 2 weeks after his first TV appearance he'd quit his $19,000 a year job. And then he said this: "Never, ever give up."
It comes across that Kerry's experiences in not having post-cricket success (until now) has given him a terrific appreciation for what he has now. And that sometimes a rare thing in sports stars.
I took down a post I wrote yesterday - it was meant to a helpful post but, I think because I wrote it quickly, it came out sounding like I'm a grumpy old man.
Happens sometimes.
Because I don't want to sound like a grumpy old man (I reserve that just for my kids) I took the post down.
As you might know, my son Jack and I are training to cycle across Australia (4,500 kms) in 30 days starting September 11 this year.
We had an interesting day today when we went and had a chat with renowned Australian sports psychologist Dr Phil Jauncey. Phil provided us with some wonderful knowledge and tools that really contribute to the success the ride will be.
Here's a bit of Phil's work:
Best Cycling Sunglasses
After a ton of research Jack and I identified Oakley sunglasses as the best for cycling in the very harsh conditions we'll encounter on our ride.
One of the things we're very particular about is the equipment we're using - for a ride like this you can't afford to compromise as you need absolutely everything going your way to succeed. Oakley Are Our New Sponsor
We approached the guys at Oakley and mentioned what we were doing and were thrilled when they jumped onboard as a sponsor.
Jack and I selected some Oakley RADAR sunglasses today - they're being provided in specific colours to match the ride kit. The Oakley team also provided some casual sunglasses for wearing when we're not on the bike.
Don't be shy - you can join Oakley as a sponsor by donating here!
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