Taiwan

Leigh Burke sucks. Very hard.

I have no other choice but write about this case here, I understand that this blog is very topical, but the astonishing injustice and suck, how some dude, called Leigh Burke  is trying to promote himself and his poor business. 

As an avid reader I read at least one marketing or business related book per week, and shelfs get's crowded and I am getting more and more information I can use in business and life. 

I also write reviews about books I read in amazon. 

Now, I was unlucky enough to get his "book" recently. 

I do not want to discuss poor and disorganized content of this free throw away e-book worth material, which does nothing but tries to sell this guy's "consulting" services.

What I want to say, that this dude first time in my experience in writing comments on amazon contacted them and asked remove the negative review - even if as far as I remember, i gave him 2 stars, and pointed out on poor content.

Moreover.

If you check the reviews written till now, all are 5 stars. Guess what? They are fake.

See this for example:

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A complex process demystified, September 7, 2008

By	Jane "Stanton" (London, UK) - See all my reviews

Can I first say that I own and have read most of the best business books on the market. 

In my opinion, what makes a good business book is strategies and real life examples that you can take and implement yourself. 

Niche Internet Marketing, is more like a workbook where you are given a task to do at the end of each chapter. I love this kind of learning, it helps me to focus, and ensures I retain what I have learnt. 

If you press on "See all my reviews" written by Ms Jane you will see that this one is the only one. Where are reviews on "all best business books on market"? Will you be surprised, if i will tell you that all other reviewers who undoubtedly gave 5 stars also have 1 and only 1 review in total?

Listen Leigh Burke. You are a writer. You published a piece of text, and as soon as you made it public and ask money for that - you must have big balls enough (do you have any?) to withstand a critics.

Unfortunately this dude not just cuts out comments he dislike, or who criticize his indeed poor book, but he goes more far. He creates fake ones. 

How this can happen in 2009 and in amazon.com, in which i had 100 % trust as totally unbiased? JUST HOW????

Internet is viral. As Seth Godin - a man with balls, who can and withstand critics and that's why I think of him as one of greatest marketing minds and thinkers for now - says in his post Personal Branding in the age of google:

Google never forgets.
Of course, you don't have to be a drunk, a thief or a bitter failure for this to backfire. Everything you do now ends up in your permanent record. The best plan is to overload Google with a long tail of good stuff and to always act as if you're on Candid Camera, because you are.

So, Leigh Burke, google will never forget what I am saying now and here, and everyone whoever will want to know more about you - will be able to find this post and judge about your personality and honesty. 

Top things you need to know for first time visit in Taiwan (visiting Computex for first time?)

So, you decided come to Taiwan first time? Probably you want to visit Computex this year? Then read the tips below, so you do not make my mistakes, and everyone's else before.

- Let your supplier or friends reserve a hotel for you. If you ave a friend, and in case you visit Computex, I guess you have at least 1 or 2 suppliers here - ask them reserve a hotel for you. Do not reserve yourself from online sites, or travel companies. I had made countless mistakes trusting a nice photo shop enhanced pictures, whereas, the perfect hotels without a web sites in English at all was the best choice. Remember - Taiwan and people here are very nice to guests, so they will reserve you best hotel, with a decent prices. For those, who seek for cheap hostels, I guess Lonely planet guy can help. Below this post is the link to Amazon. You anyway need this guide, I will tell you later why.

- Print out your hotel name in Chinese and English, before you arrive to Taiwan. Most likely your supplier or friends will come to pick you up in airport, but if not - you still need it - remember - even if the street signs have a names of streets like Nanshan road, and etc - if you show it to most of taxi drivers, they will have no idea about it, or even worse - your english spelling of letters Nanshan, will FOR SURE not understood. Another thing why you need the hotel name in english and Chinese - you will need to fill out the landing forms in passport control - there is a need to fill in the address where you stay in Taiwan.

- Schedule all first. In writing. Meetings with potential suppliers and visiting their offices. If you are going to visit suppliers in their offices, be sure, it will take a longer time as you think. Everyone will want to have lunch with you, and office meeting needs to be reached yet by car in traffic jams. Besides, you will want to see around the Taipei, and maybe go out - so, write all e-mails to suppliers 2 weeks BEFORE you go. DO NOT just bump on their heads saying - hey, I am in Taipei, we were in touch 1 month ago, I want to visit your office now. Look I am supplier, and I am international sales as well, and half of the time, I am traveling out - today your supplier contact person can be out, or not available, and your plans are destroyed.

- Schedule the Computex (or other show trade booth visits BEFORE you arrive). You know what happened all the time I came here many years ago for trade shows as visitor first time? I took the guide and opened it and said - OK, this one is interesting I go there. Them hmm, this one also - I go there - and it's in another hall, another corner - 20 min to find. Then 3rd one is interesting - hmm, it's again in the hall I was before, I need go back now. After 20 min I can not find it at all. This is a mess, and in such way you will not find anything there.

You need to do as follows, if you want to get everything done fast and still have a time:
    - Go online to Computex or any show you need website, and print out the booth maps in all halls;
    - Take a pen and circle all Boothe's that makes interest for you;
    - Then make a groups of all booth, which you want to visit, and then you have a plan. You will finish one area, then another, and so on.

    - DO NOT just take a keyword in guide, like "keyboards" and then go to first booth in list that offers keyboards. They are listed in alphabetic order, and believe me - next booth in list will be exactly other hall in another side of all campus.

 - Ask hotel write the Computex (or the Taipei 101 at least) name in Chinese for you. If you tell taxi driver COMPUTEX please, or anything else will be bad.

- In Computex - do not take the brochures, catalogs, or whatever. Take the business cards from suppliers, or CD's. Ask stick the card to CD, later you will not find who is who - tested by experience. Why not take brochures? Here is 12 years trade show experience from me - first as visitor, and then as exhibitor.

- You will need bring them home. Remember airports, and your heavy bags, already packed with Taiwan souvenirs. You will NOT have a space for brochures, just trust me. You will not. They Will be left in hotel.
- Computex is in June, +32 or more outside. You will need carry them all day with you. Do you use anti odor spray?  You got my point of view...

- Even if you bring them home - you will never read them. I never did, I always took card and went to website, because I wanted then more info, I wanted see what else they have... you got the idea. It's 2009 after all.

- Take more business cards as you think you need. If you think that 200 is enough, you are wrong. Taiwanese are crazy on business card exchange. Remember! Business card is given by two hands, never ever use 1. It's an etiquette.

- What is the best outfit to visit trade show? Well, depends. Someone will, argue, need suit. I do not agree. Look, you are BUYER. You are already looking serious if you are there - and not look like chinese. So, it is OK, to wear a polite trousers and and shirt without a necktie. Of course the shirt with palms and shorts are not good idea but also, full suit with neck tie is not needed. No dress code, you will be treated seriously also without necktie.

Note: If you visit a formal visit and are invited to office - then also you can wear necktie, I talk here about wandering in halls.

- Tissues - it is good idea to leave hotel with some. Some public toilets in Taiwan have no any.

- If you are staying in cheaper hotel, take all hygiene items including towels.

- If you want to seek for employment, and make some meetings for this - take as much as possible diplomas, honors, awards and certificates. Here people like it more than skills you have. I have a special post on this.

- For woman - take your makeup and all cosmetics with you - here all cosmetics are whitening, you will see here everyone walk with umbrella - more white is more nice here.

- Also, do not buy socks and underwear here, take yours. I have no idea why, but all underwear I bought here - makes you wet and feel very bad immediately. I am here long time already, but the underwear - I still struggle to adapt to it.

- If you come in winter time - take warm clothes - south part of Taiwan is OK, but in Taipei it will be rainy and cold.

- Umbrellas are very cheap in any 7-Eleven convenience store - no need take yours with you.

- One of the first trips here I wanted bring shoes for my father - in Europe he is just middle sized leg - I did not find a shoes for him that time - all were too small. Prepare for that.

- Lonely Planet guide on Taiwan. There is good coverage in Taipei, and all Taiwan. My suggestion is do not go standard way, as every supplier will want you:
    - go to National Museum;
    - go to Taipei 101;

Don't

Take your time to read the guide and then ask your friends bring you there, what you want to see. The must see things are night markets, in Taipei there is a lot of them, Loney Planet guide covers most interesting.

If you do all what I said above - you will survive easily and have nice memories from this trip. Or.. you will get addicted to this island and stay there - like me and many other expats!

Have a nice trip!

Turkish Ice Cream guy in Fengchia Nightmarket in Taichung - a pure genius

As a vivid, and I would assume already obsessed reader of all literature that covers sales, marketing, seo... OK, stop, it's Taiwan blog after all, here you are talking about Taiwan.

So, being myself a sales and marketing professional, and recently also consultant, I am always thrilled to see a pure geniuses in this field.

And one is not far away from my home - he is performing (yes, exactly - he is performing, and not selling, or whatever) -Turkish ice cream sales process in nightmarket near Fengchia university.

As usual, when you go to any nightmarket, there will be ugly old world push type marketing (when advertisement are thrown on you as a pile of cold water in face), with lai lai lai (come come come), screaming psychopathic part time job taking students, in front of shoes or glasses store.

In era of google, when paid ads changed the world forever, and terms pull marketing - when customer comes to you, instead of you - trying engage him with him with such "spam" as I mentioned above, this turkish guy, is pure genius.

In same nightmarket more cynic seller are using recorded voice, making a crazy cacophony of sounds, screams and everything else.

For those, who are not in Taiwan, here is an example, of such impersonal, recorded sound-spam:

And, now, the turkish guy, instead of switching one more "lai lai lai" cacophony,  performs a show, literally FISHING for new customers, throwing an ice cream into the crowd, and in a moment, when a hand grabs it - and it grabs, believe me - it's virtually impossible to resist an impulse to grab it, if it's lands just over you nose, he pulls it back. And here you are - engaged, little fooled, entertained and suprised. What else is needed for a marketing as just all those 4 actions?

Just watch. It's a textbook example for 101 marketing studies.

Taiwan's GDP down 8.4 % - what it means for us

Fourth quarter GDP contracted by 8.4 percent thanks to tumbling exports and business investment. This is Taiwan’s first recession since the technology bubble burst in 2001. Exports, which are equivalent to 70 percent of GDP, are expected to plunge 20.1 percent in 2009 while business investment will sink more than 28 percent.

On a reaction on that, last week the Central Bank of China (Taiwan) cut its discount rate for the seventh time since September 2008, this time by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent. The Bank has now cut rates by a total of 237.5 basis points. The Bank highlighted the severe worsening of the global economy and the  feed through to domestic demand, against the backdrop of rapidly easing inflation pressure. Its latest rate cut was to support domestic demand by lowering the funding costs for local households and corporations.

Now it looks like in graph I added here It looks like a panic, and such loose monetary politics in my opinion will not lead everywhere. Because, let me write it again: Exports are 70 % of GDP in Taiwan. And where to go at zero rates?

Nevertheless, BOC, just goes on to stimulate the domestic demand, and no one here is thinking about the inflation, what such a money printing - rate cut, in fact is nothing else but print of the money. As a result, Taiwan can get a stagflation where, rising inflation meats contracting GDP, and then, I will be forced to head to Miaoli, to my wife's fathers farm, since it's now looks like we are going to barter economy, which is similar to those, in post war periods.