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The Battle among Speak Asia, Media and the Panelist!

2011-05-24T20:28:00.001-07:00

Speak Asia’s press conference, raised many questions. Even company’s loyal panelist were not aware of many things like Speak Asia online is not a company but a panel service provider, the money they have paid to the company is for the subscription of e-magazine published by Speak Asia not investment. Many panelist are saying that they never heard of such e-magazine and no one ever told them during the business presentation that they are paying Rs.11000 for the e-magazine. Speak Asia tried to explain business model from their point of view, which is different from what panelist have explained in the business presentations.
Speak Asia was uneasy about sharing the business model of company with journalist but unless they don’t share the business concept to the panelist, how they expect panelist to increase the growth of 1 crore by Dec.2011? They must understand that things have changed.
The real question, will Speak Asia survive in coming time. There are two things two look at. If Speak Asia’s business model is not money circulation as media has projected, then even without enrollment of new panelist, company would survive. Second thought to the business model, without new enrollment, if it’s based on Ram’s hat on Shyam’s head and Shyam’s hat on Sanjay’s head, then company will run out of funds to pay to the panelist for the regular survey income which company has promised to the panelist for a year term.
Currently there are 19 lakhs panelist, their money, pride, future and the most faith is at stake. Media’s role is to cover a story, not pass judgement, in this case they have done their job as per journalism standard, though they have created lot of tension, hue and cry among panelist. If somebody to be blamed, the government agencies role comes in-question, were they sleeping when alleged scam was happening at the national level. The truth will come out when investigation would be done by RBI & the Enforcement Directorate.
There is a classic case of person called Bernard Madoff in the US. He ran a Ponzi scheme for about a period of at-least 20 years. He ran this scheme successfully, things changed during the start of economic meltdown in 2008. People were withdrawing money and there were no new investment came along to pay off old clients. The estimated fraud is of $60 billion US dollars. Read more about him – Bernard Madoff.
The question is not who lost or won during the press conference, the interest of panelist should be kept at the top. Panelist should not be the loser among company and the media. our advice to the panelist is that limit you activities, don’t enroll new people, unless you are fully confident. The moment your money is back in your hands by filling regular surveys then look at the business opportunity given by Speak Asia Online.

CEO Manoj Kumar & COO Tarak Bajpai’s video message to Speak Asians

2011-05-24T20:23:00.000-07:00

The new CEO Monoj Kumar & COO Tarak Bajpai have given a video message to fellow Speak Asians that in this hour of difficulty don’t get misguided by media and the news. COO Tarak Bajpai’s video message have requested to all the panelist, that whereever they are sharing this wonderful business opportunity, do not use this word, ‘Investment’.
New CEO Monoj Kumar, during the video message shared with other Speak Asians that when the news of Speak Asia settels down, then he will be on all India tour to meet as many Speak Asians as possible.
Both CEO & COO have asked Speak Asians to maintain peace & wherever possible reply calmly to people who are raising questions on Speak Asia Online.
Here are the video messages of CEO Manoj Kumar & COO Tarak Bajpai.

Police Investigate Speak Asia Online at Mumbai

2011-05-24T20:22:00.001-07:00

Mumbai, May 18, 2011
Speak Asia Online, is being investigated by Mumbai police while the Union government is mulling a serious fraud probe into its affairs.Authorities woke up after critics and investors of Speak Asia’s consumer survey-based business model smelt in it a “Ponzi scheme.
The government may ask the Serious Frauds Investigation Office (SFIO) to probe Speak Asia. “Our officers are examining the details and it is a very sensitive matter involving lakhs of investors,” corporate affairs minister Murli Deora.
“It is too soon to come to any conclusion regarding the alleged fraud,” said D.K. Mittal, secretary, MCA. “However, we are now working closely with RBI (Reserve Bank of India) and Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) and investigating.”
The catch is that consumer surveys taken by the panel members have no clear or apparent end-user and the company has no business-linked revenue stream yet, though some big corporate names such as ICICI and Nestle have been talked about.
Harender Kaur, a Singapore national, is the chairperson and CEO of the family-run Speak Asia. The company, which started in India in January 2010, denies any wrongdoing and cites upcoming business revenues to justify its legitimacy.
The company showed $80 million (R360 crore) in revenues in the first year. However, almost $60 million of this were commissions earned from ‘Service Today’ – an online magazine to which members earn subscription as part of their R11,000 membership. Considering that The Economist, an upscale global weekly magazine, charges R 5,000 for a full-year’s subscription, this online subscription is under a cloud.
While earning $80 million in revenues, SAOL paid back $52 million to its members – and by inference, new members are paying for the old ones. But the company claims that its revenue streams include fees from data exchanges for the content it creates, apart from advertisements.
Manoj Kumar, India CEO for the company, told that firm was not involved in any illegal activity. “We receive commissions on the magazine sales as the sales go up because of us. It amounts to around 60 million out of the $80 million. (Another) $18 million we got from marketing services where we give our database to various exchanges such as Apine and Cint,” he said. Product sales were expected through a rewards points scheme through an entity called “Gen X Bazar,” he added.
However, on Tuesday Kirit Somaiya, a former member of parliament and president of the Investors Grievance Forum (IGF), filed a complaint alleging fraud against SAOL with the economic office wing of the Mumbai police, alleging SAOL was a fly-by-night operation.
Himanshu Roy, joint commissioner of police (crime) in Mumbai said, “We have received the complaint, and we would inquire into the matter seriously.”
“We are compliant with all laws of Singapore and there is no case pending against it or its top management, either in India or in any other country,” Kumar said, denying a charge by Somaiya.
The RBI, while does not regulate deposits by multi- level marketing schemes, is concerned though it has no jurisdiction over multi-level marketing companies.
CEO Kumar said the company had applied to RBI to open its first office in India and had also paid R68 crore to Indian authorities until April 30 this year. SAOL’s investor-workers are a worried lot.
Kumar said Speak Asia did conduct surveys about Nestle, ICICI Bank and Airtel “at different points of time for specific purposes” but not directly.
“We simply offer databases to various market research aggregators and exchanges who in turn use our panels for various purposes,” he added.

SpeakAsia still can’t show valid, legal documents

2011-04-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

Moneylife Digital Team

SpeakAsia, is an online company collecting large sums of money by rapidly enrolling people with the promise of incredible payments for simply filling out online surveys. Our investigation, however, shows that the company is not registered in India and it cannot show us any legal documentation. Our efforts to get answers through its newly-appointed PR agency led to a threatening call from an agent of SpeakAsia. The company hopes to register one crore agents by the year-end SpeakAsia (SpeakAsiaonline.com) an online survey company that uses multi-level marketing (MLM) to spread its wings across the country, does not appear to have any legal roots in India. Moneylife has been taking an interest in SpeakAsiaonline.com because its members and agents repeatedly ambush our comments section to hard sell the scheme, claiming to have earned large sums of money by filling out surveys. Consequently, our readers have frequently inquired whether SpeakAsiaonline.com is legitimate and if it will indeed cough up the high returns it promises.
When the company hired LinOpinion Public Relations, a leading PR agency, to handle its communications last week, we took the opportunity to send a list of queries, which were answered by Vivek Gautam, its chief marketing officer (CMO). While the company provided long answers to our questions (reproduced below), it has still not shown us any documentation that it is legally registered in India, or answered whether it requires regulatory clearance from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or any other body.
Mr Gautam also sidestepped our question on the company’s promoters. In addition, although it claims to be Asia’s largest online survey company, it neither provide names of its top management nor addresses or contact details of its offices across the region, except in Singapore. (Read,“Another MLM scam in the happening, this time under the pretext of an online survey“). Moneylife has written to RBI deputy governor, Dr KC Chakrabarty, asking about the company and are awaiting a response.
Here are the responses from Vivek Gautam, of SpeakAsiaonline.com, to questions from Moneylife.
Q1. We have written in the past and even today, we could not find any valid or legal document that shows SpeakAsia as a registered entity in India. Can you tell us about the company’s registration?
Ans: The company has a unique business model internationally. The business in a given country is supported by the factoral organisation, in India:
a) Own dedicated sales team. In India they have over 110 sales people. This team is managed by a fortune 500 company in India – Ma Foi.
b) A dedicated 53-man training and knowledge organisation in New Delhi managed by La- Marca.
c) Marketing communication managed by Raceme and Lintas.
d) Customer support both through a call center and a BPO managed by outsourced partner.
e) Technology support is managed by Xorient, an American MNC through its office in Mumbai.
f) The company pays all the taxes, like service tax, in India.
g) Foreign remittances are handled by RBI approved forex agents like ICICI Bank.
i) The company is registered in Singapore and is not required to have a permanent establishment (PE) in India as per prevailing laws.
This level of intense on-the-ground infrastructure is rare in the online industry.
Q2. We would like to know about the founders/promoters of SpeakAsia in India. Can you share their contact details?
Ans: There are no promoters from India.
Q3. Has SpeakAsia obtained any permission from the RBI as the business involves handling foreign currency transactions?
Ans: Foreign remittances are handled by RBI-approved forex dealers ICICI Bank and ING Vysya Bank.
Q4. How does SpeakAsia transfer money from other currencies to Indian rupees and vice-versa into the panelists’ account?
Ans: By bank transfer through TT. Indian banks convert the currency once the TT is received by a panelist.
Q5. Has SpeakAsia obtained any permission from SEBI to run a collective investment scheme, which promises assured returns?
Ans: NA (not applicable). It’s not an investment scheme. Participation in the company activities earns reward points. No work-No rewards, unlike an investment.
Q6. Are there any legal cases pending against SpeakAsia in Singapore or in India?
Ans: No.
Q7. We have written on SpeakAsia in the past and these reports received many comments from readers. Most of the comments were asking people to join the business with the promise to show income. We found it strange and unethical that panelists from a company should post so many comments, that too to spread their business on our site.
Ans: We will send a communication to panelists to desist from such promotion. Though, you will appreciate, we have very little control on independent consumers.
Moneylife’s report about SpeakAsiaonline, published on 8 October 2010, continues to attract comments. Interestingly, a large number of them were panelists of SpeakAsiaonline who used our forum to market the service. We have been forced to delete these promotions from time to time.
According to a news report in February 2010, Singapore-based Harendra Kaur, through Haren Technologies, opened up a franchisee for SpeakAsia in India, which became operational from May 2010. Till date, the company claims to have enrolled around 7.5 lakh panelists and has ambitious plans to take this figure to one crore by end-December 2011, the report said.
A web search revealed that litigation has been filed against the company at several places. On 10 March 2011, the city magistrate, Gorakhpur, issued a notice to SpeakAsia for the third time seeking answers to 10 specific questions, it was reported by the Amar Ujala Hindi daily. The magistrate, Jitendra Pratap Singh, has asked the company to provide information about the MLM company’s tax liabilities, how they provide money to subscribers at fixed currency rate, whether it has obtained permission from the RBI to conduct such operations, how it converts foreign currency into rupees for Indian subscribers, qualifications required to become a member, how the company maintains its records and the conditions to become a franchisee. What is stunning is that a person by the name of Anurag Nigam, who claimed to be the regional manager of SpeakAsia, could not provide any identification card or visiting card in the court, the newspaper reported.
In another news report published by Amar Ujala on 1 April 2011, Mr Gautam claimed that the company provides services to around 600 companies, including ICICI, Bata, Nestlé and Airtel. We sent mails to ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel, but till the time of writing the story, there was no reply from them.
Most service provider companies are usually proud to display the names of their clients prominently on their web sites. However, either SpeakAsia is very shy, or it does not want to show off the names of its clients, who spend huge amounts of money on their surveys.
According to information available, SpeakAsia has set up its India offices at Navi Mumbai and Gurgaon. Here again, no information is available about these offices and addresses on the company website.
Although we have written about MLM companies many times in the past, here are a few facts that you need to keep in mind with regard to companies like SpeakAsia online.
1. Why would anyone pay Rs1,000 per week or Rs52,000 a year for a subscription of Rs11,000 per annum for a e-zine? Think for yourself as the owner of a company and answer this-would you pay four times the amount to anyone for his investment (!) in just one year?
2. If the business is so lucrative, why not offer this opportunity to people from other countries as well? How about doing this business in developed regions like the US and European countries? Where people do not get much more than about 3% a year on their investments. With returns as high as over four times their original investment, people from these regions would jump on to the online survey bandwagon. However, this will never happen, because there are very strict laws and punishments for fraud and for duping people in these regions, compared with that in India and Bangladesh. So the ‘business’ is thriving here and not in the US or even in Singapore, where SpeakAsia claims to be a registered entity.
3. Every agent, sorry, panelist of the company claims to have proof of their income from the surveys. However, what they show you as proof is not a bank statement, but their e-wallet created on the company site. Transferring money from e-wallet into a bank account involves a transaction charge of 3% or $7.5 per payment, whichever is higher.
4. You would rarely find any company doing marketing for its best-selling product. At the same time, you would find a number of offers for products that are not being sold as per expectations. Apply this logic to SpeakAsia, and you will understand why their agents are hell-bent on registering more and more people below their ranks. (BTW: It is called as legs, left and right and the pair is supposed to give the agent ‘additional’ binary income. The spreading of binary income is always in pyramid shape. The commission is given only on matching pairs, which means that if you have one sub-agent under one leg and two under another leg, you would receive commission only for two sub-agents and not three. In addition, every month, MLM companies ‘carry’ the stronger leg forward, or in short you miss commission from the leg that has less sub-agents.)
5. “If it looks too good to be true, it usually is.” In short, stay away from any company, any scheme that promises you huge or substantial return.

Speak Asia – An Online Scam That Could Affect a Million People in India

2011-04-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

Imagine if there were an online business where you could earn a very handsome and recurring income simply by spending 10-15 minutes per week. To qualify, all you need is a computer with an Internet connection and some basic knowledge of the English language.
The exact plan is something like this. You give me $200 as an enrollment fee and in return, I will pay you $40 per month for the next 12 months. You make a neat profit of $280 with no effort but there’s something more. If you can convince some of your friends to join the program, you get a commission on their earnings as well and so on.
Any informed reader of this blog would immediately dump this scheme as “fraud” or “scam” but you’ll be very surprised to know that hundreds of thousands of people all across India – that includes housewives, salaried professionals and even unemployed youth – have invested their hard-earned money in one such MLM scheme and they continue to do so.

Speak Asia Online

The company in question is Speak Asia Online – they’re running an online survey business In India on a similar model and have been massively successful in their mission so far.
I have received emails in the past from Speak Asia Online representatives asking me to join their “survey” business but mostly ignored them. It was only last week, after talking to some people, did I realize how popular they have become among households in India mostly through word-of-marketing.
One of Speak Asia’s franchisee suggested on phone that they have more than a million members in India, that’s 1% of India’s total Internet population, and the above Google Trends chart kind of confirms their rising popularity.
The company has franchisees in almost all cities here and they’re spending millions promoting the scheme through national TV in India. Here’s a recording of the TV program, it’s actually an advertisement, that recently aired on the reputed Imagine TV.

Is Speak Asia Legit or a Scam?

So is Speak Asia Online a legit business? Common sense says no and there are reasons to support that:
#1. The company’s website – speakasiaonline.com – suggests that they are based in Singapore and the contact address listed on the website seems to match with the Whois information of their website domain. They claim to have a certificate from ACRA (Singapore’s compliance authority) but a quick search suggests the company is no longer eligible for receiving the “Certificate of Compliance.”
The records, publicly available at acra.gov.sg, also suggest that the company “SPEAKASIA ONLINE PTE. LTD.” was previously known as “HAREN TECHNOLOGY PTE. LTD.” and “PAN AUTOMOTIVES PTE. LTD.” but little do we know about their past operations.
#2. The company says their revenues will exceed $115m this year but if you Google the names of their top executives – Harendar Kaur (CEO) and Tarak Bajpai (India head) – there’s absolutely no information. That’s very surprising especially when these people are handling a successful and global business of this scale.
#3. In order to become a member of Speak Asia Online, all you need is a bank account and the company will directly transfer monthly revenues to your bank account from United Overseas Bank (UOB) Singapore. They require no documentation or proofs even when we have such strict banking rules in India around foreign transactions.
#4. The USD:INR currency exchange rate fluctuates around the INR 45 mark but Speak Asia makes all payments at INR 50. That’s 10% above the market price and no sensible for-profit company in the world would be willing to lose money like that.
#5. Speak Asia reps told me over phone that they are distributing millions of dollars every week to their Indian subscribers. This is when the company has no office in India, there’s no support center to assist customers and above all, Speak Asia Online is not even a registered business in India.

#6. Speak Asia mentions their Singapore contact address as “10 Ubi Crescent, #07-68, Ubi Techpark, Singapore 408564.” A quick search on Google suggests that several companies in Singapore are sharing that office space. As Divya Manian notes, this likely means that the address is used by a third party to register companies to, and no real business operates there.

Speak Asia Online – What next?

Speak Asia Online has been around in India for about an year now and it looks like the company has been regularly paying members the promised commissions and thus more people are getting lured into the system. Some existing members are even re-investing their own profits back into the system to increase the size of their paycheck.
Remember the rice and chessboard story? Speak Asia Online is working on adding new users at a similar rate – one new member will invite two more who in turn will bring another four new members to the system and thus the subscriber base will grow as quickly as? the number of rice grains on that chess board.
Once enough people join their unsustainable and unbelievable business, the company will simply vanish into thin air. There’s no ‘easy money’ on the Internet and the ease and scale at which this company is operating in India has simply baffled me. Please stay clear!

This article, titled Speak Asia — An Online Scam That Could Affect a Million People in India, was originally published at Digital Inspiration under Scam, India

TYCOONS FOUNDATION - EYE CAMP

2011-04-13T01:00:00.001-07:00

This is the First TYCOONS FOUNDATION - EYE CAMP held at Kannagi Nagar,
Thoraipakkam, Chennai - 97. With the honorary contributions from UDHI EYE
HOSPITALS, Alwarpet.

So, Out of 185 patients, Out Patients where 182 and 3 patients have been
selected for cataract surgery.

The T.E.I.L Management THANKS to those who were all Volunteers from TYCOONS,
Public, Police Department, UDHI Hospitals Staff's and International human
rights moment for their spontaneous help.

Attached Spot Photos and the Managing Trustee letter from Udhi Hospitals for
your all information.

Tycoons always ready to serve through it's Foundation for public's.

Expect your all the Members co-operations too from all over India for these
kind of activities.

--
TYCOONS EMPIRE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED.
*( An ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company )*
Corporate Office:
NO.1/8, First Floor,
ECR Road,
Kottivakkam, (Land Mark: Above TNM Bank)
Chennai - 600 041.

Top 5 Most Important Business Ideas

2011-04-11T08:35:00.000-07:00

If you have the entrepreneurial spirit, and your looking for ideas to start your own business, then we have a list of the top business ideas (we will break it down to the top ten) that many researchers believe will be red hot not only in today’s economy, but will be able to sustain itself and remain red hot for years to come.
Now, there is no guarantee of success for any type of business start-up of course, but if you do your research and study current and future trends (such as demographic shifts), your chances of success will be greatly increased.
So without further ado let’s dive right into the top ten business ideas (top business ideas) that figure to be red hot for the foreseeable future;
(1) Home Senior Care for the Elderly – With the ever-aging population and the demand for independent living by the elderly, businesses that can provide personal home care services to the elderly — cooking, grocery shopping, physical therapy — can position themselves for growth and profitability for years to come.
(2) The Boomer Revolution – As the baby boomer generation continue to age, opportunities for the astute entrepreneur will be bountiful. It is expected by the year 2020, that 80 percent of North American-born workers will be older than 50, this according to entrepreneur magazine. This will open up tremendous growth opportunities in area’s such as retirement real estate, retirement recreation, resort services and personal care i.e. nutritional counseling to help boomer’s look and feel better. I could go on and on. There are literally hundreds of money making opportunities that the opportunistic entrepreneur can tap into in the ‘Baby Boomer Economy’.
(3) Wellness Industry - The wellness and natural health care industry is expected to exceed the mainstream healthcare industry in the very near future. As a matter-of-fact, the wellness industry is expected to hit the trillion dollar mark by the year 2012. Nutritional consultants and those who distribute wellness/natural health products and services will be in great demand here.
(4) Healthcare - According to the U.S. Department of Labor 10 of the 20 fastest-growing occupations are healthcare-related, and the industry will generate 3.2 million new jobs by the year 2018. This growth is due to aging population (graying boomers) which will result in the expansion of the home care industry (expected to increase by 50 percent over the next decade).
(5) Advanced (skilled care) Home Care for the Elderly – There will be an increase in demand for services that help the elderly that have temporary or permanent disabilities and illnesses, which will require 24 hour around the clock skilled nursing and medical care.

MLM playing with dynamical needs and to opt MLM companies and assets plans

2011-04-11T05:18:00.000-07:00

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Expected Return

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Ashmax Scam Exposed!

2011-04-11T01:48:00.000-07:00

AshMax is a multi-level marketing company launched by Ash Mufareh a well known top producer inside of the network marketing industry. At present touted as a free marketing system for users to accomplish success, they in fact help new members to develop a downline in two businesses, Global Domains International and Freeway to Success, in unison. Although getting started is free, it does entail each new member join both GDI and Freeway to Success inside of seven days, before themselves then sponsoring 5 distributors into AshMax anywhere inside of a 20 day window. The promise that Ashmax will build downlines automatically, arranging new distributors whilst at the same time replacing non-active distributors is true nevertheless this system does suffer it’s flaws.

Ashmax Scam? – Ashmax Reviewed!

Inability to sponsor 5 distributors inside of the designated 20 day window, results in termination of membership. This is done so as to encourage immediate activity among new distributors, quickly weeding out and terminating the inactive. Even though this may look good on paper the under lying actuality is the mlm industry suffers from a 97% failure rate. That means for every 100 you bring in only three will be successful! Whichever way you look at it, success in Ashmax will entail you bring in an absolute ton of men and women. Not to mention then duplicating this!

Despite the fact that Ashmax is a very legitimate company, offering two hugely dependable multi-level marketing companies. This aside it’s extremely unlikely you will ever make any quick money, as opposed to what their claim proposes, $22,399 per month in only one hundred days. As the saying goes if it sound’s to good to be true it most probably is, hate to burst your bubble but it’s true!

The truth is succeeding in multi-level marketing is going to require you to learn how to market effectively. And no I am not talking about out of date techniques like holding meetings, cold calling, writing out your list of family, friends and whom ever else you have ever known, prior to then pitching them on your business opportunity. As this like many of you know from experience although duplicatable is actually a sure fire recipe for failure for the majority of distributors. It’s no secret these methods are just no longer successful!

How to Succeed In Network marketing Period!

No matter how fantastic Ashmax or any other business opportunity may well be, prospects only ever join you if they percieve you as someone of value. Because of this it’s absolutely vital you market yourself, before your mlm opportunity as people do not join companies they join people!

All over the place Network Marketers Are Raving About Having Their Very Own Personally Branded Marketing Systems!

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Adult MLM Turnkey Home Business Opportunity A Possible Scam

2011-04-11T01:30:00.000-07:00

The MLM adult turnkey business concept has always been interesting to me so I finally broke down and performed my own due diligence on this MLM Adult Turnkey Business Opportunity and my findings were a bit disturbing to me. I read over three turnkey business MLM websites and found all three to be basically the same business under different domain names. Even though my findings below where negative regarding adult MLM industry, we are not claiming you can't make money with it. We do believe there are more questions than answers on how this business is supposed to work and knowing this has sent up some huge Red Flags for me.

There are 11 tremendously important Red Flags that I have identified that I hope will shed some light on this turnkey adult mlm business opportunity before you invest your hard-earned money. Please read thoroughly and do your own due diligence before investing in any Adult Online Business Opportunity you come across. Many business adult turnkey opportunities sound fantastic until you read between the lines and than some turn out to be an Adult MLM Scam. I like to think I am good at reviewing these types of overnight success based Adult MLM Home Based Businesses since I have 13 years in online home business opportunities and hopefully after reading this article you will feel the same.

11 Red Flags Identified In The Adult Turnkey MLM Business That Could Add Up To Equal Adult Turnkey Scam

1. You don't own the sites. This I found very peculiar. Why would I invest my own hard-earned money to Start My Adult MLM Turnkey Business when I won't even own the business? If this doesn't send up a flag, I am not sure what would.

1. You are told you are investing in 22 plus websites when you only receive one domain name. If you are being told you will have 22 websites but they will all be located on one domain name, than you only own 1 website. Maybe I am missing something but I don't think so.

1. You pay a recurring fee. I never like business models where I am required to make a monthly payment. Psychologically many of us have a tendency to just look at the monthly cost as a small investment but over months it adds up. For example: $69.95 per month computes to $840.00 per year.

1. Make money by referring others to refer others. This to me sounds like you are about to loose family and friends. This kind of makes me think of the life insurance salesman that runs out of family to sell the life insurance to. Once you bother the whole family by pressuring them to buy something than what do you do? Good question.

1. Poor quality adult turnkey websites. I always say, if you wouldn't sign up for your own website, why would anyone else? Check out the 22 or so websites and you be the judge. Everybody's taste is different and I will give you that but a horrible looking website is just that.

1. No hands on Seo marketing performed for you. This is a huge deal for how are you going to just learn Seo Marketing overnight? You are not. This is something that is learned over years not overnight. If some hands on marketing is not performed by the web design business you should not deal with them. Please understand some of this Seo marketing has to be done as the website is being designed.

1. Checked live assistance 10 days in a row and no answer waited half hour and gave up. This actually happened. Just because the adult turnkey business
claims they have live waiting operators doesn't mean they are not above stretching the truth a bit. I can pay for live assistance at a rate of approximately $5.00 a week if my 24/7 service is in a poor nation. This 24/7 live support doesn't mean the person has any real knowledge of the business they are supposed to be representing. Please beware.

1. All three Adult MLM Turnkey Business Opportunities provided me with a statement that said "22 custom sites." If this is true how can the price only be $69.95? This doesn't make sense. Think about it, if the promise of custom websites is true, I would be paying $69.95 for my first month and the web design firm would design custom websites for me? How would they make any money?

1. No address easily found on the design website. If it even appears that the web design business is hiding or not disclosing their company address you should not deal with them. How can a legitimate web design business have a website without a professional address and phone number?

1. Claims of being in an Exclusive Group or stated that you have to be referred to be a member of the adult MLM business program. Don't fall for crap such as this. So, if I want to be part of the adult MLM business and I am willing to pay my $69.95 they are not going to accept it? Please! Of course they will.

1. Profit chart states you will make $5,000 in your 4th month in the adult turnkey business. If this were true why would I be writing this? I would just buy 100 of these adult turnkey websites and make millions overnight. If the claim is too good to be true then it is just that. The same website that makes this claim also states that you will obtain 90 signups in your first month in business. How? It could take 30 days for a new website to be picked up by Google so how can you be making money off of your online adult turnkey business opportunity before it is online? The same company goes on to state that you will retain 67% of your signups for the 2nd month. This percentage is ridiculous, for the best niche specific adult website online today might be able to do up to 50% and this website would have to be in a micro niche market.

Not All Online Adult Turnkey Business Opportunities Are The Same

There are some very good adult turnkey business opportunities online today but to find them you need to do your due diligence. We just pointed out 10 very important red flags of an MLM Adult Turnkey Business Opportunity and believe me we don't mean to appear to be beating up MLM businesses. The whole point is there are red flags to all businesses and it is your job to investigate these companies so you make good money in business. Too many prospective entrepreneurs just throw around their investment money without doing their due diligence and they end up contacting someone like myself who has to make sure they are sitting down when I explain the realities of the business they just invested their hard-earned money in. Please read thoroughly and do your own due diligence when before investing in any Adult Turnkey Business Opportunity you come across. Many business opportunities sound fantastic until you read between the lines. Again though, we are not saying you can't make money in Adult MLM Turnkey Business but we don't believe it is worth your investment with all the red flags we were able to identify involving this Adult MLM Turnkey Business Opportunity. Good Luck To You!!

Article written by Jay Keyman of www.adultwebsiteturnkey.com and www.turnkeyinsider.org. With over 13 years in the Turnkey Adult Business and SEO Marketing Businesses Keyman’s goal is to assist you in making good money by offering you an education in online business.

HOW MLM WORKS

2011-04-10T21:39:00.000-07:00

These five steps illustrate how MLM companies work when done in a first-class way.

1. A sales representative (a “distributor” for an MLM company) first becomes effective at selling a product (skin care, nutrition, etc.) or a service (legal services, Internet services, etc.) to a consumer.

how MLM companies work illustrated
How many customers a distributor should get will depend on the Company’s commission plan - typically about 20 customers. My personal recommendation is to get enough customers so that you can effectively get customers at will. Otherwise you will not be able to train those you recruit to get customers.

It is not efficient to get many more than 20 customers, as MLM companies pay you to “duplicate yourself.” If you train 5 people to get 20 customers, you’re much more effective at getting your valuable product to consumers than if you were just distributing products on your own. Other industries (such as direct sales) will reward you better for getting a lot of customers; but they don’t reward you for training others.

2. Recruit ONE person and train them how to get customers. This person would be called your downline.

3. Once your sales rep can get customers at will, then train them how to recruit another person.

4. Ensure that YOUR sales rep can train HIS new sales rep how to get customers.

5. Then, you recruit ONE other person and repeat steps two through four. Keep doing this until you’ve reached the income you desire. I did this cycle 16 times and have made millions of dollars.

How do commission plans work?

Commission plans, also called compensation plans, are how MLM companies reward a distributor’s production.

Note: All the illustrations below are theoretical. There are many commission plans and each company’s plan is slightly different. The illustrations below serve as an explanation not only of how an MLM company works, but why they are designed the way they are.

Most MLM compensation plans can appear rather complicated at first glance because all companies (MLM or others) try to figure out how to get a sales rep to sell more products. The designer of the commission plan divides the money that is set aside for commissions into different “buckets.”

Bucket #1 is to motivate the sales rep to sell products to consumers. This is called a “retail commission.”

In addition, the MLM companies know that new sales reps probably do not know how to sell the product and thus need to be trained. So they (theMLM company) create “bucket #2″ to encourage sales reps to properly train new people. The better the training, the more product gets sold. So bucket #2 is to reward the sponsor (which is the sales rep) for training their new rep. Which is not only logical, but quite clever.

The next commission “bucket” is to reward sales reps for becoming and/or finding leaders. The MLM company very much desires leaders, just as any non MLM company does. Non-MLM companies typically go to executive search firms to locate leaders. MLM companies use their current sales reps to find leaders. Once found, the company will reward the leader, as well as the sales rep who found or developed the leader - just as a traditional company will pay the executive search firm for finding leaders.

In most MLM companies, the more leaders you develop, the more “buckets” are
made available to you.

One of the biggest challenges in creating an MLM compensation plan is paying out too much in commissions, which causes the company to go bankrupt. On the other hand, if the company doesn’t pay out enough commission, they will have a tough time retaining their sales reps and will not attract or develop true leaders.

The way successful companies are able to accomplish this difficult challenge is to make the compensation plan difficult to achieve… but achievable by those willing to meet SPECIFIC performance standards.

The contrary option is to make the compensation plan easy to achieve by everyone. But then every person would have a lid on their income because the available commissions would be spread (or dissipated) throughout everyone. Companies that use this type of compensation plan typically never grow big enough to get noticed because they are unable to attract leaders or there are not enough commissions to motivate a person to develop the necessary skills to become a leader.

Therefore it’s better to make the commission plan difficult to achieve. But everyone doesn’t have to achieve the top of the commission structure to earn a very good income. Most compensation plans are structured so that a person can replace their current salary by only achieving 1/2 of the available commissions or “buckets.”

All compensation plans are designed based on the quota or standards philosophy. The word quota means: a production assignment. The word standard means: a level of achievement. So in its most basic form, all commission plans work like this:

If you do nothing - you get nothing.

If you do a “little bit” - you’ll get a “little bit” = only bucket #1 (from illustrations above).
This creates a little extra income.

If you do a “little bit more” - you’ll get a “little bit more” = buckets #1 and #2.
This creates a good part time income.

If you do “all this” - you’ll get “all this” = buckets #1, 2 and 3.
This replaces a typical job income.

If you’re somehow able to do this “enormous amount” - then you have done us (the MLM Company) an incredible service and we’re going to reward you this “enormous amount!” = buckets #1 through #6!
This creates wealth.

Each person who joins an MLM company chooses what level they want to achieve, based not on a mental decision but based on results. There is not a more fair system than one that rewards someone based on results. The most unfair system would be to reward someone based on their resume, their talk, their family connections or their attractiveness.

Have you ever been passed up for a promotion because the owner of the company’s son was promoted instead of you? Maybe a girl more attractive than you? Maybe a person worked at the company longer than you? Maybe a person went to a better college than you? The only person that deserves a promotion is the one who produces the most for the company!

If you feel it is unfair that not everyone reaches the highest level of the compensation plan or that only a few reach the “top,” you might want to think about this: in every achievement or accomplishment there are standards that have to be met.

To be part of any sports team there are standards you must meet to be a part of that sport. To continue on and be great at that sport there are additional standards that must be met.

To be a golfer you simply buy some clubs for a few hundred dollars and go play golf - that is the base level “standard” to participate. To be considered a good golfer there are higher standards you must meet, to be a great golfer there are even higher standards. This is true of every sport, every business and every profession and even parenthood! Having a child doesn’t make you a great parent.

In MLM, to participate you buy an inexpensive distributor kit. This is similar to saying that you “play golf.” It takes almost NOTHING to achieve this level - therefore many (millions) can achieve this easy standard.

To be great in MLM (and enjoy the lifestyle that is offered) performance standards have been established in the compensation plan. They are not arbitrary standards; they are specific lines of achievement that ANYONE who wants that level of achievement must meet.

Meeting or exceeding performance standards is the reason someone achieves success in MLM.

In conclusion on the commission plan, when deciding on an MLM company you actually want a difficult-to-achieve compensation structure - but one that is achievable. You will, of course, have to work for it and may even have to increase your skill level to achieve it. But the rewards are worth the work - as long as you’ve chosen a good company. This of course isn’t any different than any other industry - if you pour your heart and soul as an employee into a company that gets downsized or goes out of business, you start over.

It’s the same with MLM.

MLM In India : Does Your Indian MLM Comapny Has These Essential?

2011-04-10T21:15:00.000-07:00

Have you ever check any Indian MLM Directory? If no than let you know that there are more than 1 Thousand MLM company in the MLM company list. New mlm companies keeps coming and old mlm companies keeps vanishing. So how do you find out which ones are really great, and which ones are plain scams? Here are some of the different essential of the top MLM companies existing today.MLM In India : Essential For Indian MLM Company

* Demonstrated Stability And Financial Strength

The word stability often denotes endurance for the long haul. Network marketing companies that are financially stable have the ability to remain in service for years to come. To safely determine the stability of a certain network marketing entity, you need to first find out its company history. Find out how long has the company been in the industry. Once you know the company's history, you'll have a deeper insight of the economic cycles that it has endured.

A company that has made it through all the economic downturns, wars and other major hurdles will truly demonstrate stability. Next, find out the stability of the company's management circle. Have there been many changes to the company's management, or have the company's key decision makers been frequently changed or rotated over the past few years? Even if theMLM company is a relative startup, you still need to find out its recent history, as well as its corporate makeup.

* Member Training And Support

Another key characteristic of a well-performing MLM company is the quality of its training and support for distributors or affiliates. A quick glance at the company's Web site will offer you glimpses of how they support and train their distributors. Do they provide constant coaching and training, and do they offer Webinars, podcasts and video conferences tot heir staff and sales teams? And if distributors have certain queries or questions, does the company offer different avenues for channeling concerns and queries? Or do they provide distributor support hotlines, live chat and a resource library? A well-rounded MLM company has to be able to provide different modes for sharpening an individual distributor's skills, to enable them to keep abreast with any changes or new trends in the MLM industry.

* Business Building Tools

Top-performing network marketing companies often provide a comprehensive array of business building tools for their distributors. These companies offer helpful tools like e-cards, calendars, autoresponders, customer relationship management systems, and other helpful online and offline strategies and resources. The marketing materials and strategies they offer must also be customizable, so that an individual distributor will be able to easily craft a solution for the varying requirements of their prospects and clients.

* Compensation Plan

A well-rounded MLM company will also be able to offer its distributors a generous, and balanced compensation plan. Irrespective of what compensation model the company is using, the comp plan must be straight-forward and easy-to-understand. The compensation plan must also be able to reward its distributors or affiliates with progressive bonus levels, which motivate them to increase their sales volume, and recruit more qualified prospects.

While there are other equally important characteristics of a top MLM company, these few traits should give you a guide on how to evaluate a top-performing network marketing company.

Designing Tweets: How To Integrate Twitter Into Your Web Site

2011-04-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

In order to grab your attention and have you follow them on Twitter, some web site owners choose to go beyond a simple “Follow Me” and also display their latest tweets. I don’t know if one method is preferable over the other in order to actually pick up followers, but I thought it might be helpful to take a look at how you can display tweets and also how some designers are making their tweets stand out, or in some cases blend in to the overall design.
So how do you actually get your tweets to display? Well there are a number of options.
Twitter Widgets

If you’re blogging or using MySpace or Facebook, you can grab a widget to work in the appropriate social media area. They’re available as Flash or HTML; all you need to do is copy the code and paste it into your site.

Twitter Goodies
Twitter also provides all users with a profile widget which can be added to most web sites by grabbing the code the provided. You can configure the size, colors and number of updates for your badge in the settings.

jQuery Plugins
There are a quite a few of these plugins around which all provide tweet display functionality as well as a few other bells and whistles.
Juitter is a widget which will display tweets to or from a user and has an option to display avatars.
TwitStream uses the Twitter Search API to display a list from your twitter feed containing a particular keyword and also displays avatars and URLS.
If you want to add your tweets to your WordPress blog, Twitter For WordPress does what is says on the tin, displaying your recent tweets and URLs.
Designed Tweets
Although many sites are displaying tweets, some designers are going that extra mile to incorporate the Twitter feed into their overall design. It’s the attention to detail that makes them interesting to look at. Here are five imaginative examples of Twitter integration.
Justin Delabar

That Indie Dude

Mad Frog Designs

Jeff Sarmiento

Indiqo

What do you do with your tweets? Have you integrated them into your site and what method do you use? Or do you just ask for a follow? Have you seen any other Tweet displays that you liked?

HOW TO SPLIT YOUR BLOG HEADER ONE WIDGET TO TWO TWO WIDGET

2011-04-10T07:23:00.000-07:00

Most of the newbie blogger are facing the problem to split the header widget in two parts one for blog title and another one for search engine.In this article i am going to explain you step by step so you can achieve it easily.
Note:This article example is achieved successfully on my blog but i suggest you to take a back up copy of your Template and test it.
Steps
1.Go to Blogger.com and login with your account
2.After successful login it will take you to your blogger dashboard
3.Now click on layout and the click the subcategory Edit HTML
4.Search for this below content in your blog HTML Editor
/* Header
------------------------------------
*/
#header {
width:960px;
margin: 0px;
text-align: left;
color:#ffcc66;
}
Now replace this above code with this
#header {
margin: 0px;
width:500px;/*width size for title widget*/
text-align:left;
float:left;
color:#ffcc66;
}

#r_head{
width:500px;/*width size for search widget*/
float:left;
}
One more main steps to do that
Now locate this below code in the same HTML Editor
<div id='header-wrapper'>
<b:section class='header' id='header' maxwidgets='1' showaddelement='no'>
<b:widget id='Header1' locked='true' title='Blog' type='Header'/>
</b:section>
</div>
Now replace this above code with this
<div id='header-wrapper'>/*Header calling function*/
<div id='head-inner'>/*Title Header*/
<b:section class='header' id='header' maxwidgets='1' showaddelement='no'>
<b:widget id='Header1' locked='true' title='Test Blog (Header)' type='Header'/>
</b:section>
</div>

<div id='r_head'>
<b:section class='header' id='header2' preferred='yes'/>/*Search Header*/
</div>
</div>

Thats it .Almost you done.Go to layout page element and select the search widget by clicking the add widget..

Adherence to KYC/AML guidelines while opening and conduct of the accounts of Multi Level Marketing firms

2011-04-10T04:06:00.000-07:00

RBI/2009-10/158
UBD. CO. BPD. PCB.Cir. No.9/12.05.001 / 2009-10

September 16, 2009

The Chief Executive Officers of
All Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks
Dear Sir/Madam

Adherence to KYC/AML guidelines while opening and conduct of the accounts of Multi Level Marketing firms

It has come to our notice that certain firms posing as Multi Level Marketing (MLM) agencies for consumer goods and services have been actually mobilizing large amounts of deposits from the public with promise of high returns. The names of some of these firms are:

Fine India Sales Pvt. Ltd.
Lakshya Levels Marketing
Eve Industries
Trident Advertising & Trade Links Pvt. Ltd.
Super Life Link Distributors
Lue Brain Education Society
Manya Mantra Marketing

2. The representatives of the above firms had opened accounts at various bank branches at different locations in the country and numerous small cash deposits were being made in those accounts. The firms and their agents had reportedly promised very high returns on deposits and lured common people to part with funds in the name of certain investment/deposit schemes. These funds, running into crores of rupees, were being pooled at the Principal Accounts of the MLM firms and the funds were eventually flowing out of those Principal Accounts for purposes apparently illegal or highly risky. These firms had managed to get very large number of cheque books issued from the banks and they have, in turn, issued to the depositors, post dated cheques for small amounts representing future interest dues and deposit payments. The small depositors were depositing the money in the accounts of MLMs at places far away from the places where the accounts were actually opened which was facilitated by Core Banking Solution (CBS) offered by the banks. Since the operations of the firms are essentially deposit taking activities involving unusually high returns, the ongoing repayments of interest and deposit amounts in respect of existing deposits would depend on continuous and uninterrupted flow of fresh deposits with increasing volumes. Therefore, at some stage, the flow of deposits is bound to be stifled and post dated cheques tendered thereafter would bounce, due to inadequate funds available in the accounts.
3. Some of the above firms were advertising their deposit schemes through websites. A few such website addresses are:
http://www.alaskaindia.net/business_plan.html
http://www.fineindia.net/
Preliminary reports reveal that the names of the banks, where the MLM firms or their agents were maintaining accounts were getting associated with such operations of MLM firms. This has potential reputational risk for the banks, especially in the event of the firms failing to repay the depositors. Incidentally, as it appears, during personal contacts with the prospective depositors some of these MLM firms or their agents had used the name of the banks where they had accounts.
4. In view of the above, we advise that banks should be careful in opening accounts of the marketing/trading agencies etc. Especially, strict compliance with KYC and AML guidelines contained in circulars UBD.CO.BPD (PCB) No. 1/12.05.001/2008-09 dated July 02, 2008 and UBD.PCB. Cir. 30/09.161.00/2004-05 dated December 15, 2004 issued by RBI should be ensured in the matter.
5. In cases where accounts have already been opened in the names of the marketing agencies, retail traders, investment firms, the banks may undertake quick reviews. Wherever large number of cheque books has been issued to such firms, the relative decision may be reviewed in the light of the following:

Whether the cheque books have been issued to customers on the basis of their express request and after following the internal processes laid down in the matter.
Whether the number of cheque books is consistent with/matching the profile of the customers as also their nature of business operations.

6. Even where the volume of transactions/profile of the customers apparently justify the number of cheque books issued, special ongoing monitoring of the operations in the accounts of such types of firms should be made especially if large volumes of small cash deposits are being made in those accounts and withdrawals are being made there from, through cheques written for small amounts, either across the counters or through clearing. In respect of such account holders banks may, in specific cases, call for the data from the account holders on the number and aggregate amount of post dated cheques issued. The data/information so collected should be analysed in select cases to rule out the possibility of the firms being engaged in deposit taking activities. Certain indicative parameters for selecting accounts for further scrutiny and action are the bunching of dates of the post dated cheques, the uniformity in the amounts of cheques etc. These data should be analysed together with data on cash deposits of small amounts on previous distant dates resembling the deposit contracting/mobilizations dates in terms of similar bunching and uniformity of amounts.
7. Please acknowledge receipt. Also, unusual operations noticed during the above review may be immediately reported to us and other appropriate authorities, such as, Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, Hotel Samrat (6th Floor), Chanakyapuri, New Delhi - 110 021.
Yours faithfully,

(A. K. Khound)
Chief General Manager-in-Charge

New Companies Launched

2011-04-10T02:53:00.000-07:00

www.mv.onlineprogress.biz

www.smplus.co.in

www.brillance.in

www.smartretailer.net

www.saralservices.com

www.rythmmultitrade.in

www.visionindiaone.com

www.unido.biz

www.gfepl.com

www.dnmarketars.us

www.ascus.co.in

www.stmdf.biz

www.r4u.in

www.dhanwantari.com

www.swint.in

www.dhankuber.com

RBI Advisory on Overseas Forex Trading through Electronic / Internet Trading Portals

2011-04-10T02:48:00.000-07:00

The Reserve Bank of India has today clarified that remittance in any form towards overseas foreign exchange trading through electronic/internet trading portals is not permitted under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999. The Reserve Bank has also clarified that the existing regulations under FEMA, 1999 do not permit residents to trade in foreign exchange in domestic / overseas markets.
Residents are, however, permitted to trade in currency futures and options contracts, traded on the stock exchanges recognised by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in India, subject to the conditions specified by the Reserve Bank from time to time.
Background
The Reserve Bank had noticed advertisements issued by electronic / internet portals offering trading or investing in foreign exchange with guaranteed high returns. Many companies even engage agents who personally contact gullible people to undertake forex trading/ investment schemes and entice them with promises of disproportionate / exorbitant returns.
The Reserve Bank of India cautions the public not to remit or deposit money for such unauthorised transactions. The advice has become necessary in the wake of many residents falling prey to such tempting offers and losing money heavily in the recent past.

Alpana Killawala
Chief General Manager

Press Release : 2010-2011/1196

RBI flashes red signal at MLM companies

2011-04-10T02:38:00.001-07:00

Mumbai The operations of shady multi-level marketing (MLM) companies — which operate what are popularly known as pyramid or ponzi schemes — have come under the regulatory scanner with shady MLM companies mushrooming across the country and duping investors. Many firms posing as MLM agencies for consumer goods and services have been actually mobilising large amounts of deposits from the public with promises of ridiculous returns of 120 per cent and repayment of prinicipal within a year.
In a circular, the Reserve Bank of India has alerted banks that in cases where accounts have already been opened in the names of the marketing agencies, retail traders and investment firms, the banks should undertake quick reviews. “Wherever large number of cheque books has been issued to such firms, the relative decision may be reviewed,” it said.
With many MLM companies recently using the banking technology to dupe investors, the RBI said, “banks should be careful in opening accounts of the marketing/trading agencies etc. Especially, strict compliance with KYC (know your customer) and AML (anti-money laundering) guidelines issued by the RBI should be ensured in the matter.”
The banking regulator also named seven MLM companies (Fine India Sales Pvt Ltd, Lakshya Levels Marketing, Eve Industries, Trident Advertising & Trade Links Pvt. Ltd, Super Life Link Distributors, Lue Brain Education Society and Manya Mantra Marketing). “These firms and their agents had reportedly promised very high returns on deposits and lured common people to part with funds in the name of certain investment/deposit schemes,” the RBI said.

Amway India Helps Hearing And Speech Impaired Kids

2011-04-10T00:53:00.000-07:00

Source: The Telegraph

The less privileged children of a school for hearing and speech impaired here can now look forward for better education, healthcare and nutrition.

Amway Opportunity Foundation unveiled “Project Sunrise”, a global welfare initiative for the less privileged child. Amway Opportunity Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Amway India Enterprises Private Ltd, will partner Kshitish Muk Badhir Vidyalaya (School for hearing and speech impaired) in Ranchi, for three years.

S.N. Pradhan, the inspector-general of police (provision), flagged off the project today. “Project Sunrise is supported by Amway’s global corporate social responsibility initiative. One by one, it will extend to 52 such schools across the country. This project is primarily supported by Amway’s 50th year anniversary funds, where Amway Opportunity Foundation will engage partnerships with NGOs to support on-going education, healthcare (with focus on access to safe drinking water) and nutrition of these children,” said Diptarag Bhattacharjee, the Amway vice-president (east), also a volunteer of Amway Opportunity Foundation. Amway, supposed to be a leader in multi-level marketing, considers all its employees and distributors as Amway Opportunity Foundation volunteers.

To Read the rest of the story click here

I found this over at Money Life magazine - these shysters will do anything for a buck.

2011-04-10T00:43:00.000-07:00

WalletChange.com

An MLM company that claims to be Asia’s largest online survey company, does not even have an office address or a telephone numberbut is offering to ‘pay’ $10 just for filling out online surveys

Speak Asia Online, which claims to be based in Singapore, is spreading its multi-level marketing (MLM) wings in India under the pretext of online surveys. As is usual in any MLM scheme, this company also makes big claims about earnings, but fails to provide any documentary evidence for the same.

The company asks new customers or subscribers to pay $120 (standard) or $220 (premium) for becoming a panellist for one year. However, it says the fee is for its e-bulletin for one year. It clearly says: "You can remain a panellist and earn from Speak Asia only as long as your subscription to E-Bulletin is in force." This means, before earning a single penny, you need to pay the company upfront. After the one-year period, one needs to renew the subscription. There is no mention of renewal fees.

Speak Asia Online sends its surveys mostly on Wednesday to all subscribers. Each survey takes around 40 minutes to complete. It says: "The first eight weeks are treated as a training period and the company provides you feedback on incorrectly filled surveys." After that period, any incomplete or incorrect surveys are rejected and the company does not pay for it.

The company assures that it will make the payment in local currency through direct bank transfers. The catch here is that one has to pay bank transfer charges of 3% or minimum $7.5 per payment. In case you have earned $10 for the month, you would get payment of $2.5 only, as $7.5 from the total payment would get deducted as bank transfer charges.

got a book deal when his blog had just six readers
polarizes his interviewees: check out Don’t Be Afraid Of Strangers to see how
writes the content that his audience needs to hear, rather than wants to hear.

Blog lessons aside, I believe that How to Get a Grip should be required reading for everyone wanting to focus on the important stuff in 2011.

Jordan Cooper

Blog | Twitter
Jordan Cooper is a blogger that I highly respect. He positions himself as a comedian who has an irreverent outlook at blogging, social media, and marketing. While he acts like the comedic anti-hero, he is this incredibly savvy guy who intuitively gets this industry. I love him because he is modest about his talents and success.
Last year, he became community manager of the Beyond Blogging Project and moderated the Treating Your Blog Like a Business panel at BlogWorld. He also has enjoyed considerable success with two video game-related fan sites he manages: FM-Britain and Gameworld One.
I suspect that he may be the silent success story of this year. He’s gotten the trust and attention of the many top bloggers he has worked with. He has all the resources at his disposal. He just has to choose his path.

Matt Gartland

Blog | Twitter
I count Matt Gartland among one of my closest blogging friends. He has spent most of this year focusing on his Healthy Lifestyle Design blog. After meeting at BlogWorld, I got him on the phone and we chatted about his 2011 plans. Boy, is this guy going to shake things up. There are two things that I’m really looking forward to:

Modern Audacity. This is his blog “about bold ideas for brave adventurers hell-bent on living above expectations.” His content is looking to be challenging in a similar vein to Matthew Kimberly’s and is something that I’m really looking forward to reading.
Random Acts of Greatness. This blog aims to chronicle 10,000 acts of greatness over a five-year period. One trend that I’ve noticed is how many bloggers are leveraging their audience to deliver widespread social good. Johnny B Truant was among with first with his Bad Ass Project. I can see Matt’s project having a much wider reach.

His blog has gotten so many of my friends excited. His branding is something that many people, including myself, can learn from. His theme is inspired by comic books, which he leverages to tell a story. It is impractical for most bloggers to replicate this, however everyone is capable of telling a story via their words and visual elements. Excelsior!

Farnoosh Brock

Blog | Twitter
Farnoosh impressed many with her positive energy during Blogworld. She was constantly engaging with people and showed how to make a solid impression in a short period of time. What was surprising is that she is just as active on social media and her blog.

She uses only images that she takes on her blog. This, along with her video and podcasts, allows her readers to join her on her journey.
She wrote an ebook about her BlogWorld 2010 experience. This was a great way to get more exposure, as she was subsequently featured on the BlogWorld blog.

Her blog aims to teach you smart habits for rich living. However, I feel that she has a lot of potential and that she has so much more to bring to her audience. I’m genuinely excited to see how she grows this year.

Srinivas Rao

Blog | Twitter
I truly believe that Srini is going to become one of the major success stories of 2011. He is constantly applying what he has learned through the interviews he has conducted on BlogcastFM.
I was friends with Srini long before we went to BlogWorld, and meeting him only increased my admiration. He genuinely cares about improving his blog and connecting with others. He leveraged his connections to successfully launch BlogcastFM Premium, grow his personal blog, and expand Flightster’s social media presence.
If there is someone you think should be on this list, tell him. It’s likely they’ll be interviewed on a future podcast.

Karol Gadja

Blog | Twitter
Karol got the attention of everyone at Blogworld. Part of it was due to his height—he was considerably taller most people he spoke to—but mostly it was because of his friendliness.
It was such an honor to get to know him because he was so laid back and genuinely interested in his community. He was incredibly generous with his knowledge despite the massive success of the past year.
His blog, Ridiculously Extraordinary, is an example of how to stand out in a crowded niche. He also showed how you can run a successful blog and leverage that to support business ventures. He has been able to grow his business so much in the last quarter thanks to the 72 hour niche sales he runs with Adam Baker.
I believe that he will continue to impact people in 2011.

Benny

Blog | Twitter
I barely talked to Benny at BlogWorld. I had just enough time to ascertain his Irish accent before he got whisked away to a neighboring table. Fortunately, I hung out with some of the most connected people in the industry, who quickly informed me that Benny is someone worth paying attention to.
He is the Irish Polyglot behind Fluent In 3 Months: a how-to guide and story of becoming fluent in any language quickly. His story has attracted many but what I love is how the story extends to all facets of his blog. He:

encourages his readers to comment in the languages he is fluent in, and will respond in the same language
posts his videos in multiple languages—including his welcome video—to demonstrate his skills
maintains multiple Twitter accounts for his followers in other languages.

I believe that having your content available in multiple languages will become more relevant in 2011, and Benny is in the prime position to help people do this.

Heather Solos

Blog | Twitter
I never met Heather. I came across her thanks to the recommendation of several friends and, after checking out her main blog, I could see why. See, she doesn’t fit the profile of your typical successful blogger. Her bio states that she is a “32-year-old professional blogger and author”. I see her as a master of leveraging communities.
Her profile has grown organically over the course of five years. She co-founded Home-Ec101.com, “a site designed to teach real people, real skills, as they apply to real lives.” In addition to this, she has gotten a book deal, leveraged in-person meetings to get great results, and has achieved multiple writing spots in newspapers. You can learn more about how she did this in her interview on BlogcastFM.
What I like about her is how she is shaping her content to her audience. In her sidebar she has a link to a feedback form to get more information about her readers, a note saying that her articles are print-friendly, and a phone number for questions that may get featured on her podcast. She is inviting audience engagement before readers even view her content, rather than taking the path of most bloggers and just targeting social media users. I’m fascinated to see where she takes this in 2011.

Pace Smith

Blog | Twitter
Pace Smith is one of my favourite BlogWorld buddies. She is an extremely talented individual who brings a lot to the social media community. She is an amazing collaborator and business mind, but is very down to earth and friendly. She has tried to avoid the expert/guru scene and, by doing so, has enriched the wider community.
What’s resonated with me is how she’s evolved over the past year. Pace and her business-and-life-partner Kyeli rebranded “The Freak Revolution” to “The Connection Revolution”—a change that I believe suits them better. They wrote about the reasons why. They’ve also intentionally tried to avoid creating metablogging products and instead released two useful courses: 52 Weeks to Awesome and Engaging ECourses.
I’ll be watching to see how Pace develops the connection revolution. She intuitively understands the relationship side of blogging and I believe her impact will grow significantly this year.

New talent

Sometimes it seems like a success story comes from nowhere. You’ll briefly see someone on Twitter, and then Bang! Their work is everywhere. This section deals with some of the success stories of the past year. These are the people who will be profoundly growing their profile in the coming months.

Jonathan Wondrusch

Blog | Twitter
Jonathan is a paragon of blogging awesomeness. He is co-founder of By Bloggers and is working with Lavonne Ellis on the upcoming Customer Love Challenge. His profile has grown quickly over the four months—and for good reason.
His stand-out resource is By Bloggers, which is a site for ambitions webpreneurs creating incredible eproducts. His content is very high quality—Epic Ebook Creation is one of the best free books I’ve read—and has been able to attract a lot of attention in a short period of time.
I’m confident that he will rock it in 2011. He’s found a gap in a market targeting infoproduct creators, and has some some killer plans to help bloggers. You can see them taking shape with the new Blogging Bootstrappers community, along with the continually growing Bootstrapper’s Toolkit—a resource that adds new free worksheets and ebooklets every month.
Johnathan also is a talented relationship marketer and it’ll be worth watching to see where he takes his audience. It’s most likely to be silly (this man sported a half beard—a beard on one side of his face, but not the other—for a week), nerdy, and absolutely inspiring.

Peter Shallard

Blog | Twitter
Peter is an example of someone who launched with a bang. See, Peter isn’t like us bloggers. He has a strong corporate background and he’s one of the people who understands relationship marketing and sales—something that many people find difficult.
He launched strongly by making a number of smart decisions, such as hiring 2010-blogger-to-watch James Chartrand for website design and copywriting. This allowed him to focus on what he did best: engaging with people via social media and empowering his clients.
He is a fascinating example of how a suit can dive into the world of social media and enjoy massive success. He is also someone that is laid back and a lot of fun to get to know. Even if you aren’t interested in his blog, hit him up on Twitter. Tell him Jade sent you!

Scott McIntyre

Blog | Twitter
Scott McIntyre got on my radar before he had even launched his blog, Vivid Ways. He contacted me because he had been regularly guest posting on Liz Strauss’s blog and didn’t have a blog, nor much of a social media presence.
I believe he is one to watch because he made a conscious choice to focus his effort on developing relationships and learning as much as possible. Most people are busy sucking up to the big names, rather than finding ways they can contribute to the community.

Lavonne Ellis

Blog | Twitter

Lavonne has spent most of 2010 in the transition phase. I met her via a paid program where she impressed me with her tenacity and willingness to learn. She launched her first blog, the Complete Flake, and was willing to admit her business had evolved.
What really put Lavonne on my radar was the community she developed around the Customer Love challenge. She’s run two Customer Love challenges, helping people to love their audiences and launch products. She’ll be co-leading her next challenge in February and launching a paid product at that time.
I think the customer love challenge will be something to watch in 2011. Lavonne is brilliant and smart, and she intuitively knows what bloggers want. She knows how to empower a community and is an example of how you can enjoy viral success just by being useful.

Jean Sarauer

Blog
In October, Jean decided to quit blogging to pursue her fiction writing. She handed her flagship blog over to Mary Jaksch, who has continued to develop it as a “safe, supportive space for bloggers to learn, grow, and enjoy their online journey.”
Despite that, I believe she is someone to watch. She contributed a lot to the blogging community during 2010 and has the potential to do so again during 2011.

Lynn Fang

Blog | Twitter
Lynn Fang has garnered a lot of attention for her minimalist/environmentalist blog, Upcycled Love. She has built her blog with interviews and DIY tutorials on how to follow a green-friendly lifestyle and still achieve your dreams. She also happens to be a pretty amazing designer, redesigning Sam Spurlin’s first ebook.
I believe Lynn is one to watch because she’s empowering her community to achieve social change. She has accomplished so much in a relatively short period of time and I’ll be intrigued to see how she develops her brand and website this year.

Tyler Tervooren

Blog | Twitter
Tyler Tervooren shot to fame so quickly that I didn’t have time to watch him. Seriously. I’d heard his name, but he’s included here because so many people recommended him.
Tyler is the type of person that I want to be like. He has incredible plans, such accomplishing goals that only 1% of humanity ever does. He aims to promote better living through uncertainty, which is something that really resonates with me.
If you don’t like his blogging style, that’s cool. You can still learn a lot from him. He rocketed to 2000 subscribers in three months. He is extremely talented at word-of-mouth marketing and taking care of his community.
This sentiment is echoed in multiple niches. Jonathan Woodrush said that Tyler “released hands down one of the best free and useful e-books I’ve seen when it comes to quitting your job: Take This Job and Shove It.” I agree. His first information product, the Guerilla Influence Formula, is a must-read if you want to create a blog that people naturally want to talk about. I believe he’ll be raising the bar on his paid content this year.

Kelly Diels

Blog | Twitter
Kelly is no stranger to the ProBlogger audience. She had a regular column early last year and impressed many with her unique writing style. She has become notable for her continuing popularity, as well as her incredible writing. Her authenticity and presence really shine through every time she posts, as does her love of helping others.
She has done a lot since her stint at ProBlogger. For example, she launched The League of Extraordinary Bloggers with Dave Doolin to help people rock their blogs and their copywriting.
I believe she is one to watch because of her raw talent. She hasn’t tried to take over the blogosphere like many of her caliber. Instead, she’s worked on growing Cleavage, and developing her audience. Her work ethic and blog savvy make her one to watch for a long time.

Robert Hickman

Blog | Twitter
Robert Hickman suffers from Aspergers Syndrome and writes about giving your disability a kick in the you-know-what. His blog is new, but it challenges readers to reframe their thinking and leverage their problems to their own advantage.
I believe he is one to watch because he’s offering a unique perspective in an overcrowded niche. He is writing about how popular concepts, such as minimalism, can have a positive influence when it comes to managing a disability. He isn’t blogging to be the most popular, nor for the social proof; he is blogging out of pure motivation for his project. This makes him truly stand apart.

Everett Bogue

Blog | Twitter
Everett Bogue carved a name for himself, and his blog Far Beyond the Stars, rather quickly in 2010. He become known as someone who was applying minimalist principles to his life, and business, and having great success. He quit his job at New York Magazine to pursue a minimalist, location-independent life and has turned his blog into a work of art.
He has some pretty heavy plans for his content in 2011. Topics include:

mindfulness training for your digital self
whether the Internet is a living/breathing entity that’s changing us more than we change it
going beyond minimalism.

I’m not sure what to expect business-wise from him, other than a new ebook shipping early in February. I do know that he will be exploring some vital topics that most bloggers wouldn’t even think about. I believe he is destined to grow rapidly beyond his blog and become a thought leader in relation to the ways in which our digital selves interact with our physical selves.

Inspiring blogs

Sometimes you find a blog that just makes you feel good about yourself. It could be because the blogger is a creative genius. With others, they just inspire you to be a better person.
The following people are the ones that inspired me over the past year and will continue to do so in 2011.

Jess Van Den

Blog | Twitter
Jess is a rising star in the Australian creative scene. She creates jewelry under the brand, Epheriell, but I believe her real talent is her blog. She intuitively understands how to develop a community surrounding her blog.
2010 saw her create a popular craft zine, Bespoke. She created Crafting A Business for those like her who were developing a business online. She also wrote the book Etsy Success Stories in addition to maintaining her own popular blog.
I think Jessica will really shine in 2011. This year has seen her set up the foundation for success. The crafting scene is built on community and it has been so inspired by watching Jess grow hers.

Nathalie Lussier

Blog | Twitter
Nathalie is a tech-savvy wellness-minded entrepreneur who writes about the intersection of technology, health, and business. She shot to fame as the creator of Raw Foods Witch and has developed a brand as a successful entrepreneur in her own right.
Late in 2009, she chose the word “confidence” as the one that would guide her through 2010. The past year has seen her accomplish great things. She has spoken at many conferences, including a much-praised presentation at BlogWorld, and has launched her own business website.
Nathalie is one of the true hidden gems. She instinctively knows how to empower her audience and help people. I’m hoping that 2011 is the year where she combines her many talents to create a world-changing business.

Danielle Laporte

Blog | Twitter
Danielle is one of my favorite discoveries this past year. She blogs at White Hot Truth and is a continual source of small business leadership and inspiration. Her blog is a guilty indulgence. Just check out her shop. She combines aesthetics with her artistic soul and incredible writing style. She rocked the year hard with her Firestarter Sessions product and shows no sign of slowing down in 2011.
Danielle made a number of huge decisions in 2010. She turned off comments on her blog to make room for her art. This caused a huge discussion and many successful bloggers have followed suit.
Danielle is on the cusp of greatness. This is fact. She is already extremely successful but she will be taking her work to a new level this year. She recently got (another) book deal. Every part of her blog and social media presence tells a story. I can’t wait to see what story she tells this year.

Natalie Peluso

Blog | Twitter
The first half of 2010 saw Natalie rebrand herself a couple of times as she was discovering her blogging identity. She has a lot of success, such as the launch of Action Studio and the release of her Fearless Karaoke video—until she discovered that her true calling was helping creative entrepreneurs develop their presence.
She’ll be relaunching Action Studio early this year. Sources have told me that that’s just a taste of what’s to come. She has been working for a long time to get to her current level of success and, now that she’s found the right message, will enjoy rapid blog growth over the coming year.

Rachel Hills

Blog | Twitter
Rachel is more than just a blogger—she is a journalist, author and “digital media professional.” I discovered her when she featured me in a newspaper article about getting paid to play. I was impressed with her industry knowledge, so I investigated further. I was impressed with what I found.
She is a successful blogger in her own right. Her blog, Musings of an Inappropriate Woman, is considered to be the best Australian feminist blog. Her posts aren’t as conversational as many bloggers, myself included, but I found myself drawn further and further into her archives. She is one of the rare journalists that have been able to carve a name for themselves in digital media while staying true to her writing style.
I think she is incredibly talented and will get up to great things this year. That may be impacted by her other commitments, such as her forthcoming book, but I’d love to see her profile grow in 2011.

Ashley Ambirge

Blog | Twitter
Ashley has been described as one of the most unique and inspiring voices in the blogosphere. She’s truly in a class of her own with a writing style that leaves readers hanging on her every word and challenging them to think beyond where they’re at today.
She writes at the Middle Finger Project and has recently launched a new product: You Don’t Need A Job, You Need Guts. I love her content. My personal favorites are her Fear, Exposed series and her post The 67 Emotions of Online Success: My Story. She is one of the most unapologetically-herself bloggers out there right now, and loves both her life and audience.
I think she will be accomplishing great things in 2011. She has the audience and the raw talent. It will be interesting to see what direction she chooses to go in.

Willie Hewes

Blog
Willie Hewes is the freelance illustrator behind Itch Illustration. She is also a comic book publisher and launched the Monster Journals in August 2010. I started following her because I was a fan of her work, and because she was skilled at connecting with other bloggers.
Her main blog is Mad Science, where she blogs about mindfulness tactics for practical people. For those that are unfamiliar with the concept, mindfulness is a technique that is increasingly recognized as a useful way to reduce stress and anxiety. She takes a topic that is normally dry and technical, and makes it fun.
I love her because she has turned her blog and her work into an experience. Her friendly writing style and relationship marketing skills make it a pleasure to interact with her and her blog. I look forward to watching how she grows her business this year.

Catherine Caine

Blog | Twitter
I hesitated about including Catherine on this list. She is a close friend and I’d been singing her praises for a while now. Then she launched her new site, Cash and Joy.
Catherine is an example of someone who evolved with her business, rather than her blog. She realized that why she loved the work she was doing at Be Awesome Online, the readers weren’t the type who could afford the services she’d been gravitating towards. She went on hiatus, restructured her current site (which included stopping a course mid-way), and then launched her current site. This is admirable because most people wouldn’t have the guts to launch something completely new or, if they did, they would have been torn between both brands.
I think she has barely started with her plans for Cash and Joy. She’s found her blogging groove and has gone past the struggling phase of her business. She has so much brilliance and a knack for helping people find their target audience. It will be interesting to see what she does on her own blog, and how she helps her clients achieve their potential.

David Crandall

Blog | Twitter
David Crandall is a rising star in the blogosphere. In the short time since he started his blog, he’s become a master at building effective relationships. This year has seen him launch a product with Srinivas Rao titled How to Grow Your Blog Through Interviews and co-lead the first Customer Love challenge with LaVonne Ellis.
I believe that you guys can learn a lot from him. In addition to his relationship marketing skills, he is brilliant at polarization. When a good friend was recommending him, he said that he “has a unique voice on his current blog, Heroic Destiny, and loves unicorns and getting his hair done.” That’s referral marketing right there.
In 2011, he’ll be using his business intelligence skills to help bloggers transform knowledge into action. He’s recently launched Business Intelligence Badass and it will be interesting to see where that leads. He’s also worth watching to see how he leverages the relationships he’s worked so hard to build.

El Edwards

Blog
You probably haven’t heard of Eleanor Edwards. She is the founder of UK charity Give A Brick and the hostess of happiness at Heaven and El. Her personal blog has two goals: to make you smile and to support her charity efforts.
I love Eleanor because she isn’t out to be a super-famous blogger. She doesn’t want, or need, anyone’s attention to succeed. She blogs for the pure joy of it and genuinely cares about her readers. She is one of my favorite examples of someone who invests time in building her community rather than building her network.
From a networking perspective, this is the type of person you should emulate. Very busy, and important, people will make time for the friendly person cheering them on. During 2010, I watched her find her writing voice and purpose for her work. It will be fascinating to see where she takes her (accidental) relationship marketing efforts this year.

Which bloggers are you watching?

This list isn’t the definitive list—I accept that. We want to know which bloggers you’re watching, too! I’ll be writing about what’s going on in the ProBlogger community and would love to share your stories. You can contribute in the following ways:

Create your own list of bloggers to watch. They will be included in a follow up post.
Share specific bloggers you are watching. Go into as much detail as you like.
Comment about how you would improve on the list format. Do you want more people? A certain type of information? Tell us and your suggestions may be included in future lists.

Advantages and disadvantages of blogging platforms

2011-04-09T03:28:00.000-07:00

In this lesson we will cover the four major free platforms.
Blogger
Blogger is one of the biggest and is owned by Google. It is a point and click simple system to use.
There are a variety of different looks available. You can even find vendors that will provide a custom look for your Blogger blog.
Advantages
If you are looking to create an Adsense account this can be one of the quickest ways to apply. Create a blog, add 3 or 4 posts then click the apply for Adsense link in the dashboard area. This is one of the biggest advantages of Blogger.
It is quick and easy to get set up. It is also easy to use.
Disadvantages
Blogger is not a search engine friendly format and does not have automated pinging. This means you need to manually ping each post through a service like Pingomatic or Pingoat.
The other problem is that you don’t own or control the site. This site can be deleted at Bloggers discretion and you don’t have any discourse.
If you are using a blog for business this is a huge disadvantage.
WordPress.com
WordPress.com is another free service that is widely used. Very easy to get set up and with a large variety of themes to choose from. Unlike Blogger you are restricted to the available choices.
Advantages
Very easy to use. Just create an account, pick a look and you are ready to go.
Has an easy to use WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) interface. Anyone that can use a word processor can use this to post.
Disadvantages
Despite having quite a few themes there is almost no customization available to you. Also, like Blogger you don’t control the blog and it can be removed at the discretion of WordPress.com. Not a good thing to base any business on.
MyCCBlog.com
A relatively new service that we just launched. Very easy to get set up and with a large variety of themes to choose from. Unlike Blogger you are restricted to the available choices.
Advantages
Has good SEO plugins and video instructions to get you started. Very similar to WordPress.com (uses the same script) but marketing friendly. Terms of service allow for you to use the blog to make money or create back links for other properties unlike WordPress.com. Was created by a marketer to be as marketing friendly as a free solution can be.
Disadvantages
Again you don’t have total control of the property as you don’t own it. Also, you need to pay a small fee if you want to use more than one blog unlike Blogger or WordPress.com which will allow you to have multiple blogs.
WordPress.org (Self hosted)
Installing WordPress on your own domain is our recommended way to get started. This allows you to overcome some of the disadvantages of both Blogger and WordPress.com.
Advantages
There are quite a few advantages to hosting your own blog.
First is that WordPress is open source and there are a wide variety of themes and plugins available. This allows you the flexibility to make the blog unique to you.
The other big advantage is that you can customize and automate your ping schedule. There are also quite a few plugins that you can add to make your blog search engine friendly. Properly set up and optimized you can easily get your posts indexed in hours.
We recommend you check out “7 Tips To Make Your WordPress Blog Search Engune Friendly.“.
You also have total control and no one can shut your blog down or make all your hard work disappear.
Disadvantage
One of the biggest disadvantages will be addressed in this course. Because it is open source there are so many choices that it can cause confusion as to what you need.
You will need to install the script to get started after that it is as easy to use as the other two platforms.