9th Coconut Festival

The Philippine Coconut Authority will hold the , a trade fair and exhibit that will showcase the best of the coconut industry, from 12-15 August 2010 at the SM Mega Trade Hall 1, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City.

The event is in line with the 24th National Coconut Week celebration.

PCA Administrator Oscar Garin said the celebration is a "tribute of honor and thanksgiving for the blessings and benefits derived from the industry to establish a continuing awareness of its lasting importance to our national life."

It was mandated by Presidential Proclamation No. 142 series of 1987 issued by the late President Corazon C. Aquino.

This year's theme "Niyog – Yaman ng Pinoy," will highlight the immense national magnitude of the coconut in the life of the millions of Filipinos depending on the industry for their livelihood.

The PCA Central Office and its 12 regional and 68 provincial offices will spearhead the celebration to create awareness on the wealth that can be derived from the coconut also known as the "Tree of Life."

The event will provide a venue for information-sharing and trading activities and will showcase the business opportunities from the coconut. Lectures and demonstrations on the latest coconut technologies will also be held.

For details please contact Market Development Department at Telephone No. (632) 928-4501 locals 412 and 403.

4commentsBlogTactic // August 6, 2010 1:51 PM 

Interest to know that there is such festival about coconuts.

Richie

Retail Conference Offers Chance to Students

The Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) believes that students are key to continuing the growth of entrepreneurship in the country. As tomorrow's retailers and entrepreneurs, PRA offers students a rare chance to listen to experts on retail innovation, social media, customer behavior and trends, sustainable retailing, wealth management and best practices in HR at the upcoming 19th National Retail Conference and Stores Asia Expo (NRCE).

Graduating students may avail of a special rate of PhP 1,000 to attend the two-day conference in place of the regular conference rate of PhP 7,950. Open to graduating business, marketing and entrepreneurship students who are presently enrolled, the 19th NRCE will be held on 11-12 August 2010 at the SMX Convention Center, Bay Boulevard, Pasay City. Pre-registration is required for interested students.

Themed "The Roadmap to Retail Growth in the New Decade", NRCE is the biggest retail industry event in the country. It is attended by over 600 retail owners, CEOs and top level executives all over the country.

According to Mr. Martin Roll, NRCE's Guest of Honor, "Filipino entrepreneurs can well take advantage of a global readiness for the Asian brand".

This is the compelling insight coming from Roll, who, together with Jollibee's Tony Tan Caktiong, will keynote the country's biggest retail conference. Roll stated that the rise of the Asian middle class and the unfolding of the Asian myth among people of the West are among reasons behind this opportunity to grow distinct markets which go for the Asian brand. Roll was recently in town to begin a series of pre-conference visits.

Official newspaper is The Philippine STAR, official media partners are BusinessWorld, Entrepreneur, Retail in Asia, The Philippine Business News and Forum (online).

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Opportunity for Sari-Sari Stores

Philippine rural lenders have expressed intentions of expanding mobile banking services through third-party agents such as sari-sari stores.

The proposal will allow rural banks to offer services to more clients, especially in far-flung areas, an official of the Rural Bank Association of the Philippines (RBAP) said.

The initiative involves appointing merchants – such as sari-sari stores – "which have the ability to service significantly larger amounts," RBAP past president Tomas Gomez IV said in a briefing.

By allowing these small establishments to handle bigger amounts through electronic banking, these merchants may also be able to offer financial services to their clients.

"The sari-sari store has already the infrastructure but it requires additional training and management. I cannot pre-empt what the BSP is saying

Reputable Online Vendors?

Many start-up businesses today resort to online software vendors in the search for the cheapest software solutions out there in the market. However, in the same vein that Internet commerce is "largely unrestricted, self-regulated and anonymous," it is often difficult to ascertain the quality of goods and services purchased through the web, unless one has had previous dealings with their regular supplier offline.

The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org), it its 2009 Internet Piracy Report, notes: "Consumers should proceed with caution when purchasing and using software from unknown vendors online. Using illegal software can put one's personal information, and even reputation at risk. At the very least, it can lead to software incompatibility and viruses, drive up maintenance cost, and leave users without technical support or security updates."

Another study from BSA and IDC research firm shows that malware and pirated software frequently co-exist on certain Web sites that offer access to pirated software and piracy-related tools. At least a quarter of such sites were found to be rife with trojans and other security threats that are imbedded into downloaded products or distributed through other means to infect visitors' computers.

Training on New Farming Method

Food, as it is commercially produced today, has lost its quality of aliveness. More alarmingly, the process by which it is produced creates ecological imbalance. When soil is tilled or crops are removed, the land is exploited through the depletion not only of minerals but also of its subtle life forces.

In Biodynamic agriculture, weakened life forces are revitalized, stimulating root growth, microorganism production, and humus formation. This farming method brings back life into vegetables, fruit, and grains.

On 4 September 2010, Prado Farms will host a hands-on training on biodynamic agriculture. The training, called Practical Abundance, will discuss the basics of biodynamic agriculture and how it keeps nature in balance. Participants will receive training on actual biodynamic compost preparation, stirring and spraying from one of the country’s experts, Gregory Kitma.

Kitma, president of the Philippine Bio-dynamic Agriculture Research Foundation, Inc. (PhilBio), says biodynamic agriculture revitalizes the life forces of the soil, stimulating root growth, microorganism production, and humus formation. The method makes use of sprays and soil starter preparations derived from cow manure, herbs and mineral substances that will be applied to soil and plants. Biodynamic soils absorb and hold back large amounts of water, and assist in lessening the severity of floods.

PhilBio is a non-government organization that aims to promote biodynamic agriculture in the country. Together with a small group of vegetable farmers in the province Benguet and Mt Province, Kitma also serves as a consultant for organic and bio-dynamic agriculture to various NGOs and individuals in the country.

The training is open to farm owners who wish to introduce biodynamic agricultural process in their lands or know more about the benefits of the system, farmers who want to learn about implementation of the bio-dynamic process, agricultural students, professors, NGO professionals, and other individulas who wish to learn more about biodynamic farming and are interested in the practical application of Rudolf Steiner's Ideas on anthroposophy. Training will be held in Prado Farms in Prado Siongco, Lubao, Pampanga.

For inquiries and reservations, contact (0632) 899-4675, text 0920-9831329.

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9th Filipino Franchise Show

The Association of Filipino Franchisers, Inc. (AFFI) is proud to announce that the is happening on 16-19 September 2010, 11:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M. at the World Trade Center.

This year's tradeshow will not be like any other they have staged before. The will run for four days instead of just three days, which was the case in the previous tradeshows they have held. They will also be occupying two exhibit halls this time to accommodate more proven successful franchisers, as well as new and promising brands belonging to the food, retail and service industries.

The is indeed rich with opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs and seasoned businessmen in search of the right venture, and also for established companies wanting to grow their business through franchising.

Good news also for aspiring entrepreneurs! This is also an opportunity to have a face to face meeting with the franchisers themselves and learn a lot from their own experiences.

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10 Proven Tactics for Business Growth

Growing a business requires continuous attention, careful planning and a willingness to take calculated risks. No matter how successful, a business left by its self will go to pot. In the last decade, the cost and risks associated with doing business have risen dramatically, but also opportunities. Drawing from the experiences with small and medium enterprises of its members, the Manila-based Association of Development Finance Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) proposes:

1) Give priority to new product or service development. Always seek ways to improve what you have to offer and develop means to reinvigorate your own products or services before someone else does.

2) Find new applications for existing products or services. Be sure to establish a communication means between your company and your product/service users to determine how they really use your products. Offering a financial incentive to surface new applications helps too!

3) Remember the easiest sale of them all. You have already spent the money to acquire your customers and build a relationship with them, why not ask what else we can make or provide for them?

4) Know where to get all the answers. All the answers about how your company is doing, where it should go and what it should stop doing, reside within your own customer base.

5) Buy rather than build. Take a gook look at your targeted industry. There usually is a resource limited company that offers viable products and services that relate to yours. Consider buying them versus investing the same money in organic growth alternative.

6) Think out of boundaries. If you just focus on one market, someday you will find your company can no longer effectively compete because someone else beat you to others.

7) Go eCommerce. Establish an effective means, via the Internet for your customers to educate and update themselves, solve their own problems and order your products with a few clicks of the computer mouse.

8) Know when to say "No" and "Stop". Making or doing something that no longer makes financial sense needs to be dealt with decisively, no matter the, "we have always made those, we have always sold those, or we have always done it that way" commentary.

9) Measure and publish everything. Business practices can only be improved upon if they are written, measured, tracked and periodically audited for effectiveness. All results justify being shared with all employees, good or bad. Always celebrate success publicly, criticize poor performance privately.

10) There is always a price to pay for business growth. There is no clear roadmap on how to best grow your company, each company has its own growth challenges.

Source: Business Line Vol. 2 No. 3 2004

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Bamboo Training for Business

The Continuing Farm Business Education of the MFI Farm Business Institute (MFI-FBI) will be conducting a bamboo training workshop on 24-25 September 2010 at the Farmers' Training Center in Jala-jala, Rizal.

Led by bamboo expert Romualdo Sta. Ana, participants will be taught the proper care and management of bamboo as a natural resource with much business potential. This will be the fourth seminar on bamboo rehabilitation organized by MFI-FBI.

MFI-FBI is an operating arm of MFI Foundation Inc. (formerly Meralco Foundation) that aims to serve as a catalyst for developing agri-entrepreneurship by filling the gap in education in the agri-business sector.

For inquiries, call MFI-FBI at trunk line 6320756 to 67 local 251 or 523, 6312444.

1 commentsselfdrivetours // September 23, 2010 7:02 PM 

Understand from a documentary that bamboo grows much faster than teak wood, and also much stronger, and is a great replacement for wood. Hope that with the grow in technology, bamboo will be used as a replacement for wood to protect our environment.

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1st Philippine Development Forum

Ayala Foundation Inc. (AFI) and Ayala Foundation USA (AF-USA) just held a press briefing at the Globe Telepresence public room in Makati City to announce the convening of the first-ever Philippine Development Forum.

The event, which will bring together Filipino and Filipino-American thought leaders to discuss solutions to the Philippine's most pressing development problems, is set to take place on 25 September 2010 at the Fairmont San Jose in San Jose, California - the second largest Asian-American population estimated at 4 million or 1.5 percent of the US population.

Globe Telepresence enables life-size "in-person" meeting experience for interaction and collaboration across multiple locations around the world in real time.

The solution allows enterprises such as Ayala Foundation to connect to colleagues and partners all over the world using high-definition screens with spatial audio.

It gives the experience of being in the same room although meeting participants could be halfway across the globe.

When the option to make use of the Globe Telepresence public room for the local media briefing was presented to AFI executive vice president Guillermo Luz, he was more than happy to give it a try.

"The Telepresence media briefing came about because we were up against time to put together a press conference for the Philippine Development Forum, which is already happening in September. There was this challenge of bringing together all the key people in Manila and San Francisco in one room, on such short notice," he said.

"Globe Business provided us with the right solution with Globe Telepresence, and fortunately, we, at Ayala Foundation as well as our colleagues in the US, were all able to find a common time to sit down and discuss the event, without having to travel," he added.

Luz said the press conference worked out well and was quite an experience. "The picture quality was top-notch, the sound was extremely sharp and nobody got disoriented because there was no time lag. The conversation was easy to follow and we felt like we were in fact facing each other right across the table. Everything was seamless — no pauses, no lags, no signal cutoffs. The participants spoke and interacted with each other like they would in an actual, in-person meeting," he said.

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SMART-SEEDFINANCE Partnership

Leading wireless services provider, Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART) has collaborated with SEEDFINANCE Corporation, a provider of wholesale credit to Filipino microfinance institutions and small enterprises, to equip island-based microfinance institutions with mobile-based financial products and technologies that will allow them to send and receive funds using SMART mobile phones.

Dubbed as the Islands Activation Program (IAP), the initiative utilizes Smart Money as a fast and secure alternative to send and receive funds in islands or areas where there is little or no access to formal financial services, and will benefit members of close to a hundred MFIs in various parts of the Philippines.

SEEDFINANCE works with 73 cooperatives with an aggregate clientele base of 1.2 million poor and low-income people.

It signed an agreement with ENCASH to install automated teller machines
(ATM) with allied cooperatives for the speedier and more secure receiving and dispensing of cash.

SEEDFINANCE chairman Carlos Ani said in a press briefing that the potential for the deployment of ATMs and starting mobile banking initiatives is immeasurable.

Ani explained that rural folk spend so much on transportation just to get to a rural bank located in a town center.

Meanwhile, the partnership between SMART and SEEDFINANCE come at the heels of the successful launch of the Smart Money Center in Polillo Island in 2008.

In October that year, the Polillo Group of Islands found its financial channels to the mainland cut off. The only rural bank went bankrupt, while the National Telecommunications Center mercilessly ceased its telegraphic transfer operations in the area. The nearest bank was three hours away by boat.

SMART partnered with the island's leading cooperative, Rhudarda Multipurpose Cooperative, to unveil the first Polillo Smart Money Center, which allowed residents to send and receive cash in an instant through the fast and secure mobile-initiated fund transfers in Polillo at the speed of a text message. This same remittance model will be rolled out in key provinces of Visayas and Mindanao under the IAP.

Since 2000, SMART has been actively promoting the use of mobile-based financial services and microfinance solutions, through the revolutionary Smart Money-the world’s first electronic cash card linked to a mobile phone.

Through Smart Money, SMART subscribers are able to conduct mobile banking, electronic money transfers, micro-purchases and micro-payments with just a few clicks on a cellular phone with a SMART Sim.

Two years ago, SMART received a World Business and Development Award given by the International Chamber of Commerce, Prince of Whales International Business Leaders Forum, and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

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New Breed of Pinoy Entrepreneurs

Despite fierce competition from global entrepreneurs, making a Pinoy brand stand out globally is definitely a lot easier now, thanks to the power of dynamic technologies like the new media. New ways of communicating to people prove to be even more effective if the business itself caters to the specific needs of Filipinos living abroad, or for any Filipino looking for a way to connect to the country.

A "dot com" entrepreneur

According to Jovel Cipriano, a web entrepreneur and founder of the highly-successful Filipino delicacy online store, www.PinoyDelikasi.com, using the Internet as a marketing tool is cost-efficient, and it delivers results at the shortest time possible.

Because of new media, anyone who knows how to use the computer and the internet can already market their business. "Therefore, if you decide to do internet marketing , you have to have a good website with the right content, a good marketing strategy to use the right platform, a good payment process, and good logistics. To be noticed, you have to be first, fast, and focused," said Cipriano.

It all began by his observation in 1999 that many Filipinos abroad have been asking to have packages of Filipino delicacies such as dried mangoes, dried fish shipped to the country where they are residing.

He realized that bringing Filipinos abroad closer to home by "delivering" food can be a profitable business. Back then, Cipriano was an exec at an IT firm, so being the techie that he was, he launched his e-store website with the name, "PinoyDelikasi," which stands for Pinoy delicacy in vernacular spelling, and at the same time a gist for "Lutong Pinoy, Delicious Kasi."

The catchy domain name caught the attention of many overseas Filpinos, which equated to an overwhelming number of orders. Since then, the business thrived with the growing network of countries served, a wide assortment of products it offers through many factory-fresh suppliers, as it continues to be the first website in mind when it comes to buying Pinoy delicacy items.

Living the awesome life, starting with a blog

On the other hand, Anton Diaz, internet marketer and avid blogger of Our Awesome Planet, encouraged marketing and business students to practice blogging, as it is not just a way of publishing one’s thoughts, but also an avenue to advance his advocacy.

Symposium on Empowering Farmers

The Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) will hold the 22nd National Research Symposium (NRS) next month.

The opening program and the paper presentations will be held 7 October 2010 at the 4/F BAR RDMIC building while the awarding ceremony is scheduled for 8 October 2010 at the Fernando Lopez Hall, BSWM, Visayas Ave., Quezon City.

With the theme, "Empowering Farmers and Fisherfolk in a Changing Environment: Improving Agriculture and Fisheries through R&D", this year's NRS underscores the importance of R&D vis-à-vis the various challenges of our time and how significant results and technologies generated from R&D can empower farmers and fisherfolk in reducing production cost and enhancing their capacities to compete locally and globally.

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Tupperware Phils. Eyes Strong Presence

Tupperware Brands Philippines, a direct selling company, recently reiterated its commitment to strengthening its position as one of the biggest direct selling companies in the country with the launch of its new line of fragrances, food storage solutions, and baby care products and the introduction of its latest roster of celebrity endorsers.

According to Tupperware Brands Philippines president Perry Mogar, the launch is part of the company's directive to adopt a more aggressive marketing strategy by leveraging on the strength of the company’s top-of-the-line brands.

"We want to strengthen our position in the industry as one of the best and largest companies, and so we're putting more emphasis on our star brands such as the fragrance and baby care lines. Of course, the food storage line, which remains our flagship product, has been given a wider range of product offerings for the enjoyment of our customers and to provide more income opportunities for dealers," revealed Mogar.

The use of high-profile celebrities has also been given more highlight this year to build the company’s brands and communicate the superior quality of their products. This following the recent successful launch of Bea Alonzo as the company’s new endorser for its premier cosmetics brand, Colour Collection.

Communicating Tupperware Brands' goal of becoming a direct selling company with unmatched star power are the new celebrity endorsers: one of today’s most-sought-after actors Sam Milby, talented young actress Maja Salvador, and versatile actor-turned-chef Marvin Agustin.

Milby and Salvador are the new faces of Tupperware Brands’ men’s and women’s fragrance lines. The two have also launched their own signature scents that promise to translate to more positive digits in the fragrance category.

Agustin, meanwhile, adds credibility to the Tupperware food container line as he shares his passion for food and health and his own inspiring Tupperware story to the growing number of Tupperware dealers across the country.

With the introduction of new products, Tupperware Brands aims to continue its winning streak in the local direct selling arena. The company continues to post positive gains in the local market, thanks to the continuous increase in sales of its bestselling beauty and baby products.

With the local Tupperware company's continued success, the Philippines has become one of the biggest markets in the Asia Pacific region for the global Tupperware company. Despite the global recession, the continuous soar of revenues generated from Tupperware franchises all over the world, including the Philippines, has contributed to the global company’s positive revenues last year of US$ 2.1 billion.

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'World's Biggest Book' Launched

The world's biggest book fair in Frankfurt is used to seeing some big book launches, but none came larger than a six-by-nine-foot (two-by-three-meter) Atlas unveiled on 6 October 2010.

Yours for a cool 100,000 dollars, Australian publisher Gordon Cheers said that the last book even close in size to his 128-page volume was the Klencke Atlas, produced in 1660 as a gift for Charles II of England.

"But that was about one foot smaller than this," Cheers proudly told AFP. "This is the first time a book this size has ever been seen."

Just to turn a page takes all his strength and the book took people three hours to get into position for visitors to the Frankfurt Book Fair, which runs until Sunday.

This makes his Atlas the antithesis of this year's book fair, which is devoted to smart, mobile content.

"It's all about creating a legacy," the Sydney-based publisher said. "Today, everything is digital and it's gone in a second. This will still be around in 500 years."

The book took around a month to produce and Cheers is limiting the print run of his monster Atlas to 31. He has already sold two volumes to museums in the United Arab Emirates and is confident he will sell the whole lot.

Cheers worked for British publishing giants Penguin and then Random House, but neither firm was interested in his project, so he left to found his own company, he said.

The book contains maps of whole continents, as well as sharp images of famous sites collaged together from 1,000 individual pictures.

As far as he knows, no one else is producing books on this scale.

"I think we're the only ones crazy enough," quipped Cheers.

3commentsVickie Heully // October 13, 2010 12:53 PM 

Finally, a book with large enough print that my mother-in-law would be able to read it! Jk

That IS a very big book though.

Bruneian Dollar // October 23, 2010 10:32 AM 

Imagine a lot of trees sacrificed for that big book. Though then again, it is pretty sweet.

ereferer // October 31, 2010 9:02 PM 

Thank god !! that is not my text book :p

and... could you please make the text bigger in post. Its very hard to read.

kind regards, jeny JOSE

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2010 World Robotics Olympiad (WRO)

The world is set to celebrate the amazing synergy of robotics and learning for the first time in the Philippines.

As host of this year's World Robotics Olympiad (WRO), the country is all systems go for the annual meet of the "youngest and most brilliant minds" in the realm of science and technology with the theme 'Robots Promotes Tourism,' slated on 6 November 2010 at the SMX Convention Center.

Organized by Felta Multimedia, the event shall be the venue where science, technology and education brings together the young people all over the world to develop their creativity and problem solving skills through challenging and educational robot competitions. Schools are invited to enter a team of three students to participate in this competition. Participating teams need to create, design and build a robot models that looks or behaves like human athlete. The competition starts from preliminary to the final judging.

The objectives of the WRO are the following:
Provide the promising elementary and high school students an opportunity to expand their horizons through exploration of robots and robotic systems in the school.
Introduce the concept of modern science into school’s educational activities in science and technology.
Provide an opportunity to promote creative thinking, improve communications and cooperation skills and strengthen the ability to acquire new knowledge highly relevant towards progressive education.
Bring together young people all over the world to develop creativity and problem solving skills through challenging and educational robot competition.
To widen the youth’s view in the application of science & technology, improve their learning efficiency & encourage our youth to be future scientists, engineers and inventors.The 2010 WRO is supported by the Science Education Institute - Department of Science and Technology (SEI-DOST) and the Department of Education (DepED).

For more details, contact Coni Peralta at (632) 912-1397 or email felta

Using FB is Preferred than iPod

For entrepreneurs who cater to the needs of their younger clients, they should know that music is no longer the number one way for young people to define themselves. According to an Australian survey released on 11 October 2010, young people have now embraced social networks such as Facebook as a primary venue to express themselves.

Asked "What defines you?" the most popular response from young adults was "my friends", pipping music for the first time in the seven-year history of the annual Urban Market Research study.

"That came to us as a bit of a surprise," said Dion Appel, chief executive of the LifeLounge Group, which commissioned the survey of more than 1,750 Australians aged 16 to 30.

"What's not a surprise is the popularity of Facebook. But I suppose how that's influencing how young people actually define themselves is a pretty powerful insight.

"They are relying a lot more on friends to help define themselves."

Facebook was the number one website visited by those polled, with a massive 47 per cent saying they spent five or more hours each week on the social networking site.

And while every young adult had at least one email address, this method of communication was on the wane, according to the study conducted with Sweeney Research.

Young adults associate email more with their professional or school life than their personal affairs and so prefer to communicate with peers via Facebook, text messaging, Skype and Instant Messenger, Appel said.

With a simple status update on their social networking pages, young people can "just put in how they are feeling and let technology deliver the messages" without needing to dig up people's email addresses, he said.

The research also confirms that most young people have a frantic digital life, with more than 80 per cent "doing other things" while surfing the Internet or posting on social networks -- like watching television or messaging.

But the barrage of information is also forcing youngsters to take some time out by "pressing pause" on the multimedia deluge, the survey said.

The most popular offline pastime was reading, with about 56 percent of those interviewed doing this for at least an hour a week. Cooking and going to art exhibitions were also popular.

"They are certainly not switching off. The one thing they claim they can't live without is the Internet. So what they are doing is just pausing momentarily and taking a breath," Appel said.

However he said social media were definitely on the rise.

"There are a number of ways for young people to get their kudos, or as we call it urban capital, and this is largely through social media now. They've got a voice that they can really properly broadcast in ways they have not been able to do in the past."

2commentsJovir // October 22, 2010 2:22 PM 

Agree. FB seems to rule out the younger brackets of the market nowadays.

Donny // October 22, 2010 6:53 PM 

nice info...heheee

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Views on Entrecard's Sponsored Ads

When it was first implemented, a lot has been written about Entrecard's sponsored ads and the intrusion of CPC ads. Based on various posts, it has become obvious that bloggers are divided on the first issue, while majority loathe the lack of deterrent for intrusive ads.

It is understandable why many dislike the impropriety that forces them to be directed to landing page with lots of CPA and CPC ads on it, but it has not been directly explained by some bloggers why they don't care much about the first issue.

Months later, majority of those who did not leave Entrecard seems to have accepted the logic behind the site's business model and sponsored programs. This could be due to less critical and open minded recognition of the following items:

First off, the company behind Entrecard has to make money in order for it to survive and sustain its operations. One of those strategies is to attract advertisers to make an investment for the services that they offer and that service includes taking 15 percent of their entire ad network inventory for sponsors. The income that will be generated will be used to cover overhead expenses, which is not cheap nowadays.

Some would tend to think that Entrecard has no right to do this since a blog is a personal property of its owner who has the right to supervise whatever is contained on the site. I am not a lawyer or a legal expert so you can enlighten me on this further, but when the owner of the site applied for Entrecard membership and posted the widget on their site, that right does not cover what that widget will contain.

Now, the blog owner was given limited form of control on what the contents of the widget will be, but it does not mean Entrecard could not impose their own conditions on how the widget will be used. In fact, the Terms and Conditions of being an Entrecard member clearly stated that:
"Entrecard reserves the right to use a percentage of the network's ad inventory to serve sponsor ads."If the owner wants to reestablish full control of the ads in their Entrecard widgets, then they can always opt to pay US$ 50.00. Nobody is forcing them to do this though. Once they paid the amount, bloggers will have an option to decline any Sponsor ads from Entrecard for whatever reason.

For those who are not bothered by these sponsored ads, which will be evenly distributed throughout the network, life goes on at Entrecard. Some bloggers I talked to think that it only became a bloated issue for some members because it was implemented without much consultation. If this was adopted early or when the new management took over from Graham Langdon, then many would have been accustomed to the idea already.

But the bottom line is that members decided to be part of a free service of Entrecard to generate traffic and increase their blog's ranking. Entrecard never promised that those visitors will be converted to subscribers or readers nor did they say anything about not promoting sponsored ads, so let’s just give them more flexibility to do what they do best, which is to provide a social networking platform, an advertising network and a marketplace for many aspiring bloggers.

5commentsredkathy // October 26, 2010 10:52 AM 

Very well stated and I couldn't agree more.

Lakbay Philippines // October 26, 2010 3:48 PM 

i agree. sometimes, people are just way over their head thinking that entrecard is a charity institution for bloggers. funny thing is, i find people ranting here and there. so if you feel they're unjust, why not remove it? just saying. :)

davelucas // October 26, 2010 8:58 PM 

The keyword here is FREE.

Metallman // October 27, 2010 12:37 AM 

Hey there. I stepped away from Entrecard for about a year or so. I thought that the quality of the members were suffering due to the "stop, drop, and hop" method that many members were doing just to get their 300 drops in. I'm hoping that it's improved since I last logged in.

Glenny // October 28, 2010 2:06 AM 

I'm divided on this to be honest. Whilst i can appreciate they need to cover their overheads (I'm an accountant so i know all about those!), it's not

UP Offers Distance Education

The UP Board of Regents has approved the offering of the Graduate Certificate in Distance Education (GCDE) by the UP Open University’s Faculty of Education for professionals who are looking for a formal introduction to the field of distance education (DE), including e-learning, and graduate-level training in developing and managing DE and e-learning programs.

GCDE graduates are expected to be able to participate in the development and delivery of distance education programs that are underpinned by effective pedagogy and appropriate and sustainable use of technology.

Entry to the GCDE program is through the MDE program. Detailed information about the GCDE and the MDE, including program and admission requirements, can be found at https://sites.google.com/a/upou.edu.ph/master-of-distance-education-program/home. General information on application procedures can be found at http://www.upou.edu.ph/admission/requirements.htm.

For pre-application advice, please contact the Faculty of Education (fed

Investing in Insurance?

Most of the time, all it takes is one or two good pieces of knowledge or information to improve investment's performance. These short and to-the-point investing tips can make a tremendous difference in your returns and help you make sense of the market, especially the insurance industry.

First thing to remember is not to be daunted by lengthy sales pitches of insurance agents. If you're really keen on investing in insurance, ask yourself these questions to see how prepared you are to make this kind of investment.

How much risk am I willing to take?

Now here’s where you need to be realistic, if what you’re aiming for is a 100 percent foolproof investment then you are only kidding yourself. There are different risk levels depending on the type of investment that you are willing to put your money on. This is why you shouldn’t be too lazy to look up different insurance products and other types of investments to see how big a risk is going to be involved. Protect your money by arming yourself with the right information.

When will I be able to see a return on my investments?

Again, it depends on the type of investment that you are interested in. Do consider this while doing your research on different insurance products and other types of investments. It may help you to write down your goals in the next three, five or ten years and see how long will you be able to wait for your investments to earn profit.

How much time and effort am I willing to put in my investment?

Always keep in mind that when it comes to investing your hard-earned money, you always need to be on top of things and be aware of what’s going on. It absolutely makes no sense for you to put your money in investments that you aren’t even sure of but still expect to yield positive results. Now is not the time for you to play Russian roulette, what you need is to be better informed. Aside from contacting insurance agents, you can always make use of the internet to look up insurance products that you find feasible. But do make sure that you are willing to commit not just your money but your time and attention to the investments that you make. If you lack the patience, there are still other ways for you to make your money grow especially if you are open-minded.

2commentsJovir // November 5, 2010 5:05 PM 

Thanks for this nice post. Really helps a lot.

Cebu Urbano

Kadir // November 7, 2010 4:06 PM 

Nice post!!! You can throw few words about auto insurance also in your next post.

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WNS Re-Affirms Phil. Operation

WNS Limited, a leading provider of global business process outsourcing services, announced that it will expand its operations in Manila in response to increasing demand from its clients.

During a visit to the WNS Philippines center which began its operations in 2008, Keshav Murugesh, group CEO of WNS Global Services, announced that the Manila center will be a hub for offering voice and data services to its clients from the banking and financial services industry, and to those based in the Asia-Pacific region.

"WNS' delivery center in Manila began by offering contact center services to global clients across various industries, and has now expanded operations to offer a range of services, including finance and accounting
and analy-tics," Murugesh said.

"Considering the quality of talent available in the country and the demand for our services, we believe that 10 percent of WNS’ workforce could be based in the Philippines over the next few years," he added.

"We are extremely committed to growing our delivery centers in the Philippines and have increased our capacity by 300 seats to cater to the growing demand. We are excited with the quality of talent in this country and the ability to deliver superior services to our customers from this region," said Prabakhar Bisen, CEO of WNS Philippines.

Speaking about the reasons for selecting the Philippines as an outsourcing destination, Murugesh said, "The Philippines was an obvious choice as a delivery center for WNS as it provides us with access to a large pool of high-quality talent, specially voice-based. (There are) 350,000 college graduates from various universities in the Philippines every year, and 65,000 chartered accountants clear the board."

"The Philippines has also been recognized as the third largest English-speaking nation in the world with a high literacy rate of 94 percent," he added.

Other international WNS sites are located in Costa Rica, Romania, Sri Lanka, India, and United Kingdom.

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Tap Savings for Infra Projects

According to Asian Development Bank (ADB) president Haruhiko Kurodamust be creative in finding ways to tap its multi-trillion dollar savings and to mobilize private sector support for new infrastructure needed to sustain growth in the coming years.

"The infrastructure challenge for developing Asia is one of the most daunting we face today," the bank said in a statement released Sunday, quoting Kuroda.

"We must work diligently to be innovative, yet financially responsible, in mobilizing Asian savings to deliver successful, sustainable and robust infrastructure projects," Kuroda told delegates at the Infrastructure Finance Forum here.

The event, jointly sponsored by ADB, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council and Japan Bank for International Cooperation, is being held in Yokohama, Japan today, the bank said in the statement.

Gross domestic savings in emerging Asia reached close to $4 trillion in 2009. Much of this large cash pile has been underutilized, with regulatory obstacles, currency mismatches and underdeveloped capital markets hindering broader financing of essential infrastructure, the Manila-based bank said.

ADB calculated that about $8 trillion in new infrastructure investments will be required in the region in the 10 years to 2020 to support current levels of economic growth.

Of the infrastructure needs, energy and electricity will take up 40 percent of the total, followed by transport (25 percent). Social infrastructure for education, health, water and sanitation, and other public goods will account for another 25 percent. The balance will be mainly investments in telecommunications infrastructure.

With the public sector unable to meet the immense costs on its own, public-private partnerships are essential, and governments should look to strengthen existing legal and regulatory frameworks to attract more private investors and finance from funds and institutional investors, the bank said.

"Infrastructure funds and local institutional investors, like pension and provident funds, can channel Asian savings to help finance public-private infrastructure projects," Kuroda said.

Further development of domestic capital markets and more local currency lending will also help address currency mismatches that deter investors in the sector.

ADB's infrastructure-related investments are expected to exceed $8 billion annually — or two-thirds of all its lending — over the next 10 years.

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