Sat, 19 Jul 2008
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NetAudioAds (Voice2Page) is launching a new advertising model for webmasters. Simply embed some code to the end of your HTML body tag and it will launch a 5-second audio message to your visitors when they visit your web site.
NetAudioAds (Voice2Page) will only start paying advertisers from February 2008 after they test the market a little bit. They pay weekly, based on ads played and advertiser payments. This begins the friday after your first ad is played in February. It would be interesting to see how this “pay per play” model works out. It seems like you will make money from each visitor to your web site regardless if they click or buy anything. It works a little like the “cost per impression” model.
However, I doubt they will pay for every visitor to your web site. Most likely, they will filter the source of your visitor and pay for USA traffic or English speaking countries only. They play 1 audio message every 3 minutes during a visitor’s stay on your web site.
I received an email from NetAudioAds’ CTO, Larry Host saying:
We ask that you embed this code fragment in all your pages as soon as possible as our third party audit begins on December 22, 2007 and the prices we charge advertisers is based on the results from that audit.
I plan to embed the HTML code today or tomorrow on some of my sites to start the process.
NetAudioAds (Voice2Page) Affiliate Program
The good thing about signing up early before they start paying is you get to introduce this to as many people as possible to build your list of sub affiliates.
Here’s how the affiliate program will work:
Looks like an MLM model doesn’t it? I am not sure if it is but it seems promising. The verdict on NetAudioAds (Voice2Page) is still unknown. We shall find out in the coming months if this model is going to work out profitably for our web sites.
Tagged As: NetAudioAds, pay per play, PPP, Voice2Page
Categories: Advertising Revenue | 1 Comment »
Wow! After increasing their salaries by up to 60% earlier this year, you would think they would be satisfied. Hell no! According to this news report, they are planning another bonus in 2008! My PM is already getting paid 5 times whatever George Bush is getting, but that means nothing to them because in “unique Singapore”, things are different and our leaders have to be paid lots of money to prevent them from becoming corrupt. Furthermore, if they do not get paid as much as the top professionals in the private sector, they might quit their posts and jeopardize our $210 billion dollar economy.
This logic does not really make sense to me. What I am getting is, if you pay them too little money, they might start thinking of doing corrupt things to make some money on the side. The solution to this problem is to pay them a lot of money. I can’t say it makes no sense, I guess you could say it does make a little sense but that does not mean it is the only way out.
The expected average salary increase for Singaporeans in 2008 is 5%. Sounds really nice. Did you know that Singapore’s inflation in 2008 is estimated at 5%? There goes your 5% pay increase!
Singaporeans have been told to “Get a sense of proportion” by Lee Kuan Yew. Don’t make a big deal about the ministers’ pay increase because it is for the good of the country to pay them loads of money to preserve what we have and improve on it.
Here’s what Lee Kuan Yew has to say about the ministers’ pay increase:
A dumb video on how they calculated their pay increase.
The total cost of ministers’ salaries, of all office holders, the present cost is 0.13 per cent of government expenditure (and 0.022 per cent of GDP).
It amounts to $46 million. We are quarrelling about whether we should pay them $46 million or $36 million, or better still $26 million. So you save $20 million and jeopardise an economy of $210 billion? (This was the size of Singapore’s GDP in 2006.)
What are we talking about?
You know fund managers? I’m chairman of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and we put $5 billion, $10 billion with top fund managers, just to benchmark how we are performing against the best in the market.
We have about three or four top US investors and we track what they do and we compare what we are doing.
And you have to pay them not 0.13 per cent. Win or lose, whether the stocks go up or down, they take their cut. You ask GIC employees; I’m the chairman of GIC. I’m being paid as Minister Mentor, the Senior Minister before that, and even as Prime Minister before that, a fraction of what the top managers in GIC earn.
But they are handling over US$100 billion (S$151 billion). They make a mistake, we lose $10, $20, $30 billion overnight when the stock market collapses.
So for the average family earning $1,500, $3,000, we are talking of astronomical figures.
But for people in government like me, having to deal with these sums of money which we have accumulated through the sweat of our brow over the last 40 years, you have to pay the market rate or the man will up stakes and join Morgan Stanley or Lehman Brothers or Goldman Sachs. And then you’ve got an incompetent man and you’ve lost money, by the billions.
So get a sense of proportion.
More of his wonderful speech on why we need to pay him more money.
According to this interview, Lee Kuan Yew challenged Singaporeans to ask ourselves if we can leave Singapore with a clear conscience.
‘We are now into a globalised world where people who are well-educated, well-trained and especially English-educated have enormous options,’ he said.
But his point to them was this: ‘Can you leave with a clear conscience? I cannot.’
He urged them to think hard about what they owe the country. ‘If we lose our top talent, then we will decline as a nation,’ he said.
The key, he believed, was to inculcate a particular message in the young - especially those doing well in schools, colleges, polytechnics and universities.
‘You are here, you are getting this education, you are getting these opportunities that make you mobile, that make you desirable because this mass of people had discipline, (were) hardworking, provided the stability, the base on which you mounted your career.
‘Can you in good conscience say, ‘Goodbye! Thank you very much’?’
My answer is a big YES. I would like to use his quote “Those are admirable sentiments, but we live in the real world.” in response to this emigration issue. In the real world, there are Chinese people like myself who value their individual freedom. Democracy is not reserved just for Westerners, all Asians and human beings all need and want freedom.
Tagged As: inflation, minister pay increase, singapore emigration
Categories: Singapore News | No Comments »
Ever since I decided to really move out of Singapore, my dominating thoughts have been all about how to get all the migration paperwork done as soon as possible and all the good things I can expect in the near future.
Therefore, I will be blogging a lot about my life in Singapore and the local news that affects my life in general. I predict this will be one of my last long stays in this country and I would like to keep a record on the reasons why I want to emigrate and how I did it so that others may learn from my experience.
I love to read alternative Singapore news from blogs such as:
My blog is primarily about internet marketing and not a Singapore political blog. If it were one, I would have to register my blog with the Singapore government and have my every post used as evidence against me if I wrote anything they deem as slanderous. Gotta get out of this FEAR based country ASAP!
Tagged As: Singapore News
Categories: Blog Updates, Singapore News | No Comments »
I have often been called all sorts of negative names by my peers because I criticize Singapore. Let me clarify that I love my country but I just disagree with the way it is being governed.
I like the green, neat and clean environment even though the weather here is simply too hot and humid. I like the cheap food I can get and the world class public transportation, which is still relatively cheap even after the continuous price hikes. I am ok with the lack of beautiful places to visit in my country because I can make do with the aircon at the nice shopping centres. All in all, Singapore is a fine city.
Beneath all that nice marketing wrapping of Uniquely Singapore, you’ll find a country with a very repressed bunch of people who live in fear of the government. People get whipped on the ass for certain offences, death sentences for drug traffickers, permits are required if you plan to assemble more than 5 people in a public place, compulsory military service for men, men need to get a permit to leave the country for holidays, no chewing gums allowed, no cats in government flats, opposition politicians are made bankrupt etc…. I could go on and on and on.
The good news for Singapore is most people simply suck it up and live with it. As long as you do that, you can live in Singapore even though you might feel very miserable living here. It is your choice. My choice is to leave. I cannot see the situation improving in the next 50 years. I can’t wait for the old man at the top of this police state to die and wait for another generation to try to turn things around. I want freedom now but it is not going to happen because we cannot beat the system via elections and the government don’t give a shit about us any way.
I really admire is Dr Lim Hock Siew, who was jailed for almost 20 years for nothing! He was not found guilty of any crime but yet he was detained under the Internal Security Act without trial. That’s like assuming someone is guilty without giving him a chance to prove his innocence. I have been a regular customer of Dr Lim’s for over 15 years as he has a clinic near my home. I did not know he was a former PAP member who was thrown in jail because someone accused him of being a Communist till I stumbled on this Youtube video.
I also happen to live in a country where the police can block you from walking on the street without giving you an official explanation. This shows how much of a “POLICE STATE” we really are.
Combine all this nonsense with the high cost of living makes this place a rather terrible place to live in if you’re the type of person who values freedom. I admire people like Dr Lim, Dr Chee Soon Juan and JB Jeyaretnam. Hopefully, I will be able to help them in their freedom movement in future when I am no longer a Singapore citizen. Right now, to be completely honest, I don’t have the balls to oppose my government because there is simply too much for me to lose than gain.
Categories: Singapore News | 2 Comments »
I have decided to apply to migrate to Australia again. I have been putting in the initial steps to get myself out of Singapore for good. My previous migration attempt failed because the relationship between my mum and his brother, who is an Australian citizen, broke down about 2 years ago when they had an argument over their mum’s money. I was hoping he could “sponsor” me in my application but it was not to be.
I went to visit an Australian migration agency and I was told that I could get an Australian permanent residence visa because my younger sister is currently living and studying in Perth, Australia. My little sister was born in Australia and therefore she is a citizen of Australia. She recently moved to Perth to start her veterinarian course earlier this year. What that means for me is she is eligible to “sponsor” me via the “Skilled Sponsored” visa scheme.
I initially wanted to hire an Australian migration agent to help me through the process. However, once I consulted a few agents and got a feel of what the whole process would be like, I decided it would be so much better if I do it myself and save up to SGD $4000 - $6000 + in agency fees. It is just a lot of simple but troublesome paperwork, which can be confusing if you do not read the instructions properly.
The first steps of my migration plan are:
This process could take 2-3 months to complete. I need to get my skills assessed by the Australian Computer Society and pass me IELTS English Exam before I can apply for my “Skilled Sponsored” visa. The visa application should take about 7 months. The entire process could take any where from 10 months to 1 year or more.
I am now stuck at the reference letters part. I need 3 reference letters from my 3 previous employers. I hope I get them as soon as possible because it has been dragging on for more than 3 weeks now. Once I have my reference letters, I will be able to submit my skills assessment application without further delay.
I can’t live in Singapore any longer. I feel like I would regret it for the rest of my life if I spent any more of my precious time in Singapore, which I do not consider a first world country no matter what Lee Kuan Yew says. “From 3rd to 1st World Country in One Generation” - Yeah right! First world countries are democratic, have minimum wage laws, fair elections and respect for their citizens’ rights. My country has none of these characteristics so I am not calling it a first world country because it would be making a mockery of all the true first world countries in the world.
Tagged As: australia, australia computer society, IELTS English Exam, migration, migration agency, migration agent, perth, reference letters, resume, skills assessment, statutory declaration
Categories: Vincent's Updates | No Comments »
I just added Kontera text ads to my blog. Maybe I should have added this to my web sites earlier on but I wasn’t sure of it because I used to have Clicksor on one of my sites and it was pathetic. Let’s see how Kontera performs on my sites.
Categories: Advertising Revenue | No Comments »