I was listening to NPR earlier today and I heard a program that talked about a ‘World Expo’ that is happening in China right now. Since the US has rules about spending money on World Expos the embassy was forced to turn to corporate sponsorship to get a display going for the US. They raised and subsequently spent about 61 million dollars if I remember correctly.

Some of the local Chinese people who were attending the Expo were interviewed and had a few comments. One was that the ‘displays’ from other countries obviously involved a greater effort and showed that those countries value their relationship with China. However, I could care less about such criticism.

What followed was infinitely more interesting. There were at least two Chinese citizens who said they were disappointed that the US display lacked any really ‘cool’ technology. The US is the land of technology and they are most interested in finding out what makes the United States so dominant in both economics and technology. The undercurrent to that, as I understand it, is: We want to duplicate that success.

However, this is the wrong question. Or perhaps it is the right question, but only in reverse. The more appropriate question should be: What is holding China back from becoming THE leader economically and technologically?

I have been in some unique situations and I even dare to say that I have been privileged to some information sources that the average person may not have access to – or at least not very easily.

Based on these ‘mysterious’ and unrevealed experiences and sources, I am going to put forth my hypothesis in regards to the question: What is holding China back?

The short answers to that question are: 1. A one party, non-elected government. 2. Cultural norms that have a stifling effect on personal expression and therefore puts great restriction on the advancement of the entire Chinese society from moving forward.

In some ways the explanation of both short answers are interconnected and in some ways they are not. First off, it should be obvious that the non-elected communist party is stifling to the advancement of China. One very obvious reason is that they do their best to restrict the free flow of information through censorship. In addition, they are a violent regime that is not afraid to use violence to suppress individuals and groups. For example, there is an extensive ‘re-education through forced labor’ system in China. The people, whether they are fully conscious of it or not, are afraid of the government – and with that fear comes a natural suppression of creativity.

Without an environment that encourages, rather then stifles, the free flow of ideas, information and intellectual exchange – without the fear of retaliation, China is automatically at a severe disadvantage. Even if you have well educated people, if they only feel safe in ‘playing it safe’, there is not much chance for real advancement. This is a major part of the success of a ‘free market’ economy.

This is intertwined somewhat with Chinese cultural ‘norms’ which would better be described as cultural ‘abnormalities’. Here is why. A similar dynamic plays in the average workplace as previously described. If you were to take the Chinese one-party, non-elected, government away, you would still have a stifling of creativity, although to a lesser degree.

In China, if a worker has a good idea that can truly improve a company’s ability to compete or add to the bottom line in some meaningful way, that worker is unlikely to bring this idea forward. The simple problem is that you cannot have a better idea than you boss! If you do, you are asking for trouble. Your boss would ‘lose face’, and as a result there would be repercussions for you. Therefore, your idea is either completely stolen or you are actually punished for daring to have a better idea than your boss. This severely retards the advancement of business, technology and industry.

In the West, while there is a small semblance of that mentality at times, in general, workers are rewarded for having good ideas. Sometimes they are very well rewarded – occasionally to the tune of millions of dollars in addition to much recognition and a higher position. In general, there is far smaller degree of fear that your boss will retaliate against you for having a good idea. Western companies will often go out of their way to reward workers with good ideas. This is how companies become more efficient and how they support creativity from the people who know various aspects of their business best – the workers!

The Japanese, at least in the area of quality assurance, have taken this concept even further. Re: Learn how Toyota rose to become the biggest automaker in the world and the lesson they learned from pushing too hard. Toyota realizes that it must return fully to its regard for quality above all else. I digress with the Japanese example.

The problem with China advancing is primarily due to the stifling affect of the government. And to a smaller but still very significant degree, cultural ‘abnormalities’ that are not likely to change anytime soon! Let’s not even touch on the massive corruption that also has a stagnating effect. I will leave that for another post!

*You are invited to comment below.*

Twitter this post:

RT @davesnape: What Holds China Back? http://www.AllThingsPondered.com/2324/

PS: To Better understand the nature of China’s non-elected, one party system and why it is problematic, visit: http://www.Ninecommentaries.com

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I recently was suckered into buying one of those expensive Internet Marketing packages. As part of the deal I went through an affiliate.

In case you didn’t know, affiliates make their money from a commission paid by the vendor of the product when someone purchases through the affiliate’s unique link or id. That part is fine and I don’t have a problem with that.

However, this affiliate as part of her lure or ‘hook’ to get me to buy through her affiliate link offered an expensive piece of software that I wanted. I thought that part was great.

However, what I got from her was a link to download the trial version and a ‘registration’ number that was probably passed around and reused. This makes it piracy, illegal and unfair to the company that makes the product. To be fair, I did write to the company and I never received a response back which leads me to believe they may not care that much.

Next, the affiliate was offering her ‘secret’ method of making money. This turned out to be a ‘carbon copy’ of her fake blog complete with testimonials. I was instructed to just copy the fake blog and insert any program I wanted to promote into it. Well, these two things combined makes this affiliate’s bonuses worth nothing at all.

Oh, one other strategy she suggested using had to do with overdubbing your voice on a famous artist’s song. You would give the listener a URL at the end of the song and send the person to a product that was affiliated with the singer.

I just have to say that overdubbing your voice over an artist’s copyrighted work is wrong. I guess if the artist were willing to give you permission that would be different. However, I doubt that would happen. I wonder how much trouble the innocent affiliate would get into by following such advice if he was unlucky enough to be targeted by a record company?

Therefore, if the affiliate I bought through has anything to offer in the future, I certainly will not be interested. “You can sheer a sheep for life, but you can skin it only once”, have you heard that one, dear affiliate? I have no doubt that the affiliate in question used a bogus name anyway. Once found out, he or she will switch to another.

Please don’t learn from this affiliate’s behavior. Market honesty and ethically. Next:

Learn how to Build Your Business Right at: http://www.BuildingYourBusinessRight.com

–

About the Author of this article:

David Snape is the author of the book: What You Should Know about Gum Disease. ISBN: 978-0981485508 – Available online at most book retailer sites. It can also be ordered by most book stores.

Disclaimer: This article is for information and entertainment purposes only. It does not intend to render advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have or think you might have gum disease or any other health problem, visit your periodontist or physician for advice, diagnosis and treatment. The USFDA has not evaluated statements about products in this article.

“PS: if you are marketer who has been ripping people off, I challenge you to do as as Obi Wan Kenobi suggests: “Go home and rethink your life”.

Let’s get real for a minute. You are bombarded everyday with this marketer’s and that marketer’s money making package.

Could it all be for real? Well, if you ask them it is. But what are your chances of getting rich after buying, reading and implementing one of these ‘packages’?

I’d say in most instances your chances are pretty close to ZERO.

If you can’t make it work, they want you to blame yourself. “I didn’t try hard enough”. etc. There is always some angle they will psychologically feed you. This is a tactic used in MLM (multi level marketing) as well.

Now, I won’t go all out and say that what these people say doesn’t work. Although, in some cases that is true.

A lot of people are throwing all kinds of rehashed stuff out there for outrageous prices. There is very little NEW information in these things.

You can get a lot of information for free by reading between the lines on email lists, downloading free reports, reading articles, reading good reputable forums. All of the marketing information is out there somewhere. Do you really need to pay $97 to someone to give you some rehashed information on marketing?

Let me tell you what is closer to the reality: Making money online is hard. Yes, once you get to a certain point, it may become easy – but getting to that point is hard. I can tell you, I’ve been working my tail end off for a long time and I’m still not at a full time income.

So, please don’t think you are going to put up a blog and start spamming twitter with your RSS feed and that you are going to be a millionaire in a couple of weeks.

Another thing that I find despicable is some of the BS testimonials that are out there. You see, these ‘big dogs’ are all friends. They gladly give their testimonials to each other in exchange for the same down the road. Watch out for this con. I believe there are many who flat out make their testimonials up. And that is a shame because it leaves you with the feeling of ‘who do I trust’?

I’m not here to bash anyone. Please notice that I’m not mentioning any names. However, I am dismayed by all the BS marketing tactics going on. If you are legitimate, offer me a money back satifsaction guarantee. That means if I am not happy, I decide wether you give me the money back or not, not you. If your stuff is that good, then there would be no reason for me to ask for the money back. They will lie to you and tell you they have to protect themselves from getting ripped off. BS. If you are satisfied with their service, then they have nothing to fear. Most people won’t ask for their money back. There are some who will, but most won’t. Many, but not all people, will ask for their money back if they feel they have be ripped off, however.

It is a known fact that there is a high return rate on ‘digital’ products. Why is this? Because many times you get the product and realize it is simply the same old information you have gotten everywhere else. There is nothing new.

If I had a large email list, I could spam my subscribers all day long and someone is going to buy, these marketers know this. That’s why you get BS emails that say, oh, I gave you the wrong link in the last email etc. They do this to get even more exposure for their messages.

I can’t begin to tell you how many ‘big dog’ marketers have people calling around trying to get you and me to buy their 5K coaching programs.

Here is what the acid litmus test is on these 5K coaching offers: Do they offer a money back satisfaction guarantee? Um, NO! They try to side skirt that issue by saying we offer a guarantee that we will help you for up to a year. What does that mean? In the end, it probably only means that you can email them questions. The value of the answers is what I don’t trust. I can tell anyone to do more PPC or article marketing or give some other vague and goofy answer and it would be ‘valid’ from a logical standpoint. Advertise more and you are bound to get an additional sale! But, in good conscience, telling someone the obvious is not really an honest way to make money.

Here is what is important to know when it comes to making money online in my opinion : Everyone’s unique situation is different. EVERYONE’S! What may work for one may not work for another. You have to find your own path and leverage your own unique situations to get to a profitable business.

Stop buying money making products. Pay attention in really good forums, make friends with someone that can help you. BTW – have you noticed that these big name ‘marketing dogs’ are never accessable? Can you guess why?

As far as the forums go, the same testimonial crap is going on. I know because I have bought garbage and I see other people on the same thread in the forum saying how great person “insert name here” offer is. And how satisfied they are with the service or the product. This is how this kind of marketer works – they will return the favor later.

The reader who has no idea what is going on gets excited when he sees this kind of testimonial and may even be motivated to buy.

In closing, let me say that there is a lot of scamming going on at the lower levels of marketing too. I’m talking about people who setup fake names to sell their ‘information’ products. They don’t even have the guts to use their real names. In reality, they may not even believe in the product they are selling – THAT’s How bad it is out there – Right now!

David Snape

http://www.tobeinformed.com

http://www.ToothyGrinsStore.com

PS: if you are marketer who has been ripping people off, grow some kahunas and start making an honest living. As Obi Wan Kenobi would say, “Go home and rethink your life”.

I’m disappointed in the amount of ‘shenanigans’ that is going on around the Internet.

In particular, I want to complain about the number of people selling ‘information’ products – well more specifically – how they go about it.

Many people are using bogus names on their sales letters. This is wrong. If you are promoting a product, you need to use your own name and provide your own contact information.

If you can not, it very well may be a sign that you don’t really believe in what you are selling, perhaps you are even embarrassed or ashamed?

I do use pen names when writing articles. I think that is acceptable.

However, when you are actually selling something to the public, ie, taking money from people in exchange for a product – then I believe you should put your real name on it. Anything less is ‘shenanigans’.

So, if you are one of the people that uses a pen name when actually selling to the public, Let us hear what your rationale is. Comment here.

My real name?

David Snape

http://www.ToothyGrinsStore.com

http://www.tobeinformed.com

I believe that Falun Dafa meditation is good for you: http://www.FalunDafa.org

I would not rely solely on paypal. I think customers want options. And in my opinion, any business or person that only offers paypal is suspect in my book. There is a forum for Internet marketers and most of them try to get you to buy from them through paypal. They aren’t really businesses at all, they are people trying to make a buck from that lucrative market.

Many times they do not come through on their promises – some don’t even tell their real names (even when specifically asked!).

Therefore, for me personally, only accepting paypal reminds me of that group. Trust me when I say that being lumped in with that type of
business or person is not going to help me to make a buying decision.

Also, I’ve heard people say that there is a love / hate relationship with paypal. About 50% love it and the other 50% hate it. If 50% hate it, you could lose out on sales in a big way.

David Snape
http://www.ToothyGrinsStore.com