As our site grows every day we want to share some information with you on the way we are operating the project. We call this section «Business Blog» as it is similar to doing a log book where data is recorded in a chronological order. «Blogging» is gaining popularity with more and more people picking up the habit of publishing their experiences and thoughts on the Internet. Our Blog covers various topics — from TOEFL, TOEIC, MBA, GMAT, ESL/EFL test preperation to cultural traditions and current political events.
There will also be some Internet marketing terminology and if you have any questions regarding the information simply let us know.

The Business Blog is written by Torsten Daerr and edited by Alan Townend.

2003 — October 02
It is exciting to see the growing number of people using our site every day. Now we are receiving more than 500 unique visitors per day who take an average of 3 tests each. We have decided to create our own range of information products — downloadable e-books on various topics. Alan is planning to compile a collection of lesson plans for EFL/ESL teachers as well as students who want to study for themselves. We are convinced that there is a demand in such an easy-to-follow ready-to-use handbook containing a lesson structure, a unique and funny story featuring one particular language item along with background information on each topic. Being an English language trainer myself I know how much time you have to spend preparing each lesson to make it effective and useful. The vast majority of books and materials available in conventional stores are highly over-priced, artificial and oftentimes outright dull. Also, usually you are not allowed to copy and re-print and use those materials in your classroom — you have to purchase a copy for each of your students. Even if you have a small group of 6 – 8 people in your class the costs for the materials will be immense. We are planning to give you the right reproduce our materials as long as you keep the copyright information on them. The e-book will be handy to browse through and select specific sheets for copying — something that is always a nuisance with traditional books as they are never in standard A-4 format and unwieldy to put on a photo-copier…

2003 — October 01
Soon more than 600 people are going to receive our newsletter twice a month. Alan has shown me the issue we are going to send out this week and I like it very much as it is not your usual EFL stuff — gap filling exercises or stories that are artificial and rather boring. Alan's materials are unique because they combine three great characteristics: they are amusing and hence entertaining while at the same time containing valuable information. Usually you have stuff that might be entertaining yet its content is pretty shallow. Or you get the opposite — good factual information but lacking humour and that's why it's difficult to absorb and digest.
Slava told me today that in the US another anti-spam law has been enforced and I'm sure we'll get a spam free internet in the near future. By the way, do you know why spam is called spam? Here is a hint: It has to do with the famous British comedy crew «Monty Python» that were very popular during the 70's. You see, most of the so called new internet terminology has its roots way back in English history...

2003 — September 30
We had a discussion as to whether we should start a forum on our site right now or wait until we are «ready». Slava said we have everything a good forum requires already in place: on the one hand people who want to practise and improve their English and who are open to sharing their questions and experiences with others. On the other hand we have English language specialists who will answer any questions regarding learning techniques, training materials, English language exams and certificates, communication styles etc. And of course we now have the technical basis to host and manage a forum with lots of features such as polls, quick replies, private messages, quoting texts and so on. To put it in a nutshell: We'll take the next step right now instead of waiting until the situation changes. As Slava likes to say: «Let's do it like the Americans — take a decision and follow through.» How right he is. I tend to take things more the German way — sit, observe and think about the risks…
In the start up phase the forum will be limited to only a few issues such as General English Language Questions including grammar, vocabulary and learning techniques plus Feedback on the website where you can post any comments, remarks and questions you have concerning our website. We'll add more topics as the forum gets busier…

2003 — September 29
Our site's popularity is increasing — last week more than 500 people visited our site every day, taking more than 3 tests each. Also, as of Wednesday last week, the Google PageRank of our start page is 5 and most of the story and article pages have been awarded PageRank 3. We will elaborate more on the PageRank system later as it is the dominating factor of Google's tremendous success, but for the time being, we are very proud of our results because we launched our site on the first of July — so in less than 3 months we have achieved a gratifyingly high exposure. Obviously there are a lot of people out there on the internet who like our site and find Alan's tests useful. As a matter of fact, the tests are an excellent preparation for any English language examination especially the TOEIC test. We will also add useful tips on how to learn languages more effectively, some cross cultural experiences and some funny stories for you to read and increase your comprehension as well as your general knowledge. If you like you can send us your ideas and suggestions or even your own stories and we'll decide how they could fit into our concept. Meanwhile Slava is working on another feature that will greatly enhance functionality but details soon…