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 — November 17
When I first met Ed he told me about a website where people can contact their former school mates and arrange reunion meetings. The story registered with me but I hadn't made the effort to access that site and check it out. Or shall I say I forgot about it altogether.
Now, that he mentioned it again after one and a half years I did look at www.friendsreunited.co.uk and I must say I'm very impressed. What struck me first was the traffic rank shown by Alexa: 780 three months average. That's an amazing number — taking into consideration that the official Siemens website for example is ranking at position 2466. Friendsreunited.co.uk is a true success story and what's best about it — unlike most famous internet companies such as Amazon, Google, eBay, AOL and Passport.net — it's a British based organization. Interestingly enough I was discussing with Ed the question whether or not this website will spread on to other countries when in fact it has already got subsidiaries especially in Europe. You should read the «About Us» section on the site to find out how it all started. Of course there are a number of things I don't like about the site itself. For example the text font is rather small and there are a lot of annoying banners.
Still, the idea is great and obviously millions of people like the service very much…

2003 — November 14
You probably know those days when everything seems to drop into place. We will soon be printing the first edition of our independent newspaper «Leipziger.Ru». As the information is free to readers we naturally need partners, companies that want to advertise or want us to write informative articles. A couple of months ago we found out there are two major cable TV providers here that offer foreign language TV channels, of which 6 are Russian.
Now, it goes without saying that those companies would make ideal partners for us. The challenge is to convince them of this bearing in mind we have just started our project whereas they are well established corporations with a fat marketing and advertising budget. And they operate in an industry that will see growth over the years to come while others are shrinking. Well, Tuesday this week we had a meeting that went down very well. I'll tell you soon how we got on as I'm off now to pick up Slava for our next appointment with a potential sponsor for our newspaper…

2003 — November 13
After a rather long summer pause I've finally met my friend and colleague Mr Edward Corp again. Ed is from London and speaks with a typical Cockney accent. He also knows a lot of so-called Cockney Rhyming Slang. Let me give you and example: Instead of saying «I'm going upstairs» you say «I'm going up the apples and pears».On top of all that he's a very funny chape. When I first met him in the summer of 2001 and I asked him what he thought about Leipzig, he said: «Well, it's a bit like London». Of course I thought he was joking and so I was amazed by his ability to keep a straight face — maybe, this is a trait every Londoner possesses.
However, to my surprise I learned that Ed had meant what he said — he really likes Leipzig as much as his hometown although the former is about 20 times smaller. You can listen to Ed for hours (provided you understand his dialect and can follow his rapid rate of speech) and you find time flies as he never seems to run out of topics: Throughout his relatively short stay in Leipzig he has experienced so many adventures that he could fill a book. That's why we have decided to record some of his stories and put them onto the audio CD we are making. This Friday is our first session with Ed and I'm sure it won't be the last…

2003 — November 12
With Europe slowly but surely unifying it is only natural that the number of companies operating on a European scale is growing too. Currently we are working with a vocational school that offers a Europe oriented training program which includes the EFB LCCI Certificate (English for Business, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry) as well as a 4 week work placement in a British or Irish company. Our job as is to prepare the students for their new work experience abroad.
On the agenda this week is writing a CV and covering letter which will be sent off to Dublin in December. Although there are a few differences, the job or work placement process is very similar throughout the whole of Europe. One of the features I prefer in a British CV in contrast to its German equivalent is that the information is listed in reverse chronological order putting the most recent items on the top of the page. This makes perfect sense to me as your potential employer will be much more interested in what you have been currently engaged in rather than which primary school you went to. I'm convinced that soon we will start using this structure in Germany too. It only takes a handful of 'brave' people who are not afraid of trying out new things.
By the way: there is more to this CV writing and it has to do with the German mentality. I'll tell you abou that soon…