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.

2004 — January 20
These first three weeks of 2004 have been very good for english-test.net
Popularity has been rising right from the start of the New Year and Google has rewarded our efforts by stabilizing our ranking. If you check Google for «english test», «english tests», «download english test» and «download english tests» you will find our site in the top five listings. Of course there is no guarantee for those top positions but I think we can maintain our ranking by creating more high quality materials. One of the things we are planning to achieve is offering an e-book for download featuring the english-test.net story and the experiences we have been gathering in the field of online marketing and the internet EFL/ESL industry. We have already written the e-book in its raw version and are now in the phase of editing the text so that you will be able to scan it for the specific information you are looking for. The main idea is to share our story with anybody who is interested in generating an additional residual income by engaging in a pleasant and challenging activity…

2004 — January 14
Loose ends are thoughts, ideas or projects you have started and haven't followed up. In 2003 I made quite a number of entries here in the netlog, which I am now coming back to. Maybe you remember that I mentioned a new resource of inspiration for english-test.net which had to do with Google. As you know a website is only as successful as its contents because that's what makes it valuable to the people visiting it. But what exactly is good content? Clearly it's information compiled and presented in an effective and pleasant way so that it attracts a lot of readers. Sounds like a piece of cake, doesn't it? Yet, if it were that simple to create and maintain a successful website I'm convinced there would be more of them. The secret is knowing the answers to the right questions, the questions that make people go on to the internet. However, if you ask somebody why they are using the web, the chances are they can't give a straight answer to that question because they simply don't know for sure. So, a good website has the answer to questions that are hidden somewhere in your subconscious mind.

2004 — January 07
Thanks to the internet we can work on our website from anywhere in the world — provided of course it has an internet connection. The place where I'll be spending the next couple of weeks has a Gigabit Ethernet Backbone as it's a very modern office complex. It's called Intershop Tower and it's located in the town of Jena in Eastern Germany. Interestingly enough I'll be working on the 27th floor of the tower where you have an amazing view over the city especially when the weather is good. So what exactly, you may well ask, has all of this got to do with english-test.net? Well, since everything we do is somehow interconnected, there is a link between our website and my working in Jena, too. If you like I'll tell you more about the circumstances that got me into or rather onto the Intershop Tower.

2004 — January 01
2004 has arrived. What are you going to do with it?