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 — November 14
A «quiet period» is the time before you make your company public and it usually lasts 3 months during which you are not allowed to talk about your stock and your business plans to anybody. English-test.net is in some kind of quiet period right now too because we have been working on a number of new pages and features and if you can be patient a little longer, you will soon be rewarded.
Without revealing too many details I can share some of our goals for 2005 with you: First of all we want to offer you the largest collection of free interactive English tests worldwide. As of now you can test and improve your English with almost 3000 unqiue questions and that number will increase several times over the months to come. In addition you will be able to enjoy an even greater functionality. For example it will be easier for you to ask for grammar and vocabulary explanations on the forum and you will receive assistance and support almost instantly. Furthermore, you will be able to choose products and services designed to increase your language skills and as a result your level of self-confidence. English-test.net is on its way to become a leading e-community for English language lovers and international business executives alike and we are glad to have you on board. 2005 will be your year of personal and professional achievements and we want you to tell us about your success. Sounds like a sales pitch? Well, I guess it is but in a positive way. We are looking forward to meeting excited and exciting people online - we are here for you to prepare you for your English language exam and exchange learning experiences and techniques. Next week we'll start a countdown ushering in a new era of English language learning online...

2004 — November 07
In December 1999 a young man started an unusual project: He legally changed his name from Mitch Maddox to DotComGuy and spent one year in a Dallas home living entirely off the Internet. He did not leave the house for one single minute and the only contact he was allowed to have with the world outside had to be established and maintained online. I remember this story vividly because I used it in the English class when I met Slava. Now, almost 5 years later we are running our own website and we have definite goals for our future just like those of DotComGuy who has become Mitch Maddox again. Within the next few months you will be able to familiarize yourself with essential words you need if you want to take any of the examinations provided by ETS: TOEFL, TOEIC, GMAT, SAT and GRE. You will have the opportunity to practise your vocabulary and increase your word power by taking our free interactive tests. TOEFL, GMAT, SAT and GRE tests will probably be available by the end of November 2004 while the TOEIC tests might take a little longer to complete....

2004 — November 01
What have Henry Ford, Shakespeare and Austen in common? Well, they all appear in Alan's current newsletter in which he explores the variety of possible word combinations you can form with the words election and selection. Do you know the difference between the two? No? Then you will enjoy Your Choice especially because it is spiced with that subtle British humour Alan is a master of. It is amazing to see how fast his reader base is growing - what started with a modest group of less than 30 initial subscribers (to be honest, they didn't actually subscribe themselves since I simply put them on the email list I started operating back in 2002) has now turned into an international audience of more than 3000 people from about 150 countries. This number will grow even more within the next few months as english-test.net will reach a new level of exposure as soon as we add new materials related to tests administered by ETS. It is Slava's job and mine to make sure that more and more young people can benefit from Alan's life long experience and expertise. We are using a combination of technical know-how, ESL resources and marketing savvy to create intellectual value and establish an e-community. Some of the changes you will be able to see during November so we look forward to meeting you here again and again.

2004 — October 25
«People — as you think yourself to success, that's what you will study, people.» This is the first line of the second chapter of The Magic of Thinking Big — a book Kim Knoblauch gave me as a present when she flew in from Wisconsin to meet me in person. If you like you can read the full story here: The Kim Knoblauch Story
So, if you want to be successful in life you should develop the skill to observe and evaluate human bevaviour. You can learn a lot from every single person you encounter throughout your life. Here is an example: When I was working as an English teacher in Berlin a couple of days ago one day the classroom door opened and in walked a tall man and said: «Hello, I'm Mark Willard and I'm your colleague». I remembered that name from the lesson plan that was displayed in the school building. It turned out that Mark was originally from Texas and that he had moved to Berlin about 7 years ago where he started to work as an English teacher. We exchanged some information on both our groups as well as our view on the current situation in Germany and the US. It turned out that Mark was not at all in favour of George W. Bush and his opinion about the state the US society is in was very similar to what Raymond Romanos says Bush vs. Kerry
During our first meeting Mark spoke English with me and I thought that he had come to Germany without knowing much German like most Americans who work as English teachers in Germany but later Mark surprised me by speaking excellent German with another German teacher. They talked about the upcoming Presential elections in the US and Mark said that a lot Americans were «anti-intellectual»meaning that most of his fellow countrymen are not interested in the finding answers to the important issues of international politics. On my last day at that Berlin school Mark gave me his email address because in two weeks he is going to take over the group of young people I had worked with for several days and it will be good if I can send him information as to what we covered. Actually, the system we are a part of is somewhat corrupt: That so-called education provider where I met Mark spends the vast majority of its rescources on administration instead of investing some time and thought into their the working with their students...