Ronnie Soo

The SOPA / PIPA protest: effective?

2012-01-20T14:11:00.001Z

Homework students and general trivia buffs the world over were greeted with a blacked-out Wikipedia screen this week; the protest by the online encyclopaedia was a reaction to the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) bills currently going through the United States Congress.

Opponents to the bill were trying to raise awareness that if it passed, the Internet as we know it would be drastically curtailed. Of these, Wikipedia was by far the highest-profile website to protest and its action gained press coverage the world over. The reason is of course that Wikipedia is one of the most-visited websites on the Internet; no matter what the topic you are searching for (no doubt using Google, probably the most-visited site) a Wikipedia page relating to that topic will very likely appear high in the search results.

That ranking comes from the authority Wikipedia has gained over the decade or so that it has grown, it is the first point of call for most of us when looking up a given subject. Wikipedia argues that the SOPA bill, although intended to combat online piracy such as illegal file-sharing (a battle that has raged almost since the Internet became generally available), would have consequences that are further-reaching than merely stopping the ability to access copyrighted content illegally.

One of the original proposals was to compel Internet service providers (ISPs) to block their own users from accessing sites that were deemed to be in breach of copyright; this was revised after it was pointed out that the very structure of the Web would be compromised if that happened (effectively, all the Web is, is a lot of computers connected together). However the bill still would require ISPs, as well as advertisers and sites such as PayPal to cease trading with anyone who is alleged to have breached copyright. In addition, search engines would be compelled to remove from their search results any sites that are accused of copyright infringement.

That would seriously impact on Google as well as other search engines; Google has attained its present dominant position because it was so much more effective at giving relevant results than any other search engine, when it first came on the scene in the late 1990s. Google would have to alter radically its own algorithms and if that includes inserting artificial means to filter out what authorities deem is unsuitable, the trust factor of Google's search results is forever lost.

Wikipedia claims that its own integrity would be compromised also; the ethos of the site is that it is both accessible and editable by anyone. The site's integrity is maintained by a team of administrators whose job it is to ensure that entries are factual and neutral. This team works on a voluntary basis and were the SOPA bill in place now, the site would either have to hand its adminstration over to a team authorised by the United States government, or be blocked altogether. Once again, trust would be sacrificed.

The protest by the online encyclopaedia was effective in so far as it made everybody aware that the Web as we know it is under threat, and lawmakers in the United States are now making noises about backtracking on some of the proposals. Ironically, the blackout itself was actually quite simple to circumvent (one way was to use cached pages from Google), which, if nothing else, illustrates the drawback of rushing through laws without sufficient understanding of the technology. Content can be and is cached on many more servers than those which are shut down by authorities, so the logical conclusion would be that access to the Internet itself would ultimately be restricted only to those 'authorised' to use it by the powers that be.

For those of us who use the Internet for marketing, this is something we must all be aware of. Internet marketers themselves are more interested in getting the word out there about whatever business niche they are promoting, but if the tools to make that possible are placed out of reach by a draconian bill which has consequences far beyond its stated purpose, the way for people to take back control of their own lives is in danger of being taken away from us.

For that reason, it is the responsibility of all of us to oppose this bill - although they are backtracking, the danger remains that measures will come into effect while attention is diverted elsewhere, when it is not so newsworthy.

If you use Google, YouTube, Facebook or any other social media site to promote your business, this affects you.

A link is provided here for those who wish to register their disapproval.

Do we

Happy New Year! Make 2012 Yours

2012-01-03T01:34:00.001Z

I hope everyone has had a very happy Christmas and New Year.

The start of any new year is always a time for looking forward, and perhaps making plans for the coming 12 months. Most of you will be returning to work after the holiday, to the traffic jams, the crowded buses or trains, and the daily grind. You might even find that the bus or train fares have risen, eating further into your salary.

The past two years have seen severe economic turmoil and 2012 promises to be just as turbulent. Many more people are waking up to the realities about the global money system, and much of what is unfolding now has been foreseen by many of the experts that I am currently studying under. At a conference I attended in Las Vegas, my eyes were opened by what I heard from some very eminent speakers, some of whom came from an investment banking background.

If you are working for a monthly paycheck and finding it is having to stretch further and further, if you are burdened by debt, taxes, if you are finding that planning for your retirement is getting tougher and tougher, or if you have been looking at a franchise business and found that the start-up costs are prohibitive, the business of financial education could be for you. One thing is clear, a storm is brewing and when it comes there will be two groups of people: those who are financially educated and those who are not.

The company I am with (Wealth Masters) offers several levels of financial education; from a multimedia course encompassing audio, video and the Internet, to conferences held in locations worldwide.

I would like to invite you to watch the video presentation which I have linked here and if you have any questions, please contact me.

For further details please see the site linked at the bottom of this post and I look forward to seeing you on the inside!

Map Your Life

2011-12-01T15:56:00.002Z

My thanks to Adam Jones who posted this to his Facebook page today.

Which one do you agree with - it has to be RBS venture capitalism, for me! :)

SOCIALISM

You have 2 cows.

You give one to your neighbour.

COMMUNISM

You have 2 cows.

The State takes both and gives you some milk.

FASCISM

You have 2 cows.

The State takes both and sells you some milk.

NAZISM

You have 2 cows.

The State takes both and shoots you.

BUREAUCRATISM

You have 2 cows.

The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away.

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM

You have two cows.

You sell one and buy a bull.

Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.

You sell them and retire on the income.

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND (VENTURE) CAPITALISM

You have two cows.

You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows.

The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.

The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more.

You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States , leaving you with nine cows.

No balance sheet provided with the release.

The public then buys your bull.

SURREALISM

You have two giraffes.

The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.

You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.

Later, you hire a consultant to analyze why the cow has dropped dead.

A FRENCH CORPORATION

You have two cows.

You go on strike, organize a riot, and block the roads, because you

want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION

You have two cows.

You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.

You then create a clever cow cartoon image called a Cowkimona and market it worldwide.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows, but you don't know where they are.

You decide to have lunch.

A SWISS CORPORATION

You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you.

You charge the owners for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION

You have two cows.

You have 300 people milking them.

You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity.

You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.

You worship them.

A BRITISH CORPORATION

You have two cows.

Both are mad.

AN IRAQI CORPORATION

Everyone thinks you have lots of cows.

You tell them that you have none.

No-one believes you, so they bomb the ** out of you and invade your country.

You still have no cows, but at least you are now a Democracy.

AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.

Business seems pretty good.

You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION

You have two cows.

The one on the left looks very attractive.

Whatever it is you are selling – you are selling yourself first

2011-10-17T06:43:00.001+01:00

We've all been to networking meetings I'm sure, where the person you are talking to is eager to get straight into whatever it is he or she is pitching. They talk at length about the product and what it can do, without ever thinking first what it is the person that they are talking to actually does.

If you've ever been to a corporate presentation, or perhaps if you are working and your company has outsourced the department off to a contractor, you will have seen all the slides about the new company's history and their achievements. Whether you are being sold something, or are being sold off yourself, the chances are you did not care two hoots about the company's history!

In both scenarios the selling is pushed on you, and you are naturally put straight onto the defensive. Who is this man/woman, what do they want from me and why are they pitching their product so hard? When people come to networking meetings, or even network online, it is because they are looking for something, most likely a solution to their problem. They don't care about the history of the vendor, they only care whether or not you can help them in the way they are looking for.

In short, they are looking for a leader. Someone who can show them how they can achieve their goals, not someone who wants to sell them yet another product. They want to be pointed in the right direction, not simply parted from their cash. The best marketers understand that before people will buy from them, they have to sell themselves as a leader, as an expert, first.

When you are able to show yourself as a leader, then people will come to you instead of you chasing after them. This is the basic principle behind Attraction Marketing.

In attraction marketing, you first of all need to have your own presence on the World Wide Web. This usually means a blog, and you can either use a free online platform like Blogger or Posterous, or you could self-host using Wordpress. The latter involves a little more setting up, but you have greater flexibility. Your home page should be branded to announce yourself to the world, that means a picture of yourself and a short tagline. Say who you are, and what you are about (an 'About Me' page is usually the way to achieve this). Alternatively, if you are on Facebook, why not link to your profile or page? (Your profile would need to be professionally-oriented, which is a subject for another blog).

Make sure your site is clean, well-laid out and easy to read. Templates are readily available for Wordpress which fulfil all these requirements, or you can choose a similarly-clean template for Blogger or Posterous from their selection. If you are feeling adventurous, you could design one yourself or have it made for you professionally. Remember – keep it simple!

Avoid pushing your product onto people – this can't be stressed enough! Attraction marketing works by providing value, leadership, to your visitors and this can be anything from regular tips given from your blog, perhaps a downloadable PDF file with some helpful information on it, or a short video clip with useful content. The essential thing is content – provide good, helpful content and you will be seen as a leader who provides value.

Anyone who comes across your site is likely to be a new internet marketer themselves. They're almost certainly confused, and are looking for someone who can help them understand the way the industry works. You should become that someone! Even if you yourself are a newbie, if you have something of value to share, then share it! All people want is a way to make their life easier, a way to work smarter and perhaps to save some money. Rather than pitch your latest whizzo product at them, you will get their attention more easily by offering them something of value.

In short, you are selling yourself first, not your product. Once you are established as a leader, it won't matter what you are selling – provided you are continuing to offer value people will naturally be interested in what you have to offer. Attraction marketing is a skill-set that not too many understand, but those who do, are the ones who are the highest earners.

Now that you understand the principle of attraction marketing, you can learn more about how to take advantage of this strategy with a free webinar. Yes, I said 'Free' (remember – offer value!) :) If you would like to know more about Attraction Marketing from some of the industry's top producers please follow the link by clicking the image below.

A simpler explanation of Fractional Reserve Banking (video)

2011-10-14T18:18:00.001+01:00

If you watched the video of the speech by G. Edward Griffin (I know, it was lengthy) which I posted in an earlier blog, you may have heard him mention fractional reserve banking.

When I first heard about this myself it shocked me how easy it is for money to be created out of nothing. The fact that money is no longer backed by precious metals such as gold or silver but instead is simply conjured up, was actually quite hard for me to grasp. Most people are totally unaware this is going on; they are not educated about finance.

For those who didn't watch the whole thing, or have not read Griffin's book 'The Creature from Jekyll Island' then I'll attempt to explain the fractional reserve system.

Essentially, a bank which has, say, $100 deposited in it from a customer, can then loan out a multiple of that $100 to other customers. The limit it can loan out is determined by how much it holds in its vault; so if, say, the amount it can loan out is at a ratio of 9 to 1, it can loan out $900 for every $100 it actually holds. The animated short I am posting here is a simplifed history of how banking started, and it also explains fractional reserve banking:

The last part I found particularly interesting: in the event of a run on a bank, the central bank would support them with emergency infusions of gold. The United States is no longer on the gold standard, so what do the central banks support the smaller member banks with now? Bailouts? Ultimately they're paid for by the taxpayer. So whenever a bank fails, the taxpayer picks up the tab to replenish it. Marvellous (!)

For an eye-opening documentary on the conspiracy against your money, please click the image.

Expose Your Website To The Tribe - Socialise, Share and Succeed!

2011-10-14T00:12:00.001+01:00

I've recently become aware of a powerful new platform called TribePRO, which uses social networks to gain rapid exposure for your website, through something they call 'The Tribe'.

What do they mean by the Tribe? Essentially, it is a grouping of like-minded internet entrepreneurs, which helps you to spread around your website, blog posts, videos, or other content to their social networks which are already built. The upshot is that your brand becomes expanded, you generate more of a 'buzz' online and therefore increase traffic to your website.

The whole point is to leverage the use of social networking (which we all know is essential to market online these days) and save you time. Instead of trying to syndicate your content yourself, let the Tribe do the work! In the words of the people from TribePRO themselves, Socialse, Share, and Succeed!

There are three pricing platforms which offer more features the higher you go, but you can sign up as a free member right now and see for yourself what TribePRO can offer you.

See how you can share your message across social networks with minimal effort! Just follow the linked image and join the Tribe:

Would you like a Free Download for more signups to your downline?

2011-10-14T00:10:00.001+01:00

Of course you would. This script is provided by one of the leading lights in the network marketing industry, Todd Falcone. All he is asking for is an email address and he will send you the download, which you can use right away. For explosive growth, results and ultimately more money, just follow the link provided and help yourself to the free download from The Fearless Networker himself - Todd Falcone.

Click For Access To Todd Falcone's Little Black Book

What is the difference between a banana cartel and a banking cartel?

2011-10-12T17:12:00.001+01:00

I saw a report today that a company importing bananas has been fined over £7million because it was involved in a price-fixing cartel.

Such cartels are of course illegal, and are rightly punished by anti-trust authorities (in this case, the European Union). However, there is another, long-established cartel which operates quite freely and with the co-operation of the government with which is it partnered: the US Federal Reserve.

A little background on how the Fed came into being, for which I am indebted to G. Edward Griffin (The Creature from Jekyll Island, ISBN 978-0912986456).

The Fed is not, as many believe, a US government agency. It is no more 'Federal' than Federal Express! It came into being in 1910, at a highly-secret meeting between leading bankers at a place called Jekyll Island, Georgia. The banks were concerned because whenever there was a run on a bank, and people wanted their money but could not pay (a consequence of Fractional Reserve banking, a subject which is for another blog), the banks went bust. So several of these banks met up, in total secrecy, and got together and agreed to set up the cartel.

Now as I said before, cartels are illegal. The reason this one is not, is because they actually went into partnership with the US government and had their agreement passed into law by Congress. And so, by 1913, the Federal Reserve Act came into being. It was sold to the people as a way of actually protecting them against the large banks and their grip on the economy - but it was actually created by the same large banks!

So we have the situation whereby it is not the government who controls the money supply of the United States, it is the banks in a cosy cartel. Understand that and it begins to become clear why there is always a 'bailout' or 'stimulus package', whenever one of these banks gets into trouble. The cost is always placed on the taxpayer, i.e. the ordinary person, however.

Of course, whoever controls the supply of money is effectively in charge of the country, no matter who is elected as 'President'.

Back to our banana cartel: it was exposed because one company blew the whistle to the authorities. That's never going to happen with the banking cartel called the Federal Reserve though: it is in partnership with the government, therefore all parties are committed to the system.

Besides, if a fine was imposed, given what we know - who would pay? The taxpayer, of course!

Mr Griffin's book is still available and is recommended reading, but you can hear much of what he says at a speech he gave in 1994. This was several years before the crisis which is now upon us, and it was entirely predictable.

Put simply: There is a conspiracy against your money. It is better to be educated about the financial reality than not, and for more about this please either put in your details in the box to the right (on ronniesoo.com), or click this link:

The Conspiracy Against Your Money

Image: Keattikorn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Your Website Needs Traffic

2011-10-11T19:51:00.001+01:00

In the old days before there was such a thing as the Information Superhighway, businesses needed to be able to get people through their doors. The amount of 'traffic' they generated was vital, so placement of their premises was important. A business sited on a busy street would always get more people than one tucked away in a quiet side street.

The difference today is that everyone on the Internet can live on the same virtual 'street'. Therefore it is easier to get traffic though your virtual door than it was in the old days, but although there are more potential eyeballs for your business, you still have to attract them to your site.

To get traffic through to your website, you need to rank well in the search engines. This is so obvious, yet 99 percent of websites fail because they fall foul of just one of four "golden rules" of search engine optimisation.

You may have your website all ready to go, articles, content and everything all set up, yet you're not getting the traffic you hoped for. A great piece of software which I've been using for some time now helps even the internet marketing newbie generate more traffic to their websites, and as we all know, more traffic means more leads, more purchases!

The software is available as a free trial and you can go ahead and try it out for yourself right now. In addition, you will also get sent 4 short video tutorials which will show you how to get much more visitors to your site.

I have this software myself and can attest to how powerful it is - you can see what keywords give a good search ranking, what do not, and which has low competition. This is absolutely essential stuff!

To get your hands on your free trial download and training videos, just click this link.
Market Samurai Traffic Hunting Software

Article Marketing

2011-10-11T05:11:00.001+01:00

One of the key concepts for the new internet marketer to grasp is search engine optimisation (SEO) or, put simply, how to get your site to appear in the search engine rankings for a given search term.

There are many ways to tweak your site so that it is search-engine friendly; making sure your chosen keyword appears in the title, the body text, even in any image titles are basics for what is known as on-page SEO.

However the real benefit is in off-page SEO, and that entails generating backlinks TO your website from other websites. The common method of achieving this is through Article Marketing; that is to write an article relating to whichever niche it is you are marketing and to submit that to article directories along with a backlink to your own site, with the link suitably titled to include your keyword of course (something known as 'anchor text').

At this point you may be thinking: "oh no, does this mean I have to write lots of articles and submit them to a raft of different websites to get the backlinks?" Yes it does, but there are ways to make the process easier.

One such way is to use the Article Marketing Robot. You can find out more by clicking the link, but essentially what it does is take a lot of the drudgery out of the process, by using the tool to submit your article automatically to a whole variety of article hosting sites out there. It can schedule your articles to go up when you want, or it can 'blast' them. One other feature which the new marketer will find essential is the 'spin' feature. This allows you to change aspects of the article text so that the exact same wording doesn't appear everywhere. For search engines to recognise the links, this is vital.

Presently they are offering the tool as a 30-day no quibble trial; try it out for 30 days and if unsatisfied, they will refund your money. The tool is already available at a discounted rate and is a highly-recommended tool if you need to boost your search engine rankings. Click the image to order:

Web Hosting - who to choose?

2011-10-10T22:34:00.001+01:00

If you're new to internet marketing and you are looking at setting up your own website, you'll see there are a whole heap of providers out there.

You may have heard of GoDaddy; one of the biggest and best-known providers on the market. They offer good prices and claim over 8 million users. Recognised by the industry as a leader in the fight against online fraud such as phishing, and against spam, GoDaddy can be seen as a safe bet when looking for a provider. If you are considering your own site you will be looking at setting up Wordpress - GoDaddy offers support for MySQL and PHP, but do choose the Linux hosting option for PHP to work.

Alternatively, you may wish to consider Hostgator. Also offering competitive prices, they advertise unlimited disk space, bandwidth and guarantee 99.9 percent uptime. Hostgator also use the popular cPanel interface which is specifcally designed to make the entire process of hosting a website that much easier. Of course hostgator also supports PHP and MySQL, for when your Wordpress masterpiece is ready. :)

Whichever you choose to go with (and there are many more out there besides the two I mentioned) do make sure they offer all the features you need; for instance not every provider offers PHP support out of the box. Also, if you were considering a bespoke content management system for your website, that system may not allow you to use your own server-side code and you may be forced to work with what they offer. You may also not like the interface on some CMS systems.

A couple of years ago I worked alongside some colleagues who were agents for one popular CMS, now owned by one of the biggest technology companies in the world. Although it was powerful, and great for someone who just wants a website out of the box, it wasn't long before I found the system too restrictive to work with for my marketing purposes. For instance, it did not support PHP, and the interface was difficult to work with; it was designed to resemble Microsoft Word and only provided a small window in which to enter content or code. The CMS was meant to be an all-in-one solution, and it was a tough sell to small businesses who may already have some parts working and were understandably reluctant to throw all that out in favour of a completely new setup.

For these reasons I have changed to using Wordpress myself; the system is remarkably straightforward to set up and there are all manner of 'plugins' you can obtain (free) which vastly increase the functionality. For a marketer such as myself, Wordpress fits the bill far better than a hosted CMS which may be more orientated towards an actual online store. Wordpress's roots are in blogging, and as any internet marketer will tell you, content is king. Frequently updating content is vital and the SEO-friendly nature of Wordpress makes it more suitable for this business.

But - I'm getting ahead of myself. To have a site, first you need a provider. Either of the two I suggested will suit the new internet marketer (or you can do your own investigations) and Ishall provide links to both GoDaddy and Hostgator here:

Link to GoDaddy website

Link to Hostgator website

Bank of England quantitative easing - they're printing more money than predicted!

2011-10-07T03:13:00.001+01:00

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee today confirmed that they would, as reported, print more money to 'inject into the economy'. The reports were that £50 billion of 'new money' would come into the system, but it will actually be £75 billion. £75 billion 'new' pounds created from thin air.

I found this explanatory video from the Bank of England themselves which purports to show how QE works. Before even watching it, on the popular video-sharing site it is hosted on, I noticed that comments had been disabled. Watching it, it soon became clear why. Here is the video:

For a start, the 2 percent inflation target they mention is further away than ever; it is currently 5 percent. Now I do not claim to be an economics expert, but a child can see that to print a stack of new banknotes (£75 billion in this case, remember) merely devalues the money already in circulation. The video claims that there is "not enough" money in circulation - which begs the question: what is that money backed by? If you think it's gold or silver - it isn't. The pound hasn't been on the gold standard since 1931. You cannot create gold or silver out of thin air, therefore you cannot print more money if it is backed by a finite amount of precious metal.

The pound, like most currencies, is a 'fiat currency'. That means it only has any value at all because the government says so. But what about the promise on the notes? It says and I quote:

"I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of - pounds", and it is signed by the Bank's chief cashier. That once meant that you could go and exchange your note for the banknote's value in sterling silver, but try that today and the chances are you would simply get another banknote.

A banknote is merely an IOU, and the law as it stands says you cannot pay a debt with another debt. However, because the government says that the note itself is legal tender, they get around this rather niggling inconvenience. That's why they can print all the banknotes they want, but if you or I decided to try that we'd be carted off to jail before you can say "economic collapse".

Therefore all banknotes are debt notes; what you think is your money is just debt.

So, when the Bank of England announces it is "injecting £75 billion into the economy", it has just saddled the whole country with another load of debt.

Slowly but surely, people are starting to wake up to what is a coming global crash. When I first attended a very eye-opening conference two years ago, that was when I first woke up to what was going on myself. The main question asked of attendees there was simply this: you can choose to be either financially educated or uneducated. The vast majority are uneducated; they have been deliberately kept in the dark about the dire situation, or their attention is diverted by television, celebrities, showbiz or even sport.

The point that was stressed to us was as follows: if you do not take action you have still made a choice - a choice not to be educated. When the crash comes I intend to be financially educated - what about you?

There is a Conspiracy Against Your Money - please click the link to access a vitally important documentary.

Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T04:52:00.001+01:00

I was just about to turn off my machine for the night when the news came through that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had lost his battle against cancer.

Apple are a company that, in a relatively short space of time, have become a household name with their products known (and much-desired) by almost everybody. Almost all of that enviable reputation is down to the marketing genius of Jobs himself. His initial successes with the Apple II in 1977, then the Macintosh of 1984, were impressive enough but it was only when he returned to the company in the 1990s that things really took off for the company.

It is easy to forget that in the 1990s, Apple were struggling badly. Jobs had been ousted in a power struggle some years earlier and despite some success in the early 1990s, the company had begun to flounder with a succession of failed products. Meanwhile their chief rivals in the personal computer operating system market, Microsoft, were going from strength to strength with their Windows operating system available to a wide variety of personal computers. Apple's operating system ran only on their own machines, and Apple largely missed out on the PC boom of the 1990s with their comparatively expensive hardware.

Jobs returned to Apple in 1996, when the company he founded after his departure from Apple (NeXT) was purchased by Apple in a deal worth $429 million, plus 1.5 million shares in Apple stock. Jobs was brought back into the fold, initially as an advisor, but soon found himself restored as interim CEO after sustained losses prompted the removal of the previous incumbent Gil Amelio.

The introduction of the iMac G3 in 1998 saw a revival of the company's fortunes; conceived by British designer Jonathan Ive and available in a range of translucent colours it established itself as a 'lifestyle' product. Future Apple devices would follow this trend throughout Jobs's tenure as chief executive, with newer versions of the iMac adopting innovative, eye-catching designs and running the Mac OS X operating system, built on technology brought over from NeXT when Apple purchased the company. With Ive in charge of designing the company's products from the iPod to the Macbook Pro, the company gained a reputation for innovation allied to sleek design.

The real value of Jobs to the company was his forceful personality; able to get everyone to pull in the same direction and also able to market the firm's products brilliantly, his keynote presentation speeches which announced their latest product became major events in themselves. When the first iPhone was released in 2007, there were queues around the block. The company had managed to cultivate a fanbase of its own; people would queue for the new Apple gadget in the same way they might queue for a chance to buy a ticket for a concert by their favourite band.

Although the restrictions on Apple devices such as the iPhone and later iPad did irritate some people, their look, sleek design, ease of use and sheer desirability won over the masses. The company became synonymous with its chief executive as each new device was presented to the public by Jobs, his easygoing stage presence making him something of a technology 'rock star'.

When Jobs stepped down as chief executive in August, the company had recently been reported as having more cash reserves than even the United States government - a phenomenal turnaround from the late 1990s when the company was in danger of collapse. Today there are Apple stores in many major cities in the world; brightly-lit, welcoming places where people can actually see and touch the devices for themselves. Giving people the chance to experience the intuitive nature of Apple's devices for themselves is a strong incentive to want to purchase the devices.

Steve Jobs has left Apple in a far better state than he found it in 1998; his company's devices have found their way into almost every home over the past decade and his impact on the world of technology is colossal.

The 1984 advertisment heralding the original Macintosh:

Steve Jobs unveils the Macintosh:

The iPhone 4 unveiling:

They're printing yet more money!

2011-10-03T02:54:00.001+01:00

News reports are suggesting that the Bank of England is set to print more money in an attempt to boost the weak British economy. The process, known as quantitative easing, means that the central bank (in this case the Bank of England) buys up bonds from other banks in order to help finance those banks and improve their lending. Where does the Bank of England actually get this money from? They create it out of thin air!

Yes, they actually print money and put that into the banking system, and anyone with even a basic grasp of finances knows that the more money that is out there, the less it is worth.

In Douglas Adams's 'Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy', a prehistoric Earth is colonised by settlers from another planet; those deemed the least useful to their home planet's society. Once on Earth, they hold meetings and one policy decision is to adopt the leaf as their currency. Of course this policy is shown to be flawed somewhat, when one settler points out that the ready availability of leaves means it would now take "three major deciduous forests to purchase one ship's peanut".

We're told that this policy is essential in order to stave off economic collapse, but at what cost? Will we all need a forest to buy a peanut? At this rate, quite possibly.

The following cartoon which I found on youtube explains quantitative easing (from a US viewpoint; it mentions the Fed, but the basic principle applies regardless of the nation) and illustrates what a flawed idea it is (some strong language!)

When you consider that this money, created out of thin air remember, is loaned out and interest is charged on it, you see what a swindle the whole thing is. More about the Conspiracy Against Your Money is explained on the DVD which you can get from my site; click the link to find out more.

The truth hurts...

2011-09-30T04:31:00.001+01:00

I've been involved with a company that specialises in financial education for some time now and they've been saying exactly what this trader has said, only they did not say so on BBC television.

Consequently the remarks made by trader Alessio Rastani have come as a shock to those who are unaware of exactly what's going on in the financial world; even the BBC interviewer told Rastani that 'jaws were dropping' as he spoke. Essentially he warned of the imminent financial collapse, he actually said he was looking forward to it as he knew how to earn from it. He also told the watching audience that they can also use it to their advantage - provided they know WHAT action to take.

If you're wondering about the action you can take - you can find out more by watching The Conspiracy Against Your Money. The one thing you should NOT do, is not act.

Here's Alessio Rastani's BBC interview; it has taken a while for the mainstream media to wake up but now that they have, the time to take action is now.

Alternatively fill in the details on the right (at ronniesoo.com) and I'll see you in the inside!

Who likes Freebies then? :)

2011-09-24T01:48:00.001+01:00

I was recently introduced to a new site which promises to be a big thing on the web. It's a claim many internet marketing opportunities make, but this one offers something that we all like - freebies!

As we all know, many companies market by giving stuff away, often at high-profile sports events. A great example is the Tour de France, the famous cycle race is always preceded by the "publicity caravan", a parade where company floats pass by, often with goodies being given out to the crowds lining the route. They could be anything from flags, to hats, even drinks or sweets. That's just one example; other ways firms offer free stuff is through magazine or newspaper offers, or occasionally through website promotions. The trick is KNOWING where to look, and that's where this site comes in.

That Free Thing is currently in pre-launch and is already in over 100 countries; that means there are likely to be offers relevant to you available right now. Offers can range from restaurant promotions, to travel offers, clothes, software and of course samples of household products. That Free Thing makes it easy to see what is out there for you to take advantage of. All you need is an internet connection!

It is also a business opportunity; you can sign up as a free member (charmingly dubbed a 'freeloader' on the site!) but you can also join as a full member, entitling you to many more offers as well as the ability to promote the site to others via various marketing methods.

Why not look for yourself and see what you can get for free - you'd be surprised at what's on offer at any given time!

Click The Graphic To Visit The Site

The crackdown on herbal medicine: who benefits?

2010-12-30T22:05:00.001Z

In late 2009 at the Wealth Masters M2 conference I saw a lady called Gwen Olsen speak about the dangers of prescription drugs; she was particularly well-qualified to talk since she was once a salesperson for the pharmaceutical industry. She got out of the industry after becoming concerned at the practices of the industry and, closer to home, she lost a family member to prescription drugs. With that in mind, the news that the EU are to crack down on herbal remedies is alarming. I am not a fervent believer in alternative medicine myself, but this looks to me like a protectionist ploy aimed at making sure only those 'remedies' provided by the large companies (the same ones Gwen Olsen warns about in her book) get to the public at large.

Something she said that day still sticks with me: your body is capable of healing itself - provided it's looked after well. I'd like to think this law has been passed for the good of the ordinary people, but I fear it's more to do with eliminating a growing culture of alternative medicine. If people realise they do not need prescription pills for every ailment, the large pharmaceutical companies have a problem. When only their voice is being heard by decision-makers, it is the rest of us who have the problem. As I say, I'm not a massive advocate of alternative therapies, but I am concerned when all forms of medicine are being controlled by the same corporations.

If this is something that concerns you too, I recommend taking a look at Gwen Olsen's website and getting a former insider's perspective on this industry.

2010-12-28T08:18:00.002Z

The BBC are today reporting that over half of UK firms plan to either freeze or reduce workers' salaries in 2011. The survey was conducted by the British Chamber of Commerce, who are saying it is a "pragmatic approach in a tough environment". That may be, but as we all know, the cost of living does not freeze nor does it go down; it goes only one way - up. Therefore over half of these firms' workers will suffer a reduction in their living standards in 2011. This is a depressingly familiar scenario and one that is only going to affect more and more people.

Now more than ever, it is imperative that those who are yet to discover the truth about the economy and in particular about the Conspiracy Against Your Money, are awakened to what is really happening. It's not just something that affects the world of 'high finance', it is a conspiracy against all of us. When the economic collapse comes, those who are educated about the situation will be in a much better position than those who are not educated, and regrettably the majority of people will be in the latter category.

Please see my presentation about this Conspiracy Against Your Money - but better still, make a start to educate yourself now by obtaining a copy of the DVD 'The Conspiracy Against Your Money' - while it is still available. You can get it by following the links on my site. The information on the DVD is from former 'insiders': investment bankers who got out of the industry because they were so sickened by the malpractices they encountered regularly.

Remember - this is happening now, and while you still can, get the truth and find out why it is the system is geared up to work against you, not for you.

Pay freeze or cut for many in 2011 - BBC News

Download now or watch on posterous

conspiracy.mp4 (10370 KB)

Creating a Graphic Image using Free Pixlr Online Image Editor

2010-12-08T20:19:00.001Z

I have made a new video demonstration using Pixlr - the free online image editor accessible from your browser.

In this demonstration we show how it's possible to create a graphic image for use on social media, such as for your Facebook Fan page. Many of the regular Photoshop features such as layers, layer masking and effects are replicated on Pixlr so it is perfectly feasible to make yourself a handy graphic image even if your regular computer is out of commission. You can even save it online if you prefer.

The video will play full-screen if you want to see the detail a little closer.

Insurance companies now using Facebook to calculate your premiums

2010-12-06T01:35:00.001Z

This is a hitherto unforeseen implication of revealing too much information about yourself on Facebook or indeed any social networking site. While it would be a little flippant to advise people to think carefully before posting those party photos online for all to see, it is entirely possible that it would work the other way - your insurer might actually offer incentives online if you are seen to be adopting a more healthy lifestyle, for instance. If you are using your privacy settings so that such information is not so easily accessible, you could then actually be costing yourself money. Essentially it's a balancing act: demonstrate publicly that you are a responsible citizen and benefit from your insurer's discounts, or exercise your right to keep your life private, and miss out on their offers. The question is, are you prepared to sacrifice your privacy for a short-term gain?

Could Your Facebook Profile Lead To Higher Insurance Premiums? (Daily Mail)

There is another side to this story which has broader implications than mere social media: the insurance firms are looking at partnering with the supermarket loyalty card schemes and banks - once they know your standing orders and whether you're buying pasta or pork pies, they will use that data and set your premiums accordingly. Something to bear in mind the next time you use your Clubcard.

If the use of social media profiles by your insurer (or indeed, your employer) is something which concerns you, it is important to familiarise yourself with the privacy settings on your Facebook profile. Most are set by default to be visible - restrict these to your friends only. I will be producing a short guide to the privacy settings on Facebook in the near future.

Untitled

2010-12-03T02:06:00.001Z

Experimenting with Posterous (www.posterous.com) - a test post

2009-09-25T01:41:00.003+01:00

Are you still trying to make money using eBay?

You've probably found its 'death by a thousand cuts'; there are listing fees, final value fees, fees for using PayPal and now on top of all that, you're obliged to waive postage & packing charges in certain categories. So if you were hoping to clear your bookshelves or CD racks, and earn a few pennies in time for Christmas, well those days are over!

Instead of rooting through your attic looking for things to sell, why not join the internet marketing revolution! Learn from the best, and use the excellent training available to become one of them!

For more on this and how you can get involved yourself, see this page.

2009-09-05T18:07:00.003+01:00

On the 29 August I attended a conference of Team Ann McLaren, at the Park Lane Marriott Hotel, London. Attendees came from all over the country to be present, and it was a very informative and stimulating day. All of us are committed to personal development and lifestyle enhancement. If you would like to learn more about this and how you can become involved in this exciting opportunity, please visit this page.

2009-09-04T20:20:00.005+01:00

I had the opportunity to chat with Ann McLaren during last weekend's conference in London, and we spoke about how she has become a success in less than two years working from home. Here is our talk, and if you would like to learn more about how she achieved this and how you too can share in this success, please visit this page.

2009-08-31T22:58:00.005+01:00

Me with Ann McLaren, until this weekend a cyber-pal of mine for many years, we met for the first time this weekend at a conference. Who is she? She's living the dream and so can you:
find out more about Ann by clicking this link:

2009-08-26T22:01:00.003+01:00

Want to improve your online Marketing? Here are links to three videos which I have recently been watching; these are highly recommended as they will help increase your online marketing skills.

Video Link 1

Video Link 2

Video Link 3

With these videos and this Keyword Research Tool you will increase your traffic.

2009-08-21T17:00:00.001+01:00

Does this scenario sound familiar to you? Fire your boss - work for yourself!

2009-08-21T13:40:00.000+01:00

Another Day Over and Deeper In Debt

Many people these days are inundated with 'credit offers'; cards, store finance, personal loans, the list goes on. As a consequence, there are more and more people in debt and it's growing all the time. More and more, people are obliged to use their credit cards simply to live from day-to-day, thus perpetuating the cycle of debt. If this applies to you, consider the alternatives.