Thinking and Working in Singapore and other more Virtual Places

Another one about our pals at Stockbridge Consultants

I received this via email as the guy said he couldn't add directly to this blog:

Nin hao Carl.

I’m sending from Beijing. Thanks for some warnings reg. so called “StockbridgeConsultants” (short: ‘SC’).

First step:             Telefon. A lady (name unclear), and on a very, very bad voice-quality line, rang me up at the office. She asked if she could send me info materials from ‘SC’. She allready got our comp. address, and asked if the address would be right.

Second step:    A week later I got a 5pages carton-covered brochuere (in red&grey colors), via express-post, for joining these “elite club”, and an attached “client account agreement”. Inside a name card from a Ms. ‘Ashley Tyler - Director’.

Even they have had the exact address of our company (from where??), and reconfirmed, the address on the ‘RAF-waybill’ showed a name of a company from Macao in the ‘company field’. Instead of ’street/address’ in the bill, there was the name of our company. Quite “serious” for a “elite club”. As ‘shipper’ stated ‘SC’ from ‘Korea/Seoul, ASEM Tower, 159-1’.

Third step:             I got a phone call yesterday from a guy who said his name is ‘Mark’ from SC in Korea, and he would like to introduce me to a super chance to boost my money. Well, even I told him I’m not interested at all, this guy talked and talked so eloquently about “the chance” for a share in an tremendous, upcoming investment-chance in “Sportchannel from KIF Cenetics”, or as the case may be. The whole nine yards of cold calls.

I didn’t really listened, but I told him -again and again and …- that I’m not interested in any investments, in ‘SC’, or in ‘sport-buiss-whatever’, or in ‘telefon brokerage’, or any investments with companies I don’t know, with guys I don’t know, a.s.o.. But the kept on talking and talking, and he really tried to give me bad feeling to hang up.

Next steps:             Other phone calls, from “colleagues from SC”. I call it phone terror now. – If, and I say if ‘SC’ would be a reputable, reliable company, I guess they would have stoped trying to breaking my nervous system. But they are really stiff-necked.

And after what I’ve read in your blog (I couldn’t reply directly, caused by “errors on page”), I’m quite shure that ‘SC’ (I guess former “Cambridge …whatever”) is a nest of humbuggers. Former contacts, with absolutely congruent procedure, broke up, after I told the guy –straightforward- that I don’t trust him at all. He found “sincere thankful words” for my behaviour, and “stealing his time”, a.s.o.. But, however, the phone terror stoped. And, I’m positive about the fact, that I saved my good money. 

Stockbridge Consultants - Update

Since I first wrote about Stockbridge Consultants there have been a few developments and a few comments on my blog.  Whereas some people have shared my concerns about Stockbridge Consultants, the last person to comment actually parted with his money and is now busy trying to get his funds back.  He didn't go onto any details though.

I found this article on the Motley Fool site and there's some stuff there written by someone who clearly knows a lot more about these jokers and their ilk than I do.  Apparently they are called 'boiler rooms'.

A colleague of work has been approached (phone call followed by brochure - a familiar MO) by a company called Cambridge Consulting / Consultants  also based in Korea.  We compared brochure styles and, let's say, we'd be amzaed if both Cambridge's and Stockbridge's respective collateral weren't from the same place!

Let the saga continue!

Money From Blogging

This article is a response to a piece on the Web In Travel website where Siew Hoon talks to a guy who wants to make money from his blog.

Wow! What a question – “how can I make money from my blog?" 

I'm surprised at this question - I think people who ask this question are asking the wrong question.  But I suppose I should clarify exactly what I mean.

Bluntly put, I think people who write blogs to make money are going against what, for me, is the underlying ‘giving’ notion of what blogging is.  A quick look on dictionary.com yields the definition: ‘an online diary; a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page;’

People who used to (and still do I suppose) write diaries and log their thoughts on paper never, for one minute, expected to make any money from it.  It was a very personal and private endeavor in almost all cases.  However,   the internet has, of course, provided those people with the possibility to link with thousands of readers and, in turn, encouraged those who may never have dreamed about keeping a diary or a log, to begin to write driven by the idea that it might not simply be a solitary activity given the possibility that thousands may end up reading their thoughts and musings. (There are countless examples of fame and notoriety of course from the most unlikely of sources through blogs and other forms of User Generated Content).

So, basically put, I don’t think people should make money from blogging.  Blogging should be an altruistic and non- commercial activity.  I’m encouraged to see how many companies now are using their own blogs to keep their customers abreast of product development, new releases and other company activities.  I like this idea of a blog – it’s a platform for engaging with customers in a fairly personal and accessible way – kind of, this is what we’re up to, thought you might like to know and, by the way, there’s a place where you can let us know what you think.

But, let me be clear, I think attaching some advertising to one’s blog is fine – a few banners here and there of course and some Google paid stuff.  Covering one’s costs or even making a small amount of revenue in a pretty stealth kind of way is fine.  This indeed may have been the approach of Siew Hoon’s friend in the article – I do hope so. 

Anyone who blogs to make money doesn’t deserve to make money.  If you want to make money, then come up with a commercially viable on-line application or service and sell it but don’t jump on the wholesome notion of blogging and look to make a quick buck.

Getting those Stockbridge Boys on Google - well, my post about them on Google

Typing "stockbridge consultants" alone and my entry is nowhere - adding Singapore to the end of the search string and I come in sixth..... it's a start

Stockbridge Consultants

I was recently contacted by a company called Stockbridge Consultants based in Korea.  I have no idea where they managed to get my contact details from - they actually called me at work - but I suspect it might by means that are not entirely honorable in a marketing-kind of way.  Anyway, that's not my reason for writing this.

My first contact with this company was with a woman who said she wanted to send me some information about the company and their services and that I should expect that in the next few days.

The information arrived and a couple of days later I was contacted by a guy called Stephen Cooper who represented Stockbridge Consultants and wanted me to invest 10K USD or so in the stock of a company listed on the NASDAQ.  He proposed a sell price and a time frame and all the rest - basically after a few months I make a tidy little sum and then I'm supposed to become a client of theres and they go on to make money out of further commission-based transactions with me.  Nothing wrong with that I suppose.

I was hesitant at first as I always am when dealing in money issues and especially when it comes to trading.  Mr Cooper said he would call back the following day after I told him I wanted to speak with my financial advisor.  I did and he the next day he called back. I told him that I was not so sure about the investment (my financial advisor had suggested I avoided them).  After a few minutes and a change in tone from Mr Cooper towards some quite hard-selling he asked me quite bluntly if I was going to take the deal to which I replied, 'No'. He then said, 'Thanks for wasting my time' and immediately hung up.  This felt like an inappropriate way of behaving for a company potentially wanting to work with tens of thousands of dollars of my money and, of course, made me feel immediately like I had made the right decision. 

I have emailed them three times about this incident.  They have not replied.

So, I'm writing this here mainly out of curiosity to see how high it will appear in Google Search!  Then for anyone Googling 'Stockbridge Consultants'  after hearing about them (like I did) they will get the opportunity to read about my experience which may influence them if they are unsure about engaging in a relationship with them.