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Forums > Living in Kunming > GoKunming feedback

@angelcrazy2
Ah, this is slightly different.
It sounds like there is no exclusivity in operation, as you have not been excluded from advertising. You have been told that you can, but you must pay a fee.

If this is a new policy it should apply to all commercial entities advertising, if it is to be fair. However, if that was the case, then all the job adverts from schools should attract a fee. You are technically offering a commercial service. However, as you are not a commercial entity you do not fit this category. Even if you are offering something for sale, as do many other people. For the Webiste there is always a desire to control 'carpetbaggers' (people who want something free when they should be paying).

The only other issue I can think of is legality for the 'angelcrazy' service. Normal car insurance is invalid. If there was an accident you and your passengers would not be covered. Perhaps the Gokunming team cannot allow you to openly advertise an illegal service using the words 'car, driver, driving'.

If the GoKunming staff are worried about carpetbaggers, then they need to develop a clear policy. This is especially true if they are going to develop a more commercial face to GoKunming. Any policy does not have to posted on the website, as policy changes to meet changes in the laws and environment. However, any policy should be consistently applied.

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Forums > Living in Kunming > English Books?

Book sources.

Xinhau bookstores all have a language section with lots of English books. Text books are usually bi-lingual and these can help a student with notes on grammar, etc. in Chinese. Oxford/Cambridge/other university presses have publishing arrangements with Chinese university presses. Chinese universities also produce their own English courses.

There is also a selection of classic English literature.

Baidu or Tudou. Nearly all English books (and illegal copies) can be purchased on-line. Some of these are very cheap indeed. Many people find a book they like and have illegal photocopies made, this can be done at almost every part of the city, but it is very naughty.

Put a Wanted English Text Books ad on here. Offer to buy/borrow unused text books. See what you are offered.

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Forums > Living in Kunming > English Books?

I would not worry too much about curriculum unless you are a director of studies at a school. Most schools will give you books they want you to use. For most tutoring assignments books are a good starting point, and some students may already have the book that they want you to use.

Some teachers do not like working from a book. There are arguments about lack of flexibility of set courses. But the do give teachers a lot of freedom, and reduce the risk of teachers having an off day or not having time to prepare a lesson plan.

Here are some plus sides to books.
No lesson planning from scratch.
Most off the shelf language courses, produced in by the main publishers have the curriculum in built.

For the least experienced teachers, if they stick to the book they cannot go far wrong. Using the course content teachers can choose to take the lessons further.

Most UK and US produced material will have borrowed vocabulary from the COBUILD project that has defined the most commonly used words in the language. These are spread across the varying levels of a set of books.

The grammar exercises are woven into the course. The level of difficulty at an appropriate language level.

Subject matters vary from course to course (series/sets of books). But these subjects are age specific to the course. Adults may not want to learn about pop music and teen fashion. Neither do kindergarten students.

In simple terms the whole course has been designed already with curriculum and syllabus planned and built in. The teacher only needs to deliver. Teachers can then chose how to augment the book.

My 2 cents.

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Forums > Living in Kunming > GoKunming feedback

Observations.

I am disappointed with Go Kunming to hear that commercial exclusivity has existed.

Paying sponsors on other websites buy banner ads. They do not get exclusivity.

Exclusivity would be illegal in many markets. It is considered by many as unfair business practice. Imagine if Microsoft was the only company allowed to advertise their software, what an outcry there would be. One thing I was taught in business, 'never do anything that you may later have to justify', because it may come back to bite your tail. Monopolies are also anti-competition and that is not in the interests of the readership.

Classifieds in my home market fall into two groups, commercial and private. Commercial includes jobs and services. Commercial classifieds are not always paid for.

By offering exclusivity you are also closing the opportunity for more advertising revenue from others in that sector.

There is normally no exclusivity in classifieds. Banner ads give advertisers an advantage that is seen as fair by all. And they are paid for. IMHO exclusivity should never be offered to sweeten the deal.

Classifieds

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Comments

Off topic, but related to theme songs. When we watched terrestrial TV we listened to the whole theme, even if only in the background while we quickly made a cup of tea or finished off some other chore. With streaming, or watching box sets, we quickly FF over the theme song and titles. We are missing a lot of great music.
Everything else said by the last two posters can be captured within the idea that we no longer live in a society, we live in a market.

Reviews

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A reasonable choice of lumber that has improved over time. Fancy hardwoods like walnut, and mahogany are in abundance. There are some plywood and rubber-wood boards available. There are also some kiln dried imported softwoods and merbao available. Some of the lumber is very green, so look for the kiln dried if you need stable timbers.

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Echo everything said by others.
Breakfast great and the serve from 8am. Most other places say 9am and they still are not ready.
Sandwiches are cheap 22-32, and really packed full of filling. We got some sandwiches for a day out, the only mistake I made was ordering two, as this was too much. These are seriously good sangars, and they are wrapped in alu foil.

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In fairness to Metro, they are a wholesalers, and not really a supermarket. Hence the need for a card, which can be got around.

They have improved in the year I have been away. They now carry a more consistent range of imported foodstuffs and they also seem to have sorted out the mported milk supply.

They have a wider range of electrical appliances now, there is a coice of more than one toast. There is also a better range of seasonal non foods, like clothes, shoes, garden furniture and camping gear.