A couple weeks ago my wife and I went to Grand Cayman for 5 days for a little get away. Here is my obligatory in depth review of the trip so I can write it off

We had an amazing time. It was 80 degrees, sunny most of the time, and the people were really awesome.

When we first got there one of the things that I found amusing and kind of shocking is the amount of chickens running around… yes chickens. I would swear you would think its their state bird or something. Chickens are EVERYWHERE.

Also another really neat thing was the HUGE amount of rum they produce in the Caymans.

And the hilarious one is the one called “Big Black Dick”. Seriously:

The Diving:

Everyone told us that if we are going to pick a spot to dive, especially for our first time, that Grand Cayman was the spot.

I had never been diving before in my life. We went on 2 resort dives that allowed us to go down as deep as 50 feet. I was instantly addicted.

We used a service called Red Sail and they were really great. We did a 4 hour prep course in the pool then went out to do a dive at a ship wreck.

I took a underwater camera but the pictures came out really crappy. In the future I am going to either get a camera made for underwater photography or a case for one of my DSLR cameras to get some sweet pics.

The 2nd dive we did was even better than the first cause our dive master put more weight on me and used the BCD (buoyancy control device) to keep me neutral buoyant. In the first dive they did not put enough weight on me so I had to keep taking short breaths to stay down low in the water. I didn’t know this was a big deal and just thought it was something I had to get used to. I also was told on the first dive they want to error on the side of caution and not overweight you incase of an emergency you can get up to the top without getting off your weight belt.

The water was SUPER warm. Many people dove without any wet suits.

I can’t say enough about the diving experience. I don’t think I will ever snorkel again. My wife and I are already going through the process to get certified.

The Hotel:

We stayed at a 4 star hotel called the Marriott Grand Cayman.

From places I have stayed around the world I would give this about a 2 star rating.

Negatives:

• There literally were small tears in our sheets.
• The water was absolutely scalding on medium hot. Like hotter than fresh coffee. It would badly burn anyone who just jumped in and put the setting in the middle.
• Our sliding glass door to the balcony was pretty busted. It took a lot of effort everytime we wanted to open or close it.
• There is no Pay Per View on the TV. Not that that is a huge deal but I am one of those people who love to get room service at night and take in a movie and just relax. I think those who have kids can relate .
• While we were there they were doing a remodel of the place and draining the moats surrounding it. This lead to a pretty bad smell from the waterless canals.

Positives:

• The hotel was VERY inexpensive… as is pretty every hotel in on the Island. Our ENTIRE Bill was less than $1,000 for the 5 days we stayed their. We paid for the cheapest room but cause of the Centurian Card (Black Amex) we were upgraded to the “nicest” room they had available for no extra charge. The $1,000 also applied to all of our diving expenses and lots of other stuff we charged to the room.
• The staff was over the top nice and helpful.
• No time share pitches or even attempts. This is a HUGE pet peeve I have whenever I travel to tropical places. People try to act like they are your transportation to suck you into their scams.
• In closing on the Hotel situation – We toured every hotel on the beach of Grand Cayman. We were not impressed by any of them. Even the Ritz Carlton looked pretty crappy.
• But also keep in mind its a diving destination. Not a luxury resort. We met a lot of people who owned condos in the area that looked amazing. I think in the future when we come back we will look for a condo for rent.

Little History Of the Islands

• I did not know this but the Cayman islands were originally populated by Jamaican exiles, pirates, and people who were ship wrecked.
• There is no corporate income tax or income tax at all.
• All imported goods have a 29% to 100% “import tax” with a maximum of $20,000.00 per item imported. The higher percentage mostly applies to cars. A BMW X5 same as what I drive was priced at 140k new. More than twice what I paid.
• On all food and items you purchase instead of a tax they charge a flat 15% “service fee”. When we first got there and got room service I assumed this was a fee to deliver our food. Later I discovered this was the flat tax in essence throughout the island without calling it a tax.
• The Cayman Islands are the only British Colony that does not have to pay a duty to the Queen. The story is that King George the 3rd’s son was shipwrecked off the shore and the natives rescued him. For that the king said he would never tax the Cayman people. The local’s say this is hogwash. Who knows.

All in all it was a awesome trip.  I can’t wait to dive again.  For those of you that dive where are your favorite spots?

Direct response marketers are under assault not only from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) but also from class action mills that are targeting the advertising of dietary supplements and other consumer products. The financial consequences of an attack from either front can be devastating. Compliant business practices normally are good enough to keep the FTC at bay, but the same can’t always be said for plaintiffs’ lawyers who specialize in the art of the shakedown. Playing the odds, they know that the threat of a class action, even against law-abiding marketers, can be enough to extract a hefty settlement and payday for themselves.

Fortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a series of recent decisions, has given marketers new armor with which to defend themselves preemptively against plaintiffs’ suits: mandatory arbitration of consumer disputes. Last month, in CompuCredit Corporation v. Greenwood, its latest pronouncement on the subject, the Supreme Court barred a class action for violation of the Credit Repair Organization Act (CROA) on the grounds that CompuCredit’s credit card agreement required arbitration, and that CROA did not prohibit arbitration as the sole method of dispute resolution.

The court, in a majority opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia, went out of its way – the dissent said too far – to read CROA to permit a credit repair provider to compel arbitration over litigation. CROA is a very pro-consumer statute, affording, among other protections, a three-day cooling off period with right to cancel, and forbidding collection of fees until the seller has performed. To ensure the means to enforce those protections, it explicitly granted the consumer the “right to sue” a credit repair organization that violates CROA, and prohibits the “waiver” of any consumer rights afforded under the statute.

Seems plain enough, doesn’t it? “Right to sue” means right to sue in court, right? That’s what the Ninth Circuit below and the dissent by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said was the obvious, “plain English” understanding of the phrase. But the majority had something else in mind. It said “right to sue” doesn’t mean the right to sue in court, but only the right to enforce the credit repair organization’s “liability” for “failure to comply” with CROA, which right also could be enforced in binding arbitration. The parties remain “free” to specify arbitration, the court said, so long as the “guarantee of the legal power to impose liability . . . is preserved.” Since CompuCredit had contractually provided for binding arbitration that was subject to judicial enforcement, plaintiff’s right to “impose liability” was protected.

Whether or not the majority’s “sophisticated” interpretation of the meaning of “right to sue” constituted an act of “legal legerdemain” that failed to honor Congress’ intent in enacting CROA, it demonstrates an unmistakable bias in favor of allowing sellers to avoid class actions and other consumer lawsuits by mandating binding arbitration of disputes. CompuCredit, on top of the court’s earlier pro-arbitration decisions, is a potential godsend to DR marketers that could be the next shakedown target. Mandatory consumer arbitration clauses now have the full backing of the highest court in the land. If you don’t have an arbitration provision in your customer contracts or terms and conditions now, you should. It could save your business.

Nexcess is fairly confident in their web hosting service judging by this shirt. Any sort of web hosting you need done they can do it, defiantly worth checking out!

2 months ago I put up a survey to blog readers and newsletter readers. I asked what content people were interested in that I could create from you.

From that we have released software, lots of free videos, and done webinars.

But one particular top we got a TON of questions on was local marketing.

But it was a big mix between people who were business owners looking to learn more and people who were looking to offer services to local businesses.

If you’re an affiliate looking to make money working with local business owners
or if you’re a local business owner who wants a flood of new customers then this if for YOU.

I have a few simple questions for you below, just click on the link that’s for you.

-> BUSINESS OWNERS -> What’s your biggest problem when it comes to getting new customers?

-> AFFILIATES-> What’s your biggest problem when it comes to doing local affiliate marketing?

Once you give me your opinion in the survey above, I’m going to put together a KILLER report
showing you exactly what you want to know…

So click one of the links above and fill out the quick 1 page survey.

Recently I got a interesting question:

Shoe – How come you see all these affiliate bloggers startup,  deliver awesome content,  then dissapear into the woodwork?  I am talking about sites like Nickycakes,  bluehatseo, seoblackhat, ppc.bz and the like.

That is a really good question.

There are several reasons why people stop.  I would say the average lifespan of an affiliate blog is about 1 year… or 200 posts on average.

When people start an affiliate blog they are super gung ho and want to show the world how smart they are.   And they are unbelievably smart… don’t get me wrong.

But how long can they maintain that sort of value?  Honestly?

Here at ShoeMoney this blog is about me and whatever interests me.  I talk about lots of random crap but occasionally some internet marketing stuff which people find valuable.  Someday maybe I will completely retire and just blog about life and my thoughts on other stuff… and nobody in the internet marketing industry will care.

I will still be here writing my average 1.2 posts a day.  I wrote for a long time when nobody read and when nobody reads again I will still be here.

Back to your question though.

I also believe their is a pyramid in the affiliate blogging space.  Let me try to visualize it:

So my point is that the more savvy the blogger becomes the less people he can actually help by sharing knowledge.

The blogs you see that are successful, make a lot of money, and continue to grow are ones that stay on that basic level that can relate to millions of people.

Sites like John Chow and Pro Blogger are very good at this. I believe its because a lot of their content is from guest others that are on that basic level and can deliver value (in john chows case he is just always on that basic level =P ).

So far this has all been thinking positively though. Sadly a lot of people who start blogs eventually get big enough that they just can’t handle the spotlight. The first time they get haters they crawl into a hole.

Anyway great question and I hope that answers it!

I leave this morning to head to Los Angeles for the Startups Uncensored Event

The morning of the event I am filming a 30 video series which will part of a free iPad/iPhone application. My section of the application is on affiliate marketing.

I have a pretty extensive list of questions that I think people have on affiliate marketing but would love to hear from you.

Please post what questions about affiliate marketing you would like to see in the series in the comments below.

Since we announced we were going to look for a partner for LinkControl.com to take it open source.

The main qualification is pretty simple.  We are just looking for someone who has managed an opensoure project before.

We have had a lot of people offer to do it but nobody has really maintained an opensource project.

Please let us know if you are interested.