ASEANNOW.com - Thaivisa.com rebrands and expands beyond Thailand

[tonray]

24 minutes ago, kynikoi said:

Expats jumping ship or planning or at the very least considering. I know I am.

I'd jump but alas I have no lifeboat

[Puccini]

45 minutes ago, Kadilo said:

If you click the “theme” drop down below at bottom of page next to the “contact us” you can change it back by selecting the other option. 
 

You even get some purple back!

Thank you. You are today's hero.

[KannikaP]

Have they purposely made the main font more faded so some older Members will not be able to read it.?

 

When Transferwise changed to Wise, we got maybe a month's notice, Here..........next day.

 

 

Thanks J Town for the info about changing themes. I am back to normal now and not needing to go to Specsavers. Cheers.

Edited July 2, 2021 by KannikaP

[Genix]

Let's be fair... "ThaiVisa" was never a good name as this forum expanded way beyond it and only a very small % of discussions were actually visa related.

[klauskunkel]

So long, and thanks for all the fish...

[Old Croc]

3 minutes ago, Genix said:

Let's be fair... "ThaiVisa" was never a good name as this forum expanded way beyond it and only a very small % of discussions were actually visa related.

I agree, a name change to reflect what the forum has become was long overdue.

However, I would have called it SinoBrit.com.

[Blumpie]

Meh...

[BKKBike09]

41 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Advantages of doing business in Hong Kong

• Free trade and investment policy.
• Rule of law.
• Complete freedom of capital movement.
• Clean and efficient government.
• Low and simple taxation.
• Close proximity to markets in Asia.
• Highly skilled workforce.

Tessanet is a media company. Under the new Chinese National Security Law - which is considered extra-territorial by China - people working for a media company have nothing to fear unless they break the law. However exactly what constitutes breaking the law is deliberately left open to interpretation. 

 

So 'rule of law' above isn't what it used to be. 

 

[Poet]

1 minute ago, Genix said:

Let's be fair... "ThaiVisa" was never a good name as this forum expanded way beyond it and only a very small % of discussions were actually visa related.

As it contains the keywords "Thai" and "visa", it put them highest in the search rankings for people who needed that info and, therefore, would also be likely to click on ads for visa agents, hotels, lawyers, realtors etc, earning the owner hefty commissions.

Regular participants rarely earn forums any money, their job is to create fresh content that makes Google more likely to continue ranking the site in the top results.

You mostly make money from the newbie willing to click links and spend money to achieve something specific. He may never visit again, but that one flying visit can generate enough affiliate fees to pay for that month's hosting.

 

[Puccini]

42 minutes ago, misterjames said:

1 rmb is headed your way ????

I remember reading a news article saying that the Russian government is paying good money to "influencers" on social media for posting positive comments about the Sputnik V vaccine (can't find the source right now). It would not surprise me if China did the same for their vaccines.

[CharlieH]

Post with Racial remark removed.

[Puccini]

48 minutes ago, Hanaguma said:

Just curious, but it seems like a lot of sections from the previous Thaivisa Forums are missing. Farang Pub, Marriage/Family discussions... is that a feature or a bug?

 

I couldn't find General Topics when I looked for it a moment ago. I am confident it is still there somewhere; I just have to try harder. Tomorrow, perhaps.

[tomazbodner]

Just changed name and forum is smoother already.... BTW - love the new fonts. Crisp and clear.

[grandpa]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

On 2nd July 2021, Thaivisa.com will rebrand to ASEANNOW.com

And they tell us when? On 2nd July!   So it should read, "has rebranded"!  Did they not know in advance?   Very strange :-)

 

 

[CharlieH]

Thai Visa has not been sold/acquired. Nothing has changed in onwnership since the the original purchase from George.

Its a rebrand nothing more.

THERE ARE NO CHINESE TAKEOVERS INVOLVED. so lets drop the conspiracy nonsense please.

[Nojohndoe]

It will be interesting to see effect and outcome of this sudden announcement

While other ASEAN Nation's "home page" links at top of page mostly do not work as yet they do exist with content !

Perhaps at least for a while that will generate a spread of interest and as a result an uptick in the all important advertising revenues ?

 

[ABCbangkok]

IMHO, they are making a big mistake by leaving out Mongolia. 

[Puccini]

54 minutes ago, Poet said:

Personally, despite some good discussions here in the past, my interest had already, prior to the current gymnastics, waned to the point that this is probably my final thread on this forum.

Don't leave, please. Hang around at least for the two years necessary to see how your predictions work out.

[rumak]

11 minutes ago, BKKBike09 said:

So 'rule of law' above isn't what it used to be. 

 

i think those of us on the forum formally known as thaivisa are well aware of that

[Blumpie]

18 minutes ago, Puccini said:

I remember reading a news article saying that the Russian government is paying good money to "influencers" on social media for posting positive comments about the Sputnik V vaccine (can't find the source right now). It would not surprise me if China did the same for their vaccines.

Not to be rude ( I frequently am) but this is a known fact from long long ago.  And Chinese.  And whoever else.  

[Jingthing]

36 minutes ago, Genix said:

Let's be fair... "ThaiVisa" was never a good name as this forum expanded way beyond it and only a very small % of discussions were actually visa related.

I don't really agree. It was obviously a great name. You're taking the word Visa way too literally! Do you think Visa credit cards are only to pay for visa fees? Come on man. You know the thing. Visa evokes opening up entirely new worlds! Such as where to get the best burrito in Pattaya. 

 

That all said the old brand has become associated with cranky old expats. That might be good for cranky old expats but retro forums are competing with current social media. 

 

Asean Now while to my impression a meh name does do two things:

 

-- It sounds younger. Now not back then.

 

-- It does provide the structure for the hoped for regional expansion. 

 

Maybe the owners should start a new site for Latin America?

 

LATAM NOW?

Edited July 2, 2021 by Jingthing

[sirineou]

5 hours ago, edwardandtubs said:

Uninspiring name and I'm sure the non-Thai forums will remain largely empty. Expats in the Philippines and elsewhere have their own places to hang out.

From the title.

"   "

it reminds me of the artist formerly known as Prince.

He is now known as "The artist formerly known as alive" LOL

Edited July 2, 2021 by sirineou
typo

[faraday]

12 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Thai Visa has not been sold/acquired. Nothing has changed in onwnership since the the original purchase from George.

Its a rebrand nothing more.

THERE ARE NO CHINESE TAKEOVERS INVOLVED. so lets drop the conspiracy nonsense please.

Who owns the forum then?

[Nojohndoe]

2 minutes ago, peter0017 said:

Seriously the new font is not ok at all. It hurts my eyes!

Drop to bottom of page, click theme, select  copy of........

The page will present in previous format.......at least for  now !

[rumak]

1 hour ago, ICELANDMAN said:

 

Now Asean Now has a new IT capable of recognizing the location of members who are warned that those hiding underneath with fake IPs will be immediately deported and confined to Covid field hospitals in case of overcrowding as almost all of them use fake IPs. deported to the north to places kept secret.

 

Help !!!

[Jingthing]

Just now, faraday said:

Who owns the forum then?

If he told you he'd have to give you a very firm foot massage. 

[Puccini]

47 minutes ago, Puccini said:

Talking about credible source, please be so kind as to post the link to the page on the "companies house website" you mentioned in your post.

@misterjames

Message received and understood. Thank you.

[John Drake]

2 hours ago, mstevens said:

 

Really?!?!?! The impression I got in recent months is that the number of posters had dropped off and there was a distinct lack of fresh blood coming through. I could be wrong of course, but that is the impression I had.....that the forum was in a slow decline - which would be entirely consistent with Covid and reduced interest in Thailand generally as fewer expats move to Thailand and very few Westerners visit the country.

 

Yes, people that had been on here for years, have disappeared. But that started with their last upgrade, however many months ago that was. The site didn't carry over auto logins then and it hasn't done so today either. So a lot of people lost their posting history and it killed their enthusiasm. I found my login info in my google password manager. Otherwise, I don't even remember what email I first used to create my user ID. It probably didn't help when they got rid of the World Forum either. It was mainly a bashing forum, but it brought in a lot of people who are gone now.

[Puccini]

38 minutes ago, klauskunkel said:

So long, and thanks for all the fish...

I take it you're off to the restaurant at the end of the universe.

[John Drake]

1 hour ago, kynikoi said:

Expats jumping ship or planning or at the very least considering. I know I am.

 

Even last year's poster of the year has long deserted the site.