So, the Kunshan Beer fest has just finished, and I'm writing this blissfully unhungover (it's been a day or two since I went). For drinking, it was a great event with many and varied beer companies including some German beers that I've never seen in Shanghai. Thanks to the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, I had VIP tickets for the German tent, meaning lots of carousing with the (mostly German and Chinese) crowd.

Networking-wise, it wasn't so hot -- not a single card got passed out as far as I could see. Mostly because outside the German tent it was largely locals who were there with their friends, and inside the tent it was too loud to meet people and was organised to give sponsors separate tables.

All in all, definitely worthwhile, but only if you're a drinking fan. Great place to take existing contacts to strengthen a relationship (beer is a fantastic equalizer) but not so great for meeting new people.

• How to talk anyone into anything - not strictly networking, but useful people techniques
• Are social networking sites useful for business?
• Tip to get everyone to notice you at a social event - useful for smokers only, unfortunately

By Kevin Sinclair

Every business needs an effective marketing strategy and most business owners would admit this. However, they may not question whether or not their own strategy is, indeed, an effective one. Stop for a moment and just consider what would happen if your business had no decent advertising. The answer is quite simple, most businesses would fail very quickly without an effective marketing strategy.

If you have an event you want to get featured on Shanghai Networking News, add it to our calendar and get in touch to let us know you want it featured.

What is a featured event?

Featured events are like normal event listings with the following differences:

• Highlighted at the top of the front page up to a month before they occur.
• Highlighted at the top of the newsletter up to a month before they occur.
• Highlighted in our event listings pages

How much does it cost to feature an event?

Generally we charge 500 RMB per event or the price of one admission, whichever is higher. Payment can be made via cash or bank transfer.

When it comes to networking events, which do you find are worth your time, effort and money? I've found that bigger doesn't always mean better. Usually, the smaller events, like NextStep, Oriented.com and various chambers reap much greater rewards that the larger, jointly-organised events. So, what's wrong with the bigger events?

1. Too much publicity - Great for events themselves, but not so great when you bump into all your competition. There may also be lots of people you already know, meaning more time catching up than mingling. (Not to say catching up is bad, but it can be easy to get bogged down)

We're currently in the process of our big site move and redesign -- that means faster load times and an easier interface to networking advice and Shanghai's networking events.

It may take a little while to get things up and running as they were before -- in the meantime, you can check http://shanghainn.com/thyme to check the latest events if they're not listed here.

{mosimage}Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, William Jefferson Blythe, Rolihlahla Mandela, Eldrick Woods. No idea who these people are? I can't blame you -- history knows them as Mother Teresa, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela and Tiger Woods. Your name can mean the difference between success and failure, so don't choose it lightly.

Now, if you're Chinese, it's relatively easy to adopt or change your English name. The question is, which name should you be using?

With the long May holiday weekend, we at Shanghai Networking News have been in a bit of a rut. It happens to everyone -- sometimes you just can't be bothered to get out there and start networking. That doesn't mean you can't strengthen your network though: Here are three ways to improve your connections online:

With Chinese New Year in full swing and the weather bitterly cold, things will be a bit quiet on the networking front for the next week or so. So, what can you do while you're not out there meeting new people? Just because you're not out there networking, doesn't mean you can't strengthen your network...

Really, if that's all we can say about baijiu then it's hardly a ringing endorsement. A while ago we mentioned you should never drink baijiu if you like your liver, but a recent tale heard at a NextStep mixer has prompted us to take a second look:

When going on business trips to underdeveloped areas in China, you're often encouraged to chow down on some of the local food -- which in some cases may not have been prepared all that hygienically. Lucky for you, baijiu can (apparently) act as a natural bug killer, stopping any food poisoning before it begins.

So, if you choose the dodgy food alone, you'll likely spend the next day on the toilet. If you go for the baijiu too, you'll probably spend the next day hugging the toilet. Not much of a choice, to be sure, but at least now you have an option!