Starbucks continues its global expansion with its first French locations, set to open in early 2004. Many pundits have warned that Starbucks will face anti-American resistance throughout the country. I disagree. Starbucks will succees in Paris, just as it has…
I will be speaking on Web globalization at the Documentation & Training Conference on October 7th just north of Boston. It’s going to be a great program. Other speakers include David Pogue, Steve Krug and Mike Doyle. If you’re planning…
As any good craftsman can tell you, it’s not enough to simply have the right tool for the job — you also need to know just how to use it. A Translator’s Tool Box for the 21st Century, written by…
The New York Times has a great profile of Michael Everson, one of the many architects of Unicode. I hope some day there are more profiles like this about the many people devoting great chunks of their lives to the…
Walgreens claims to be the first national pharmacy retailer with a Web site designed specifically for Hispanics: WalgreensEspanol.com. One major problem with this new site — it’s near-impossible to find unless you already know the URL. Try visiting the main…
RedDot, a maker of content management software, is using a rather unique global gateway, as shown here: Notice how it uses ISO-specific country abbreviations, such as PL for Poland, AU for Australia. To my knowledge this is the first corporate…
An excellent editorial by Robert Wright in The New York Times about globalization. He does a wonderful job of showing how globalization is far from a new development, yet one that presents new challanges. Here’s a excerpt: Globalization dates back…
According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, people around the world generally approve of increased international trade. They also “think positively” of international and multinational organizations, such as the World Trade Organization. (Respondents were not too fond…
With the publication of Madonna’s much-hyped children’s book, The English Roses (Las Rosas Inglesas), Scholastic is launching a Spanish-language imprint, Scholastic En Espanol. According to the press release, Hispanics currently account for 17% of all children in the United States…
This article in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) explains the logistics of Madonna’s foray into children’s publishing. Madonna has never done anything small, so why should her first children’s book be any different? Her book, “The English Roses,” will…
Thanks to Amy Campbell for pointing us to a note by Larry Bodine about the growing number of law firms with multilingual Web sites. Apparently, Jones Day says it is the first law firm to make its Web site available…
Excerpted from the Web site Cool News of the Day: Wal-Mart de Mexico. Or Walmex, if you will, “is not a carbon copy of its U.S. parent,” but it “is the largest retailer in Latin America and…the largest private employer…