Google’s Middle East Expansion
According to The Wall Street Journal, Google has chosen “Egypt as its first outpost in the Arab world because it is the most populous country in the region, with 78 …
Month: June 2006
Google Cashes Out of Baidu
Baidu is the “Google” of China with 51% of the market (according to CNNIC). Awhile back, Google bought a small chunk of the company, before it went public, presumably with …
How Wikipedia Manages Multilingual Content Expectations
Wikipedia came in second in our 2006 Web Globalization Report Card for a number of reasons. Not only does it offer content in more than 100 languages, it does a …
Global Gateway Tip: Don’t Play Favorites
A pull-down menu is not the ideal solution for global gateways. For starters, it doesn’t scale well. If you offer ten or fewer country Web sites, a pull-down menu might …
MySpace China, Germany, and France This Summer?
According to TechCrunch, MySpace could launch a half-dozen non-English Web sites as early as this summer. Says the blog, “MySpace co-founder and chief executive Chris DeWolfe was quoted by the …
Soccer vs. Football, via ESPN
I always have wondered what Europeans would call US football if and when it became popular over there. Apparently, I’m not alone and ESPN has a solution to that pesky …
McDonalds in China; Elle in the Middle East
The Wall Street Journal features two articles on business globalization and localization — from McDonald’s building drive-thrus in China to Elle publishiing a Middle East edition. For Elle, the challenge …
Overcome the Text Messaging Language Barrier on Skype
Robert Levin, CEO of Transclick, alerted me to an app they have developed that plugs into Skype and translates text messages in real time. So you can message across languages. …
One Step Forward; Two Steps Back
Just when I thought the dark days of US xenophobia couldn’t get any darker, I read that Utah has taken down its Spanish-language Web site. According to the article, “”Two …
Google News Adds Arabic
Google News has added Arabic to its portfolio of 35 localized sites. This site takes a language-specific approach to the news rather than country-specific approach. It’s getting a little crowded …
Heading to Internet Retailer Conference
I’m off to Chicago shortly to attend/speak at the Internet Retailer Conference. This is a sizable event — I’m told there are more than 2,100 participants (I think it has …
English, Chinese, and Hindi?
According to Silicon India Google CE Eric Schmidt says India will become the world’s biggest Internet market in 5 to 10 years. Says the article, “Schmidt’s other futurist view is …