The Problem with Pull-Down Menus
There are many problems with using pull-down menus on a Web site, but the one that jumps out at me occurs in those “Select Country” pull down menus. Today I tried to register on a popular consumer Web site that…
Month March 2007
Global by Design: Web Localization for Brazil
The March/April issue of Global by Design is now out and features key tips on Web localization for Brazil. Brazil is the target of a growing number of multinationals; this article focuses on some of the key issues marketing and…
Translation Memory Sharing Gains Momentum
The members of the Translation Automation User Society met recently and agreed to develop a business plan for hosting and sharing translation memories (TMs). TMs have historically been something that companies developed for their own internal use — to cut…
MotionPoint Benefits from Rush to Develop Localized Web Sites for US Hispanics
MotionPoint announced today that it was now hosting a Spanish-language pandemic flu Web site for the US Dept. of Health & Human Services. The site is located at I first profiled MotionPoint in December of 2005. The company is…
The Dangers of Not Going Global
From an old Wall Street Journal article I just came across about the success of Tommy Hilfiger abroad: “You become vulnerable if you are just going to operate in the U.S. marketplace,” says Fred Gehring, who headed Tommy Hilfiger’s European…
Montenegro: A New Country Brings New Localization Challenges
Last year, Montenegro split up with Serbia, becoming an independent country, as well as the 192nd member of the United Nations. This has created a bit of a headache for companies and organizations that manage things like maps and locale-dependent…
The World’s Number One Starbucks Fan: The Movie
About a year ago I interviewed a man named Winter, who had set out to drink a coffee in every Starbucks on the planet. It was an ambitious goal given the rate of growth this company is experiencing, but he…
Does Comedy Travel?
In advertisign and in entertainment, it is very difficult to create humor that travels. Slapstick comedy generally does better than cerebral comedy, but you’re likely to have better luck taking a cops and robbers film global than a romantic comedy.…