AT&T: Going Global Awkwardly
AT&T boldly announced today that it had launched a seven-language Web site at www.att.com/global. I’ll give AT&T and ‘A’ for effort and a ‘D-‘ for execution. The major problems have …
John Yunker
Most Global Countries
A.T. Kearney, Inc. and Foreign Policy magazine recently released their list of the top 20 most global countries. The survey takes a number of factors into account, such as politics, …
Multilingual Health Care
HIP Health Plan of New York today announced that it has added a fourth language, Korean, to its Web site: www.hipusa.com. Now the press release isn’t entirely honest. It says …
Wanted: A Few Good Translators
According to this article, the government is in need ofa few (or few hundred) translators of Arabic, Farsi, and Pashto. Here’s an excerpt: The government is looking for linguists who …
Idiom Tags Along
To succeed in software these days, you need really tight alliances and Idiom’s “go it alone” approach over the years has cost it dearly. The latest warning flag came in …
Bilingual Ads Arrive
The San Antonio Express-News has an article on the growing number of bilingual (English and Spanish) ads. Here’s an excerpt: There are “more Latinos in the United States than there …
Chinese Whispers
This very interesting article is not about China but about the EU Parliament, and how it intends to manage its ever-increasing number of languages. As the EU expands, so does …
Kola Real Takes on Coca-Cola
For anyone who says that globalization is a one-sided game in which American is always the winner, I submit Kola Real. Kola Real, known formally as Industrias Ananos, is giving …
Heading Toward Multilingual URLs
In a recent press release, ICANN, the organization in charge of the chaos that is our domain name registration system, has made multilingual domain names a priority (again). Here’s what …
Chinese Hoops
According to a recent press release, last year more than 15 NBA teams incorporated Asian American marketing efforts into their overall marketing plans. And the timing isn’t due just to …
eBay’s Global Plans
InternetNews featured a brief article on eBay’s expansion plans. It includes a great quote from an industry analyst: “Globalization is the next logical path for growth, they do have to …
Global Brands Don’t Always Start Out That Way
The executives at Wal-Mart may be accused (and guilty) of many bad things, but I have to give them credit for sucking up their pride when going global. This article …
Realnames Rises in Korea
Remember Realnames – the company that promised to eliminate the need for URLs forever? With their system you needed only to enter a company’s name in the address window of …
Global Gender Gaps
The Pew Research Center has released an interesting study about the differences between men and women around the globe. One area where there appears to be general agreement is the …
General Motors Does it Again
The brain trust that is General Motors will have to rename its latest brand, the Buick LaCrosse for its Canadian market. According to this article in the Toronto Sun, GM …