Taking the Great American Pastime Global
I was raised a Cardinals fan. But I don’t live in St. Louis anymore so I must follow the team virtually. Fortunately there’s the MLB mobile app. Now I can listen …
Business globalization
Chevrolet wants a consistent global brand — hopefully a consistent website will follow
Interesting article in the WSJ (sub. required) about Alan Batey, the new global brand chief of Chevrolet. From the article: Mr. Batey says he wants to unify the brand’s strategy. “We used to …
A global look at Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends report
Mary Meeker, a Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner, recently provided another healthy dose of data and trends, along with a number of predictions. But the media largely overlooked the …
Cisco Systems: The Best Global Enterprise Technology Website
We studied 12 enterprise technology websites for the 2013 Web Globalization Report Card. The Web Globalization Report Card is an annual benchmark of how effectively companies internationalize and localize their websites …
Samsung: The best consumer technology website of 2013
We studied 18 consumer technology websites for the 2013 Web Globalization Report Card. The Web Globalization Report Card is an annual benchmark of how effectively companies internationalize and localize their …
On Square and localization: Keep an eye on your local websites
I use Square. I love Square. But if I were a French-speaking Canadian I might not feel quite the same. Because if you select the French/Canada option from the Square …
The top 25 global websites from the 2013 Web Globalization Report Card
UPDATE: The 2017 Web Globalization Report Card is now available. I’m pleased to announce the top-scoring websites from the 2013 Web Globalization Report Card. This is the ninth annual edition …
Transcreation is here to stay
In 2005, I wrote transcreation is gaining momentum. I predicted that we’d see a lot more use of this word in the years ahead. Why? Because “translation sounds like a …
Is white the world’s most popular car color?
It’s well known that colors carrying different meanings in different cultures. The paint producer PPG Industries has released results from a global survey on car color preferences around the globe. …
English-only multinationals are a bad idea
You can decree that the employees of your company speak only English. You can train everyone. You can test everyone. And you can get everyone to speak English in meetings, …
Taking Mobile Global: Tips for Aligning Mobile and Global Web Strategies
Here’s a new article I’ve written for UX Magazine on the importance of aligning global and mobile strategies. Too often, companies develop mobile apps and mobile websites without considering localization requirements. Here …
Be Kind: It’s not easy creating a global brand name
From The Wall Street Journal interview with the founder of KIND Snacks: WSJ: Kind recently became the subject of a trademark battle with Italy’s Ferrero SpA, a $10 billion candy …
(Insert company name here) stumbles in China
From the article Groupon stumbles in China in The Wall Street Journal: Foreign Internet companies have long struggled in China, which has more Internet users than any other country. Yahoo Inc., one …
The Death of the Global Manager
Great article by Julia Hanna of Harvard Business School in Working Knowledge: “Today, I would argue that you don’t put that qualifying adjective in front of manager—we all simply operate …
World 3.0: Making Sense of a Semi-Global Planet
I received an advance review copy of Pankaj Ghemeawat’s new book World 3.0: Global Prosperity and How to Achieve It. I greatly enjoyed his previous book, Redefining Global Strategy, calling …