Adventures in web globalization, since 2002
The travel industry has long been at the forefront of web globalization. Take Booking.com, with support for 41 languages, or Uber, with support for 36 languages, or KLM, with support …
While I’ve closely studied travel websites for many years (such as airlines, hotels, travel agencies) as part of The Web Globalization Report Card, I’ve not spent much time looking closely at …
I recently wrote an op-ed for the Seattle Times about the importance and value of thinking globally. Here’s an excerpt: Consider Starbucks. In 2003, this aspiring global company supported a …
I’m pleased to announce the publication of my newest book: Think Outside the Country: A Guide to Going Global and Succeeding in the Translation Economy. This book is the result …
I’m pleased to announce the new book Think Outside the Country: A Guide to Going Global and Succeeding in the Translation Economy, due out on April 10th. Think Outside the Country is …
I was saddened to read that “the father of Pinyin” died this weekend in Beijing (though he did live to be 111 years old). While until now I never knew …
Lululemon provides an interesting case study of a US-based retailer taking its first steps towards going global. And, like all first steps, this one is rather awkward. To be clear, Lululemon …
China’s Alibaba is the creator (and exporter) of this one-day ecommerce extravaganza that takes place on 11/11. And despite being a one-day event the pre-promotion is in full effect. According to …
I visited the home page of the Chinese online travel agency website Ctrip recently and came across this odd flag: Just because the UK voted to separate from the EU …
According to People’s Daily, a number of runners in a South China marathon suffered from more than simply lack of hydration. Try lack of translation. The bar of soap shown above was …
Over the past decade Simplified Chinese has grown to become one of the most popular languages on global websites, second only to English. According to the Web Globalization Report Card, …
And so it has begun: The world’s biggest online shopping day.
In China.
More than $9 billion dollars was spent this day last year and experts are forecasting a number well north of that this year.
As I’ve been doing for the past few years, I’ve collected a few screen grabs of localized websites in China. Here are the latest:
Nike
I was given a review copy of No Ordinary Disruption: The Four Global Forces Breaking All the Trends, which I read over the weekend. The authors are Richard Dobbs, James …
Four years ago, for the Web Globalization Report Card, I began noting (and rewarding) those websites that supported mobile devices. Even then one could easily see the virtual grounds shifting in favor of mobile …
I enjoying watching how Western companies localize their websites and products to capitalize on Chinese New Year — the Year of the Sheep (or Goat). Like this gift card from Starbucks …