What the heck is an IDN and why you should care
Here’s a new article I’ve written for UX Magazine on the emergence of internationalized domain names (IDNs). I view IDNs as an inevitable (albeit awkward) evolution of the Internet. And here are the …
Web Globalization
Without web localization, you’re just guessing
An interesting article by Alexandra Berzon of the WSJ regarding Hilton and Starwood hotels, which are offering menus and services tailored to Chinese travelers. This quote jumped out at me: After …
South Sudan needs a country code
So it’s official now. The Republic of South Sudan is a country. In case you’re curious what you have to do to become a country, here’s a brief list. The …
Going Global with JavaScript: Coming this Fall
JavaScript enables everything from simple online sign-up forms to complex web-based applications. But there is not much information out there on how to effectively internationalize and localize JavaScript code. Which …
Web design with the world in mind
I was interviewed recently by Paul Sawers of The Next Web. He wrote a great article about the challenges and opportunities of web internationalization. I recommend sending this link to …
Blogging in tongues: Focus on Forrester
Brian Walker, an analyst at Forrester, noticed recently that his blog post was seeing active retweets in a number of different languages. And yet the blog post itself was available …
Delta’s global gateway: When complexity kills
I’m always amazed when I come across global gateways that I find complicated in my native language. Like Delta Airline‘s global gateway. What you see here is not one but …
Web globalization leaders of industry
Over the past few months I’ve profiled a number the industry leaders from the 2011 Web Globalization Report Card. But I won’t be able to profile them all, so here …
Emirates: Best global airline web site of 2011
Sometimes a web redesign is a big step forward; sometimes it is a step in reverse. In the case of American Airlines (when viewed from a web globalization perspective) a …
My web browser went to de, fr, jp, za and all I got was this lousy t-shirt
Yes, I’m aware of just how globally geeky this shirt is, but I love it nonetheless. Should you want one of your own, you can order it here. And you can …
Dear Airbnb: Please take down your mutant flag
Airbnb is one of the hot new travel web service startups. It basically lets you rent out your spare bedroom or look for a spare bedroom when you travel. That’s …
Starbucks modifies its global gateway, but problems remain
I noticed recently that Starbucks had launched a new web design, probably to coincide with its newly austere logo. Unfortunately, the new global gateway didn’t improve on the old global …
Learning from the not-so-global web sites
I’ve highlighted the top 25 global web sites in the 2011 Web Globalization Report Card. Now it’s time to focus on the other end of the spectrum — the 25 …
Language negotiation in a mobile world: Improving the global user experience
Language negotiation is the process of detecting the language setting of a web browser and responding with the matching language, if available. Companies such as Google and Facebook have used …
Byte Level Books is looking for authors
I’m pleased to announce the formation of a new publishing imprint dedicated to “books with a world view.” To date, we’re published two books — The Savvy Client’s Guide to …