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 …
Web Globalization
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 …
I’m Loving It
McDonald’s has a new slogan “I’m Loving It.” I’m not fan of the slogan – and am not sure McDonald’s even needs a slogan any more — but I do …
Would You Like Fries With Your Greek Mac?
In 2001, the McDonald’s in Greece launched the “Greek Mac.” The Greek Mac consists of two burgers wrapped in a pita with yogurt sauce, tomato slices, iceberg lettuce and onions. …
The Trouble with Maps
Maps generally make ideal global gateways. That is, if you see a map on the home page, you will likely assume that you are being asked to select your target …
Coca-Cola: Hecho en Mexico
Globalization is funny. Just when you think you’ve created a global brand, people start yearning for its “localness.” Take Coca-Cola. According to this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, expat Mexicans …
BMW & BYD: Separated at Birth?
I recently came across the Web site of BYD Automotive in China. Now I have to believe the lawyers at BMW are well aware of this logo, though I’m not …
Yahoo! Struggles in China
This recent article in USA Today covers the Internet access craze in China. According to the article, the number of people online has surpassed 68 million, making it the second-largest …
Multilingual PR
I am on a number of mailing lists. This year I noticed that a few multinational organizations have begun sending releases in more than one language. While it would make …
Health Care en Español
The trend of American companies building Spanish-language Web sites is now in full swing. We are now seeing health care organizations getting into the act, with Delta Dental of California …
Unicode In A NutShell
Here is a great article about Unicode and how it affects Web developers and programmers. Here’s an excerpt: The Single Most Important Fact About Encodings If you completely forget everything …
Collation Resource
Here is a very useful resource for collation: http://developer.mimer.com/collations/charts/index.tml. Why is collation so important? A few years back, I translated an online glossary into different languages. I didn’t realize, of …
Pampering Russia
This is a great article about Procter & Gamble’s adventures in Russia. While currency devalatuations have been challenging, the economy has since stabilized and sales are growing at 50% annually …
HTML and Unicode
Another useful Web globalization Q&A has been added to the W3C site. It has to do with the issue of character sets and encodings. I can’t even begin to describe …
FYI: Trade Events Listing
The US Dept. of Commerce has compiled a fairly hefty list of domestic and international trade events. The list is located at http://www.export.gov/comm_svc/eps_events.html.