Can displaying the Taiwan flag get your website shut down in China?
The short answer: It depends. The context of how you display this flag can make all the difference; for example, do you display the flag on a global gateway with …
Marriott’s China websites get shut down — and your website could as well if you’re not careful
If you visit Marriott’s China website today you’re likely to see this: I dumped the text into Google Translate and here is what it loosely says: So what exactly happened …
Succeeding in the Translation Economy
Here is an article I wrote that was recently published in tcworld magazine. In it, I define the “translation economy” and the opportunities (and challenges) it presents to all organizations. …
Think Outside the Country is coming to Japan
I’m pleased to announce that Born Digital (in collaboration with Mitsue-Links) is publishing the Japanese edition of Think Outside the Country. The book will be available December 23rd and I …
Day One for Amazon in Australia
Today marks the official day one for Amazon in Australia. While Amazon.com.au has been around for a number of years largely selling eBooks via the Kindle, today the company goes …
The Internet’s obesity crisis
In 2001, I published a report on website weights and their impacts on website performance. Why, may you ask, was I researching website weights all the way back in 2001? …
Amazon’s uneven (and not unusual) language strategy
Amazon Crossing is the Amazon publishing imprint dedicated to translating non-English books into English. In just a few years it has grown to be a leading translator of literary novels. …
China sees the future in Africa (and it’s not alone)
Earlier this year, The Los Angeles Times ran a fascinating series on China and Africa and I only just got around to reading it. I recommend at least reading Part …
Free webinar for class adoptions of Think Outside the Country
I’ve already conducted a few webinars in the US and abroad and realize that I’ve never formally announced this. If your class has adopted Think Outside the Country, I’d be …
The Language of Global Success (and the rise of the English-only multinational)
The dream is profound — a global company united by one language. Employees communicating freely with one another across border and culture, improving productivity and sharing of ideas. The reality, …
China: 120 million international travelers and just getting started
In 2016, more than 120 million Chinese traveled internationally. which is roughly the entire population of Japan (or Canada, Italy and Australia combined). And only 10% of the country has …
When looking at Asia, look beyond China, Japan and South Korea…
Historically, when a Western company planned its Asian expansion strategy, it primarily focused on three markets (or fewer): China, Japan and South Korea. Today, any company with eyes on Asian …
KPMG: The best global professional services website of 2017
For the 2017 Web Globalization Report Card, we benchmarked the following professional services websites: Accenture Capgemini Deloitte Ernst & Young KPMG PWC Over the past 18 months, KPMG, Deloitte, and PwC …
The growing language gap between travel and tourism websites
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 …
Nissan: The best global automotive website of 2017
For the 2017 Web Globalization Report Card, we studied the following 14 automotive websites: Audi BMW Chevrolet Ford Honda Hyundai Land Rover Lexus Mercedes Mini Nissan Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Historically, automotive …